Eminem is really putting effort into his current album cycle. The rapper has taken extra care to build up the hype for The Death of Slim Shady. He's dropped teasers, collaborations with magician David Blaine, and a high concept music video for the single "Houdini." The question on everybody's mind, though, was when the album would drop. When would the Death of Slim Shady finally be revealed to the world? Well, Eminem gave fans an answer in predictably dramatic fashion.
The rapper released what appears to be the last of the album teasers on July 1. The video sees a grim scene at a hospital, in which a woman gives birth to an unresponsive baby. The doctors eventually get the baby breathing, but when it wakes up, it has demonic, black eyes. The mother asks what happened, and before anybody can answer, the baby flashes a split tongue and grows devil horns. The entire staff screams "holy sh*t" before running out of the delivery room. Then, the moment fans have been waiting for: a release date. The Death of Slim Shady will come out on July 12.
Eminem Went Demon Mode In His Latest Teaser
It's a surprisingly quick turnaround, given how slowly Eminem has been releasing details. The rapper has, however, experimented with different rollouts in the past. Relapse had a lengthy promo cycle since it was supposed to be Eminem's comeback. Recovery was billed as a correction the mixed reviews of Relapse, and Kamikaze was dropped out of nowhere. The Death of Slim Shady is obviously aiming to be a grand sendoff for Eminem's alter ago, so it makes sense that he would want to make sure all eyes were on him.
Em hasn't spoken in depth about The Death of Slim Shady, beyond his promos. He did, however, shed some light on his recording process during a January appearance on Shade 45. "I'm working on a little something," he told Whoo Kid. Eminem also hinted future collaborations with 50 Cent, who appeared in the first promo for The Death of Slim Shady. "I told him whatever the f*ck he needs from me, I'm here," the rapper explained. "That sh*t'd be crazy, though... 50’s on a roll right now. He’s been on a roll since the tour." Hopefully we get to hear these two Aftermath stars on wax again.