Before he kills off his character, as he promised in recent weeks, Eminem must step back into his shoes. He does this in the video for “Houdini,” the first single released today from the album “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce),” whose release date is still unknown.
The video, directed by Rich Lee, opens with a message from the rapper’s manager, Paul Rosenberg, who dumps him after hearing the album: “Hey Em, it’s Paul. I heard your album. Good f***ing luck, you’re on your own now.”
As the chorus “guess who’s back?” kicks in, Dr. Dre warns him about a space-time tunnel that has opened in the city, from which his alter ego Slim Shady, straight out of 2002, emerges. Shady looks around at people wearing VR headsets and influencers taking selfies, exclaiming, “What the f*** is this?” Welcome to 2024, buddy.
From there, the video constantly shifts between the present (Eminem with his beard and dark hair) and the past (the blonde Slim Shady), featuring various guest appearances including Snoop Dogg and Pete Davidson, and various jabs. Eminem takes on the role of Rap Boy, a superhero sidekick, to save the world from the crude Shady, doing so with the irony of someone who knows it’s been years since the “Without Me” video.
“Sometimes I wonder what the old me would say if he saw how things are today. He’d probably say it’s all gay,” Eminem raps. How does it end? A monster is created—check it out on top.
