Eminem has stunned fans with the level of detail that went into his latest album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) after an easter egg that references his classic song “When I’m Gone” was discovered.
A viral social media post on Monday (July 29) made the connection, pointing to an old interview clip where Em explains that the 2005 track “mark[s] the death of Slim Shady” and symolizes him “putting this persona to bed.”
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On “Guilty Conscience 2,” from The Death of Slim Shady, Eminem can be heard shooting his alter ego and then waking up from a dream, with a brief snippet of “When I’m Gone” playing in the background.
Fans also theorized that the song also makes reference to the Relapse track “My Darling,” which finds the Detroit rap legend battling Slim Shady for control over his mind.
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“What shot is this? First, second — it’s your third,” Em raps on “Guilty Conscience 2,” seemingly calling back to both “When I’m Gone” and “My Darling.”
There was also debate over whether the Slim Shady persona is actually dead or whether the whole thing was a dream.
THIS IS INTERESTING: Eminem first teased the idea of the death of slim shady in 2005 on his track ‘When I’m Gone,’ explaining that he meant for this track to put the persona to bed.
On ‘Guilty Conscience 2,’ when Eminem wakes up after 🔫 Slim Shady, a snippet of ‘When I’m Gone’… pic.twitter.com/Jh4SRKfrvb
— Joey (@gothamhiphop) July 29, 2024
One person who won’t be uncovering any easter eggs on the album is Joe Budden, who recently admitted that he is in no hurry to listen to it.
Speaking on his self-titled podcast, the former Shady Records signee said: “I will eventually listen to this, but I haven’t yet. I ain’t even thought about it yet […] In my younger years, I couldn’t imagine a day where I didn’t run to an Eminem project — excluding him dissing me [on] Kamikaze.
“An Eminem project, you rush to it. I know where he stands as an MC. I know what he does. [But] I didn’t feel that urgency with this. It has nothing to do with him or with music.”
He added: “I don’t care about none of the Slim Shady shit. I don’t care about fucking Jennifer Aniston or whoever he’s dissing, fucking Nick Storm, Nick Fury, or whoever he’s dissing.”
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Despite Budden’s indifference, The Death of Slim Shady was an immediate commercial success, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, ending Taylor Swift’s 12-week run at the top of the chart.
The album also has the highest Hip Hop sales tally of 2024 so far, moving nearly 300,000 equivalent units without a physical release.
