Eminem’s ‘The Death of Slim Shady’ Album: All Tracks Ranked

Eminem’s back, innit? Shady’s back, tell your mates. The rapper returned on Friday (12 July) to deliver his eagerly anticipated album, ‘The Death of Slim Shady’ (Coup De Grâce).

The new LP marks Eminem’s first album since 2020’s ‘Music to Be Murdered By’, and he’s aiming for a 10th consecutive chart-topper on the Billboard 200.

Just hours before the project dropped, Eminem revealed that ‘TDOSS’ is a “conceptual album” and urged fans to listen to it from start to finish, without skipping about.

“Public service announcement: the ‘death of slim shady’ is a conceptual album, so if you listen to songs out of order, they might not make sense,” he wrote. “Enjoy.”

Eminem kicked off the rollout for ‘The Death of Slim Shady’ with ‘Houdini’, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking his highest-charting entry of the decade. He followed this up with ‘Tobey’, featuring Big Sean and BabyTron, which debuted at No. 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier in July.

The album features collaborations with Jelly Roll, J.I.D, Skylar Grey, Bizarre, Ez Mil, and more.

Even at 51, Eminem remains a commercial titan and one of hip-hop’s premier voices, with a Hall of Fame résumé that rivals any of his peers.

And when Slim Shady drops new music, the culture pays attention. We’ve ranked all 19 tracks from ‘The Death of Slim Shady’ (excluding skits) below.

“Lucifer”

A similar intro to ‘The Eminem Show’s “Square Dance,” with Dr. Dre’s Midas touch evident in the crisp jingle. Eminem takes the opportunity to respond to right-wing political pundit Candace Owens, who asked, “Am I getting older, or is Eminem getting gayer?” last year. “And Candice O, I ain’t mad at her/ I ain’t gon’ throw the fact the b**** forgot she was Black back at her/ Laugh at her, like them crackers she’s backin’ after,” Shady spits.

“Evil”

Don Cannon lays down ominous production as Eminem peels back the layers of his diabolical mind state. Through his trials and tribulations, Em believes he has outrun his evil ways, but they always come back to haunt him. “I’ve turned my whole life around/ But I think I’m just like you now, ’cause I turned out so f****** evil,” he admits.

“Road Rage”

There’s a questionable abundance of Caitlin Jenner name-drops on the album. Imagine driving around Michigan and getting into a road rage argument with Eminem on the other side of the wheel? Slim believes that bullying can have positive outcomes and is tired of American society coddling obese citizens.

“Let’s celebrate onset diabetes and instead of dieting, we can just have a pie-eating contest/ And we should be extra nice instead of honest/ And instead of exercise, it’s easier to find an XXXL your size/ And try to press society to change so you don’t have to,” he raps in disgust. “Road Rage” sits towards the bottom when compared to the rest of the album.

“Head Honcho” Feat. Ez Mil

What a coming-out party for Ez Mil. Eminem steps aside to let Mil shine bilingually. Em is still traumatised by having his tricycle stolen as a kid, a tragedy he referenced four years ago on ‘Music to Be Murdered By’s “Leaving Heaven.” The Detroit icon thinks fans want him to “reinvent the wheel” with his new music, but we just want him to take a different route to his destination.

“Brand New Dance”

Eminem takes fans back to 2004 – New York Yankee fans won’t be happy. Later, on “Guilty Conscience 2,” Em confirms that “Brand New Dance” is a reworked extra from 2004’s “Encore,” originally titled “Christopher Reeves” and left on the cutting room floor. Nostalgia is always welcome for Em Stans, and it’s impressive that he can take something from two decades ago and fit it into another project. Not many could pull that off.

“Bad One”

Don’t lose focus, because Eminem awakens in the third verse. He’s ashamed of the white rapper lane he may have helped blaze. Em’s still ready for war with Machine Gun Kelly and hints at wanting another round in the ring with MGK: “But I gotta keep going Tyson on Kelly/ I bodied him twice and already/ That little motherf*****’s back throwing subs like a food fight at the deli,” he snipes.

“Trouble”

“Trouble” needs to be longer than 41 seconds. On second thought, maybe not, as Eminem tries his best to get cancelled in the short duration while taking aim at almost every marginalised community. Em is more socially aware than people think, as he recognises and nods to the “Gen Z is trying to cancel Eminem” meme.

Later, he realises that Marshall always comes to clean up Slim Shady’s mess, but understands that the personas need each other to coexist. It’s as if he has an angel and the devil on his shoulders.

“Habits”

Five minutes is a lot to unpack in one song, especially with the density of Em’s rhymes. Eminem has struggled with addiction issues throughout his career, but here, he targets his propensity to channel Slim Shady and become a provocateur, ruffling feathers and powering through the backlash.

This time, he targets the LGBTQ+ and mentally handicapped communities and worries about being “cancelled” like DaBaby following his homophobic rant at a 2021 Rolling Loud festival. However, after reflecting on his Detroit roots, Em makes it clear that despite everything, he’s still a good father at home: “Calling Shady misogynistic/ While raising three daughters, two graduated from college with honours,” he raps.

“Tobey” Feat. Big Sean & Babytron

What started as a BabyTron solo track became an all-Detroit affair with Big Sean and Eminem, something straight out of a fever dream. Em loved the ominous track so much that he took it for his own album.

Batting third, Slim still has a hefty chip on his shoulder, feeling doubted like he’s in an 8 Mile rap battle while blasting Billboard for ranking him No. 5 on their Greatest Rappers of All-Time list: “How rappers I’ve already ripped could be/ Higher up on a list than me/ Yet, here I sit on your list though at five, which still is fine/ But just know inside, to me, that s**t’s hilarious,” he raps.

“Houdini”

Nostalgia is a powerful drug. Eminem set the tone for his album by harking back to his Slim Shady alter-ego of the late ’90s/early 2000s, tugging at the heartstrings of his diehard fan base. In true Slim Shady fashion, Em courted controversy by touching on Megan Thee Stallion’s shooting and name-dropping R. Kelly. However, it was his last trick, pulling out a catchy hook to save the Luis Resto-produced track and lending credence to the theory that Eminem could be back.

“Antichrist”

Not for the faint-hearted, Eminem turns back the clock and lets the chopper sing on the opposition. A baby harmonises over his vocals for the catchy chorus on ‘The Death of Slim Shady’s standout track. Marshall takes the throne as the “Antichrist,” and the sound you hear is Megan’s Hotties and Nicki Minaj’s Barbz fan base questioning why the rivals were name-dropped back-to-back.

This track was likely recorded recently, as Em disses Diddy while referencing the 2016 footage of Combs abusing Cassie, without naming the victim: “Next idiot that asks me is getting his a** beat/ Worse than Diddy did…”

“Renaissance”

A dark introduction to ‘The Death of Slim Shady.’ Em slices up the piano-driven production and takes aim at the haters and fake hip-hop fans who find something wrong with every album released in the genre, even those from legends like Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar, and Ye. And it’s only after you pass that you receive your flowers: “You nerdy p***** would find something wrong with 36 Chambers/ So what they do for the greats? Pick the part of Picasso and make excuses to hate,” he raps.