On his new album, ‘The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce),’ Eminem sprays venom at a number of celebrity figures, from Diddy to Ja Rule.
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Depending on how you look at it, Eminem’s career has been one gloriously long obscenity.
Since releasing his emblematic debut single “Just Don’t Give a Fuck” in 1998, Em’s made habit of saying any and everything that crosses his mind, and a lot of that time, those thoughts have been disses toward—well, any and everyone he can think of. That trend continues on The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), a chaotic swirl of verbal acrobatics and inventively flagrant insults at various enemies and otherwise. The disses aren’t random: The Death of Slim Shady is a concept album, in which Marshall Mathers and his alter ego Slim Shady have one last face-off. Marshall is kidnapped and forced to write controversial raps against a mix of old and potentially new foes.
The concept gives Em the opportunity to put it all out there, throwing barbs at everyone from Diddy to the late Christopher Reeve as he gives in to his most mischievous impulses. It’s Eminem the vandal, taking a can of spray paint and coloring pop culture with whatever snarky quip he can conjure in the moment. If the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef didn’t satisfy your appetite for brazen disses, Em’s got you with his latest album. (Take some of these disses with a grain of salt, though, since many of them are coming from his alter ego, rather than from the man himself).
Now, it’s time to examine exactly what he said because, well…it’s a whole lot. Let’s take a look at everyone Eminem disses on his new album.
Christopher Reeve
“With Christopher Reeve’s luck (Woah, woah-woah-woah-woah)/Shady, Jesus, what the fuck?/Oh, here comes Marshall to try to clean this up (Shut up)/What’s the matter, Marshall? Your penis tucked?” — “Trouble”
In a throwback of a line, Em’s Slim Shady alter ego invokes late Superman star Christopher Reeve by alluding to the horse riding accident that left the actor paralyzed from the neck down. Em has a history of mentioning Reeve that goes back to the The Marshall Mathers LP, where he dissed the actor on songs like “Who Knew” and “I’m Back.” Reeve has been one of Em’s most frequent targets; he’s dissed him dozens of times—including on songs like “Rain Man,” “My First Single” and D12’s “Purple Pills.”
“Dance until you’re wheelchair-bound, here we go/Yеah, horseback, little do-si-do/Little bit of soul mixеd with some rodeo/Everybody in the world’s gonna laugh to this/Shit, I’ll probably end up crippled after this, come on” — “Brand New Dance”
Slim Shady’s Reeve-trolling continued with “Brand New Dance,” where he playfully calls the late actor to dance, something he couldn’t do because:
1. He was paralyzed
“Yeah, but you pick on handicapped people with no limbs/Well then, fuck you, Chris Reeves, and the horse that he rode in” — “Road Rage”
Christopher Reeve—or, as Slim says “Reeves”—is once again his target of choice for this one, even if it’s clearly a recurring joke. The horse reference here makes it all even more nihilistic, but what else do you expect from Slim Shady in his last hurrah?
“And I know that Chris Reeves song was recorded in 2004 for ‘Encore’/ Fuck’d you take it off for?/’Cause he died, man, that motherfucker did that bullshit on purpose to ruin the song for us” — “Guilty Conscience 2”
Man, Slim just won’t leave Christopher Reeve alone. On the album standout “Guilty Conscience 2,” he admits to originally recording “Brand New Dance” for Encore, only to remove it following Reeve’s death in 2004. (He died about a month before Em’s album dropped.)
Diddy
“Next idiot ask me is getting his ass beat worse than/Diddy did Cassie/But on the real, though/She probably ran out the room with his fuckin’ dildo/He try to field goal punt her, she said to chill/Now put it back in my ass and get the steel toe” — “Antichrist”
On The Death of Slim Shady, Eminem uses most of his venom for Diddy, a figure he’s had a checkered past with. On his 2018 Machine Gun Kelly diss, “Killshot,” Eminem accuses Diddy of having Tupac Shakur killed. For his part, Diddy allegedly responded while speaking to Joe Budden, suggesting that the matter was being handled. Doesn’t seem like the matter was ever handled?
Well, in “Antichrist,” Em makes specific reference to the infamous 2016 Diddy and Cassie video that leaked earlier this year, while adding in a “no diddy” joke.
