Eminem is going head to head with himself in a new retrospective video.
The 51-year-old rapper, born Marshall Mathers, engages in a “spirited conversation” with his musical alter ego, Slim Shady, for his new Complex magazine cover story. In the interview, billed “Slim Shady vs. Marshall Mathers: THE FACE-OFF,” Em reckons with his past and makes peace with some of his most controversial career choices.
The clip opens on a bearded, modern-day Mathers sitting in a chair while a hologram version of his bleach blond Shady persona arrives to take him to task over his new album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), which dropped earlier this month.
“I’ve been sent from the past to save our career,” Shady declares.
“My 25-year career? Where I sold like a billion albums?” Mathers retorts. “I think I’m doing pretty f**king fine.”
Eminem performs onstage at Live from Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central” at Michigan Central Station on June 06, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. – Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
Shady is quick to take credit for all of Eminem’s subsequent successes, which included 2002’s “Lose Yourself” and 2010’s “Love the Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna.
“We sold all that s**t off my back, b**ch, don’t get it twisted,” Shady says. “You’re not f**king Taylor Swift. You had one era that mattered — mine.”
Mathers pushes back, explaining that some of their most boundary-pushing content from the ’90s and early aughts wouldn’t stand today.
“I’ve grown up, bro. My fan base has grown up,” he says. “The world’s changed. F**king people are way more sensitive now. Every other week on TikTok, Gen Z discovers you on Monday and cancels me on Tuesday.”
Eminem photographed in the U.K. on Jan. 1, 2000. – Sal Idriss/Redferns
But old habits die hard, Mathers hints.
“You’re just doing the same s**t you always do,” he tells Shady. “Make the f**king single fake controversial without really offending anyone and then put all the f**ked up s**t on the deep cuts so that people talk about the album after it drops. Then when they get offended, you get on your ‘Poor me’ victim s**t and act all f**king self-righteous.”
To that end, Em recently faced backlash on social media over a reference to Alec Baldwin’s Rust shooting on his latest album. In a track titled “Fuel,” the artist includes insensitive lyrics about the victim: “F**k around and get popped like Halyna Hutchins.”
“Clutchin’ the nine millimeter, tuckin’ the heat / Got the toaster like an English muffin / No, I mean, ‘Toast to’ like you drink to somethin’ But it’s in a holster, I proceed to bust it,” Eminem raps. “F**k around and get popped like Halyna Hutchins / Like I’m Alec Baldwin, what I mean is buckin’ you down, coup de grâce then / Right between the f**kin’ / I shoot ’em all in if you think you’re f**kin’ with me.”
The 66-year-old actor was previously standing trial for one count of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Hutchins on the set of his film in October 2021. Rust director Joel Souza was also injured. Earlier this month, Baldwin’s trial was dismissed with prejudice.
Eminem (Marshall Mathers) during day 1 of the NFL Draft on April 25, 2024 at Fox Theatre in Detroit, MI. – John Smolek/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Eminem also includes songs that feature lines about Megan Thee Stallion, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Candace Owens, Kanye West, Jeffrey Epstein and many more. The album additionally features collaborations with Jelly Roll, White Gold, Sly Pyper, JID, Dem Jointz, Ez Mil, Skylar Grey, Big Sean and BabyTron.
On his track with Jelly Roll, “Somebody Save Me,” Eminem apologizes to his children over his past history of substance abuse. The rapper shares three children with his ex-wife, Kim Scott: Hailie Jade Scott, 28, Alaina Scott, 31, and Stevie Laine Scott, 22.
“You’re the reason I had to self-medicate,” Mathers tells Shady in the Complex video. “‘Cause of you I almost lost my f**king career, my f**king family, my life.”
In the end, the two personalities come to terms with each other.
“Calm down, Slim. We both made Eminem. He’s the best of both of us,” Mathers concludes. “And really, it’s not about me or you. It’s about him and the fans.”
He adds, “Don’t stress out, man. I’ve done a lot of work on myself while you were gone. We’re in this together, baby. Let the therapy flow through you.”
Shady agrees, “I needed this trauma bonding s**t to help me f**king protect my peace.”
