Eminem – The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) (2xLP, Coloured Vinyl)

Eminem's latest album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coupe de Gråce), is the funeral rites for one of rap's most popular and divisive characters.

Slim Shady, the foul-mouthed alter-ego of Detroit's most famous MC, was first seen by the masses in the video for "My Name Is," the debut single from Em's major label debut, The Slim Shady LP. With a slightly eerie but bemused grin, Slim Shady told kids to "stick nine-inch nails through one of my eyelids." From there, the character went on to help Eminem, né Marshall Bruce Mathers III, sell millions of albums with an ingenious mix of up-to-the-minute cultural commentary, razor-sharp wit, and a fondness for boundary pushing.

But as rap grew up, notes Billboard, Eminem has had to reckon with a changing listenership that increasingly views Slim's trademark blue bars as inappropriate and offensive. So, now at 51-years-old, Em's decided that it's the right time to say goodbye to his beloved alter ego for good. Earlier this year, his team took out an ad in the Detroit Free Press in the form of a fake obituary for Slim Shady that read in part, "His complex and tortured existence has come to a close, and the legacy he leaves behind is no closer to resolution than the manner in which this character departed this world."

To properly say "peace," Em decided to not only bring Slim Shady back in song, but in video form, too. "Houdini," the first single from The Death of Slim Shady (Coupe de Gråce), is a throwback of sorts. Produced by Eminem and Luis Resto, it has the same feeling of Em singles of old. With a playful beat (partially lifted from The Steve Miller Band's 1982 smash "Abracadabra") that sounds like the music for a demented carnival ride, "Houdini" could be "Without Me Part 2."

The refrain at the top of the song even drives the point home by quoting that 2002 single: "Shady's back. Tell a friend." But what puts it over the top is the comic book-brought-to-life nature of the video, and the inclusion of a young Slim Shady starring alongside a modern-day Eminem.

Eminem‘s illustrious career, spanning 25 years, has seen him amass ten albums consecutively debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts as well as amassing ten U.K. No. 1 albums so far, including The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), The Eminem Show (2002), Encore (2004), Curtain Call: The Hits (2005), Relapse (2009), Recovery (2010), The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013), Revival (2017), Kamikaze (2018), and Music to Be Murdered By (2020). He is among the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated worldwide sales of more than 220 million records. He has received 15 Grammy Awards and numerous other music industry honors.