Shady is back. Tell your friends. Eminem returned on Friday (May 31) with his first single of 2024, “Houdini.”
Em looked to turn back the clock with this single and his early 2000s Slim Shady alter ego: “Houdini” marked the Detroit legend's debut in the 2000s. The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Glace) The album will be released this summer.
The project will be his 12th album and will be released in 2020. Music that killsIt debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
Em originally announced plans for the album shortly after attending the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit. He said: Unsolved mysteries 50 Cent made a cameo in this episode, but it was actually Dr. Dre who revealed details about Eminem's next album. Jimmy Kimmel Live! March.
Eminem also released a superhero-themed video for “Houdini” on Friday, a star-studded re-enactment of Eminem's 2002 hit “Without Me.” 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Pete Davidson, Snoop Dogg and three of Eminem's children also make cameos in the video.
From Britney Spears to Christina Aguilera, Eminem hasn't been shy about stirring up controversy or calling out fellow celebrities throughout his career.
Eminem has a penchant for shock factor, and that continues on “Houdini,” a provocative track that references pop culture figures like RuPaul and hip-hop staples like Megan Thee Stallion and Dr. Dre.
Check out the complete list of all the celebrities Eminem mentioned in “Houdini” below.
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Megan Thee Stallion
lyrics: “If I asked Megan Thee Stallion to collaborate, would I really have a chance of accomplishing something?”
Eminem and Megan Thee Stallion have yet to collaborate, making it a strange way to ask for a feature in reference to the 2020 shooting death of Tory Lanez. Lanez was eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison, and the Houston rapper has been vulnerable about the depression and mental health issues he's struggled with in the years since.
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R. Kelly
lyrics: “Leaning back in the coupe, black man peeing to his favorite group, R. Kelly.”
R. Kelly and Eminem never collaborated in their entire careers, and here Eminem makes a playful comparison of the disgraced singer's fetish for peeing on women during sex to his favorite group, the Black Eyed Peas.
This isn't the first time Slim Shady has criticized Kells. recurrence On the song “Old Times Sake,” Em once again speaks to R. Kelly and his fetish: “And it gave me wings, I believe I can fly/No CSI can catch me while I'm peeing on a girl,” he raps.
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Paul Rosenberg
lyrics: “What do you mean, cancelled? Ok, that's fine Paul quits/Snake is…pu…k.”
Eminem and Paul Rosenberg met in 1997 during the early stages of Eminem's career, and he became Slim's manager shortly thereafter. Rosenberg briefly left his role with Eminem in 2018 to become chairman of Def Jam Records, but left the label in 2020 to return to management.
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Jimmy Iovine
lyrics: “Fuck them, fuck Dre, fuck Jimmy, fuck me, fuck you, fuck my kids, they're brats.”
Jimmy Iovine is a co-founder of Interscope Records. Iovine reportedly worked with Eminem on Slim Shady EP Iovine contacted Dr. Dre, urging him to sign the Detroit rapper to his label, Aftermath. Iovine and Eminem remain close, with the latter even showing up to the famed executive's 70th birthday party last year.
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Dr. Dre
lyrics: “Fuck you, fuck you, Dre, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you.”
Dr. Dre has been Eminem's mentor for many years, signing him to his record label, Aftermath. Having produced many of Eminem's songs, from 1999's “My Name Is” to “Forgot About Dre,” Dr. Dre is an integral part of Slim Shady's creative process, and the two form one of rap's most dynamic duos. Dre appeared in the music video for “Houdini,” and in March revealed he was working with Eminem on his next album. Slim Shady's Death album.
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RuPaul
lyrics: “Two balls as big as RuPaul, what you thought you saw/Not what you saw”
There was apparently no animosity between RuPaul and Eminem until RuPaul name-dropped him in “Houdini.” RuPaul is known as the “Queen of Drag” while producing a highly acclaimed reality TV show. RuPaul's Drag RaceThe 63-year-old multi-talented actor has won two Billboard Music Awards, one Tony Award and 14 Primetime Emmy Awards.
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Shelley Papini
lyrics: “You get caught asleep and realize the kidnapping never happened/Like Shelly Papini.”
Eminem has previously referenced some of the most notorious serial killers and other bizarre and nefarious criminals in American history in his lyrics, and in the final verse of “Houdini,” he references Shelley Papini, who was arrested in 2016 on trumped-up kidnapping charges.
Papini, then 34, claimed she was kidnapped for three weeks before being released in November 2016. The mother of two stuck to her story when questioned by federal agents. The California resident was arrested in 2022 and agreed to a plea deal. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison and paid a $300,000 fine for mail fraud and lying to federal agents.
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Harry Houdini
lyrics: “Harry Houdini, when I leave I disappear without a trace.”
Harry Houdini was an escape artist and stuntman who became a famous performer in the early 1900s, and his other-dimensional stunts are apparently the inspiration for Eminem's eponymous new single for 2010. Slim Shady's DeathHoudini died in 1926 at the age of 52.
