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And the next trick… Eminem has revived his mischievous alter-ego Slim Shady for new song “Houdini,” the highly anticipated lead single from his upcoming album, thought to be titled “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace).”
The song is reminiscent of the American rapper's 2002 hit “Without Me,” and the music video features cameos from Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Pete Davidson, 50 Cent and comedian Shane Gillis.
The video begins with a skit featuring Eminem's longtime manager, Paul Rosenberg, calling the rapper and telling him, “Hey Eminem, it's Paul. I was just listening to the album…good luck, you're all alone,” before hanging up.
“Houdini” has the same bouncy hook as “Without Me,” and similarly takes aim at critics, his family, and himself: “Still a white asshole (that's him!) Comes to the cypher in a Chrysler.”
Eminem, real name Marshall Mathers, also name-drops fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, in a playful reference to her 2020 shooting death by Tory Lanez: “If Megan Thee (what?)/I asked Stallion to collaborate/Do you really have a chance at greatness? (Ha ha).”
He then compares himself to Hungarian-American escape artist Harry Houdini, referencing the infamous kidnapping faked by Shelley Papini in 2016: “'Cause you'll never see me/Catch me in my sleep and see the kidnapping never happened/Like Shelley Papini and Harry Houdini/When I walk away I vanish into thin air…”
Eminem's “Houdini” music video (YouTube/Screenshot)
Eminem has promised to release the album in the summer, but fans may be aware that he turns 52 in October, close to the date that Houdini himself died at the age of 52. It remains to be seen if he has anything planned for that date in connection to his murder of Slim Shady.
Ahead of the release of “Houdini,” Eminem shared a teaser with David Blaine in which the magician and illusionist can be seen eating a wine glass and declaring, “Now, for this last song, I'm going to wipe out my career.”
Directed by Rich Lee, the video finds him trotting through a cartoon world with his younger self in the rap-boy costume he wore in the “Without Me” video, and also reprising his Slim Shadies impersonations featured in his 2000 MTV Video Music Awards performance.
Eminem and Pete Davidson (right) in the rapper's “Houdini” music video (YouTube)
At the end of the clip, comedian Pete Davidson takes over the driving of his Lamborghini (“Trust me, I'm a great driver”) and speeds through the night city.
“The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace)” is scheduled for release this summer and will follow Eminem's most recent 2020 album, “Music to Be Murdered By.”