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Eminem — The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)
Eminem is closing the coffin on his infamous alter ego with the release of his newest album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) . The conceptual LP details the controversial character’s death and it features 19 tracks (as well as some bonus cuts).
Several familiar faces attend this funeral of sorts. Big Sean and BabyTron popped up on one of the album’s singles, “Tobey.” But the project also features Jelly Roll, JID, EZ Mil and Skylar Grey. 2 Chainz also shows up on bonus track “Kyrie & Luca,” which is part of an exclusive version.
Eminem introduces the concept on the album opener, “Renaissance.” “Let’s travel inside the mind of a hater / ’cause I don’t see no fans, all I see’s a bunch of complainers,” he raps, before detailing some of the complaints he’s seen online. “’Kendrick’s album was cool but it didn’t have any bangers’ / ‘Wayne’s album or YE’s, couldn’t tell you which one was lamer’ / ‘Joyner’s album was corny,’ ‘Shady’s new sh-t is way worse’ / Everything is either too tame or there’s too much anger.”
He goes on to explain that the complaints only cease when an artist dies. “It’s what they do to the greats / Pick apart a Picasso and make excuses to hate,” he continues. “So you could wait for your flowers until you’re blue in the face / Stupid, you ain’t gonna get ’em until your funeral. Wait.”
That seems to spark the idea and the album takes off from there. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Em asked fans to listen to the LP in order for maximum impact: “Public service announcement: the ‘death of slim shady’ is a conceptual album, therefore, if you listen to songs out of order they might not make sense. Enjoy.”
Ice Spice f. Central Cee — “Did It First”
Ice Spice and Central Cee simply put their famous chains next to one another and the collaboration rumors began. More recently, they appeared together at a hookah lounge and a jewelry store. It seems all of that led to a new track, “Did It First,” and its music video.
RIOTUSA, Nico Baran and Lily Kaplan produced the new single. Meanwhile, Ice and Cee trade bars about a romantic relationship gone wrong. “If he cheating, I’m doing him worse / No Uno, I hit the reverse,” she raps. “I ain’t trippin’, the grip in my purse / I don’t care ‘cause he did it first.”
Cench shares thoughts from his perspective. “I’m selective with who I get with / Gal on my phone trying to see who I slept with,” he raps. “She investigating, detective / Lucky for me, I deleted the message.”
The song’s music video features a bedroom scene, a house party vibe and Y2K-inspired technology. Speaking of which, Ice is currently prepping for her debut studio album, Y2K! “Gimme A Light,” “Phat Butt” and “Think U The Sh-t (Fart)” are also expected to appear on the LP.
Mustard — “Pray For Me”
Before delivering his newest body of work, Faith of a Mustard Seed , the hit making producer unveils a 10-minute solo song, “Pray For Me.” In it, he explains all of the people and things that he’s praying for and what the forthcoming album is about.
Mustard produced the song with Victor Thell, Jammeh, Dammo The Great and Agape Woodlyn. Over choir voices and organ instrumentation, the producer raps about those closest to him: “Pray for my momma, pray for my sis / We miss my granny, we need her at times like this.”
He goes on to thank his “Not Like Us” collaborator Kendrick Lamar, as well. “I can’t do this sh-t without thanking that n——a K-Dot, man. He came through, swang through with the No. 1 right before the album dropped. I ain’t even need no rollout. So you gotta pray for him.”
Finally, Mustard reveals the meaning behind his upcoming LP. “I remember a conversation I had with Nip,” he says. “He said, ‘You should name your album Faith of a Mustard Seed …When I went and did my research on what that meant, it says that with the faith of a mustard seed, God will allow you to move mountains. And I feel like, where I come from, I moved just about every mountain that was in my way, and I’m still moving them, with the faith of God.”
Mustard also released a shortened version of the song as a music video. It features old family pictures, footage from his schools, and stylized cinematic shots inside of a church.
Kid Cudi — “DREAMS I SEE”
Kid Cudi continues to venture into other worlds, from television to film to comics. To promote his upcoming Moon Man #3 comic, the rapper-singer unveils a new single, “DREAMS I SEE.”
Ramii and Matty Spats produced the new track. On his end, Cudder delivers the vocals, complete with his signature hums. “In the dreams I see my life’s ups and downs,” he sings. Later, he adds: “See it’s the same old story / Been fighting for my life since ’94.”
Cudi explained the Moon Man last year. “Moon Man is a character for the people,” he wrote. “I wanted to make a hero that represented all that was good in the world, and followed a man on a journey of self discovery.”
The Man on the Moon star continued: “When I was a kid reading comics, I used to dream of the day I could make my own hero, my own world. I am finally living another childhood dream and now, Moon Man is yours. He is your hero.”
Cudi released the song along with a comic-inspired visualizer below.
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