“We can just say (What?)/I’m like an R-A-P-E-R (Yeah)/Got so many S-As (S-As), S-As (Huh)/Wait, he didn’t just spell the word ‘rapper’ and leave out a P, did he? (Yep)” — “Fuel”
Eminem makes more references to the many abuse allegations leveled at the disgraced entertainment mogul. This is probably one of the lazier Em disses on the album, but it counts.
“This is subterfuge, just to screw with you/And yeah, this much is true/This sounds like something that Puff would do/At the party with Aaron Hall ’cause I just love to fuck with you” — “Bad One”
In another Diddy jab, Em points toward his alleged sex parties, which led to a variety of allegations against the Bad Boy Records founder.
Caitlyn Jenner
“Holy shit, Cait’ Jenner just flipped (Yo)/Told me knock this shit off and quit, and get off her dick (Damn)” — “Evil”
Here, Slim makes light of Caitlyn Jenner’s gender transition—or, he makes it clear that he doesn’t realize that she’s gotten gender-affirming surgery and had her penis removed years ago. Or, he’s speaking metaphorically. Either way, it’s a quippy barb directed at the controversial former reality TV star.
Candace Owens
“And Candace O, I ain’t mad at her (Ah)/I ain’t gon’ throw the fact bitch forgot she was Black back at her/Laugh at her like them crackers she’s backin’ after her back is turned/In a cute MAGA hat with her brand-new White Lives Matter shirt (Haha, nope)/Or say this MAGA dirtbag in a skirt” — “Lucifer”
In what might just be the hardest bars on the whole album, Em dissects Candace Owens with an incisive joke about her MAGA support. The humor here is as impressive as the rhyme scheme, making this an example of Shady in prime form.
“Yeah, this whole sub-genre with all these corny white rappers, I’m not a fan of it/It ain’t my fault, but like sock puppets, I had a hand in it/This thousand bucks in my hand is just like what Candace did/When she turned her back on her own race ’cause I have abandoned it”— “Bad One”
If you’re annoyed by Black conservatives and artists who’ve spent their career imitating post 2009 Em, you’ll love this couplet. In a sharp two-for-one special, Em shades the boundless corny White rappers he inspired before once again dissing Candace Owens.
Owens didn’t take these disses lightly. She responded by calling Eminem an “internally gay man” and declaring that fans should “pray” for him. Expect more Em disses soon.
Amber Heard
“We squashed the beef like a hamburger patty, or should I say gigantic turd?/’Cause I put that shit to bed like Amber Heard at a Mattress Firm (Slut)” — “Lucifer”
Here, Em alludes to Johnny Depp’s claim that the actor’s abuse accuser, Amber Heard, threw feces onto their bed. In itself this would just be a name-drop, but because of the sexist slur he throws in for the background, this counts as a diss.
Lamar Odom
“So whether you friend or you are foe (Woah)Far as bars go, even fuckin’ retards know (Yeah)That as far as smoke with me, I don’t think it’d be smart, so (Woah)/Might as well go lookin’ for smoke with Lamar, bro (Yeah, yeah)/But, Marshall” — “Lucifer”
Lamar Odom catches a stray here when Em suggests that having smoke with the mighty Slim Shady is akin to doing drugs like the former Los Angeles Laker did. Em previously dissed Odom on his 2013 single “Berserk,” where he made reference to him being with “the ugly Kardashian”—which, of course, was Odom’s ex wife Khloé Kardashian.
Ye
“Don’t wanna see me goin’ off the deep end like Ye, ayy (No, nah) — “Antichrist”
This one is self-explanatory: Over the last 10 or so years, Kanye’s evolved from an outwardly conscious, pro-black celeb to… whatever he’s doing now. Some, like Em, would say he’s gone crazy, hence the diss here.
“Brain is dead, space cadet/Like when ’Ye forgets to take his meds” — “Bad One”
Eminem throws another, more directly offensive barb at Kanye here, claiming that Kanye simply acts like a total idiot when he forgets to take medication, presumably for his alleged bipolar disorder.
Ben Affleck & Seth Green
“With Ben Affleck, me, and Seth Green hangin’ on to the left wing/Of Jeffrey Epstein’s jet screamin’, ‘Hey, don’t forget me’ (Haha)”— “Antichrist”
In a quip that’s clearly just an absurdist joke, Em pokes fun at himself, Ben Affleck and Seth Green being named on a fake flight log documenting folks who visited disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous Island.
