Eminem’s latest album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) marks the end of the Detroit rapper’s alter ego.
Though he’s dependably witty and reliably controversial, Eminem’s work has often been defined by multiple musical personalities. Sometimes he raps with himself, as Slim Shady. Still, other times he’s collaborated with pop stars and fellow rappers as he uses his music to work out the temper still raging inside.
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His success hasn’t seemed to cool the anger. His critics haven’t convinced him to soften the language and a recent piece in The New York Times asked, “Should Slim Shady be canceled?” Gen Z answered, “No.” Meanwhile, The Death of Slim Shady is Eminem’s 10th straight No. 1 album.
The new album ends with an emotional farewell called “Somebody Save Me” featuring Jelly Roll. So in light of Slim Shady’s collective sendoff, here’s a look back at Eminem’s four best collaborations.
“Beautiful Pain” by Eminem featuring Sia from The Marshall Mathers LP2 (2013)
Leave it all behind. That’s the message. Eminem and Sia set fire to yesterday and the chaos of the past is just a warning. The beauty and the beast element of rapped verses and sung pop choruses is nothing new. But when one of history’s greatest rappers collaborates with Sia, whose pop instincts for melody exist in a class of her own, it elicits the kind of dark/light contradiction befitting the title “Beautiful Pain.”
I’m standing in the flames
It’s a beautiful kind of pain
Setting fire to yesterday
Find the light, find the light, find the light
“Roman’s Revenge” by Nicki Minaj featuring Eminem from Pink Friday (2010)
Nicki Minaj and Eminem use their alter egos, Roman Zolanski and Slim Shady, in an angry rap track showcasing the kind of controversy both artists have courted lyrically. The track is built on a skittering beat and pulsing synths—it’s ominous, violent, harsh, rude, you name it. Zolanski and Shady are tools for venting rage and the characters draw lines in the sand, then charge over them using dark wit. Offensive to some, illuminating to others. The human condition also has a dark side and Minaj and Eminem have spent their life’s work examining the monsters lurking beneath the bed.
I am not Jasmine, I am Aladdin
So far ahead, these bums is laggin’
See me in that new thing, bums is gaggin’
I’m startin’ to feel like a dungeon dragon
“Stan” by Eminem featuring Dido from The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
“Stan” became so universal it wound up in the dictionary. Eminem and Dido’s collaboration follows an obsessive fan who ultimately kills himself and his girlfriend after several letters go ignored by Slim Shady. The plot thickens when Slim writes back and notices a disturbing news story about a guy with his girlfriend in the trunk, driving his car off a bridge. “Stan” is one of many Eminem tracks displaying the rapper’s writing genius. A sample from Dido’s “Thank You” flips her gratitude into Stan’s obsession.
My tea’s gone cold, I’m wondering why I
Got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window
And I can’t see at all
And even if I could, it’d all be grey
But your picture on my wall
It reminds me that it’s not so bad, it’s not so bad
“Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem featuring Rihanna from Recovery (2010)
Two people in an abusive relationship refuse to leave. The visceral track draws from both Eminem and Rihanna’s personal experiences with bad relationships. Skylar Grey and Alex da Kid wrote the song with Eminem, who composed verses and chose Rihanna to sing the darkly stunning chorus. “Love the Way You Lie” is Eminem’s best-selling single and it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks.
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn?
Well, that’s all right because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry?
Well, that’s all right because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
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