Earlier this week, Eminem began hinting that something new was imminent. In a video shared on social media, the veteran lyricist and culture shifting rapper quipped with illusionist David Blaine on a recorded FaceTime call that he had big plans. After watching Blaine chew a wine glass, Em, punctuated the chat by saying, “Well for my last trick, I’m going to make my career disappear.”
Living up to his rep as the perennial antagonist, Em has dropped the first single from his forthcoming 12th studio album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce). Working with co-producer Luis Resto, Em executes swift verbal gymnastics over a beat that samples the 1982 Steve Miller band essential, "Abracadabra".
Hitting talking points that veer from R. Kelly to Megan Thee Stallion to transgender cats, Em speaks to the greater cancel culture that is so prevalent now and how that would be at odds with the Em of a generation ago. The rapper's summation is that he remains unfiltered, even if it means compromising his career as a result. Thus, he'd rather disappear.
Complementing the angle of the track, Em enlisted director Rich Lee to bring the vision to life via a music video that finds present-day Em, facing off with his bleach-blonde, younger self. The video offers testament to the old adage that for Eminem, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
In addition to several references to the ghosts of Eminems past, there is a loaded cast of cameos for the video. While the usual suspects like Dre, Snoop, 50 Cent and even Jimmy Iovine are included, there are some wild cards like Pete Davidson, Shane Gillis and even Em's daughter Hailie make the cut.
See the video for "Houdini" from Eminem below.
