This is not a drill; The Real Slim Shady is back, back again — and this time, he’s making his career disappear! Or so he claims, although we don’t think we will ever be rid of hip-hop’s most menacing anytime soon. In any case, Eminem is back with the first single to kick of what seems to be the final phase in his career with Houdini, which is out now for your listening pleasure.
After having teased the track extensively over social media the past couple of days — first with cryptic chats that disappear, succeeded only by sepia laden found-footage style promos of circus-magic tricks, the anticipation has finally come to an end in the wake of a David Blaine collaboration.
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) May 21, 2024
Please do not try this at home. Or anywhere else. 🐰🎩🪄 @davidblaine pic.twitter.com/1HUPDkiaV0
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) May 29, 2024
Yes, the trick is finally revealed with the release of ‘Houdini,’ a track named after the magician best known for disappearing in mysterious fashion.
The release comes in hot in the middle of much speculation and theorising. For starters, the sepia footage Eminem shared on his story a couple days back teasing the now released song is actually footage from Eminem’s 1999 release, ‘Role Model,’ the beat for which was later used by rappers Juice Wrld and Cordae. But it didn’t stop there, for Eminem hopped on a flip-version of the beat again on the song ‘Doomsday Pt. 2.’
Now, was this all some elaborate foreshadowing tying into the theme of ‘Coup de Grace,’ the overarching idea behind The Death of Slim Shady? For Coup de Grace refers to putting an end to suffering, and well, Doomsday refers to a time marking death and destruction.
From fans conspiring along the lines of Eminem pulling a rabbit (or rather, a B-Rabbit) out the hat in some way, to the call back to the artwork’s Slim Shady and Curtain Call motifs, Stans have long been reading into the ‘trick’ trying to decipher hidden meanings.
Interestingly, the release date (5.31.24), too, features the numbers 1,2,3,4,5 in a different order. Now, whether it actually means something, or is just release frenzy and pandemonium created in anticipation of the album or not will become clear only with time.
Although, it must be stated that, in the past, the numbers on the Curtain Call 2 artwork referred to (as decoded by a Reddit user) “558008 = BOOBSS 771534 = HE’S ILL 451734 = HELISH 104554 = ASSHOL,” making use of the ‘Calculator Language,’ — so the mystique is befitting of Slim Shady’s weird antics. If one thing seems certain though, it is that some clues definitely lie in the artwork for ‘Houdini,’ which is out now for you to piece together!
Watch the music video reminiscent of old times, below. It features cameos from Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Denaun, Royce, Alchemist and more.