DJ Paul
“Like James Todd, now your arms are too short to BK brawl Indeed, they small like DJ Paul” — “Fuel”
DJ Paul was born with Erb’s Palsy. This explains why his right arm is smaller than his left (and why he calls it his “baby arm.) This also explains this shot, which is relatively small but cheap. We don’t condone Oscar-winner on Oscar-winner verbal violence.
Alec Baldwin
“Fuck around and get popped like Halyna Hutchins/Like I’m Alec Baldwin, what I mean is buckin’ you down”— “Fuel”
Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case was dismissed the same day Eminem dropped his new album, which sees Em reference the tragedy in an ill-advised punchline about the woman that was killed. But in effect, he’s calling Baldwin a murderer which—yeah, that’s a diss.
Lizzo
“It’s what it is though, but this is show biz, so things/Ain’t never really truly over ’til Lizzo sings (Like I won’t say that)”— “Road Rage”
Lizzo proudly calls herself “fat,” a term that has been reclaimed. Em is nodding to the “it isn’t over until the fat lady sings” adage, using Lizzo as the replacement for the “fat lady.” Pretty straightforward stuff here.
Megan Thee Stallion
“And you know I’m here to stay ’cause me/If I was to ever take a leave, It would be aspirin to break a feve/If I was to ask for Megan Thee Stallion if she would collab with me/Would I really have a shot at a feat?”— “Houdini”
In his first Death of Slim Shady single, Em nods to the moment Megan Thee Stallion was shot in her feet four years ago. Tory Lanez was found guilty on three charges related to the shooting. It’s a crass line, but the wordplay is pretty clever.
R. Kelly
“In the coupe leaning back my seat/Bumpin’ R. Kelly’s favorite group, the Black guy pees/In my Air Max 90s”— “Houdini”
This one’s a childish, if totally justified joke at R. Kelly’s expense. There’s a Black Eyed Peas double meaning here, but it’s not a shot at the crew.
David Carradine
“No, it’s not, it’s embarrassing/Like David Carradine found with a pair of jeans at his ankles and belt ’round his larynx”— “Guilty Conscience 2”
When he’s not battling against his alter ego, Eminem still makes time for some jokes at other folks’ expense—whether they’re alive to enjoy or hate them or not. For this one, he makes light of Kill Bill star David Carradine, who died of suspected auto-erotic asphyxiation in 2009.
Ja Rule
“When I say, ‘Fuck midgets,’ I mean Ja Rule (Oh)”— “Guilty Conscience 2”
No detective work needed for this one. In part because of 50 Cent, Em’s been beefing with Ja Rule for over 20 years now, and he continues with the most straightforward, pantheon diss there is: a short joke. Sometimes the classics just work.
MGK
“But I gotta keep going Tyson on Kelly (What?)/I bodied him twice and already/That little motherfucker’s back throwing subs like a food fight at the deli”— “Bad One”
Looks like Em isn’t done with Machine Gun Kelly. According to Em, MGK’s been throwing some subliminals his way years after “Killshot.” He throws a light jab here. Time will only tell if this will start another back and forth.
Dr. Dre
“Might start a feud with Dre (Yeah)/And ask him to shoot the fade (What it do?)” — “Evil”
Nothing says Vintage Slim Shady like a threat against Dr. Dre. Here, Em simply runs through some hypothetical violence as he name-drops his mentor for more very childish mischief. Obviously, this is just Em continuing a 25-year-old bit (he performed with Dre at the Super Bowl, after all, and Dre produced multiple songs on this very album). But Em’s disses are usually mischievous little quips anyway, so these are still fighting words, jokes or not.
“But you can all suck my dick, in fact/Fuck them, fuck Dre, fuck Jimmy, fuck me, fuck you, fuck my own kids they’re brats”—”Houdini”
After dissing Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine—aka, some of his first and most important supporters—Em even takes the time to say fuck himself and his own kids. He’s nothing if not thorough.
Skylar Grey
“Even when stakes are high as the price of an angus, I filet/By the way, I think I just gave Skylar Gray Hepatitis A (Ew)” — “Evil”
In another playful quip, Em claims he gave an STD to his frequent collaborator Skylar Grey. It’s some cartoonish shit, but hey, still counts. A playful jab is still a jab, as Dr. Dre and many others on Death of Slim Shady can attest. Seeing as Skylar has vocals on this album and has actively promoted it, it’s safe to say there are no real hard feelings here.
Melle Mel
“Get dissed though and by a pioneer/Who was one of the reasons why I am here/They tell me I should just let that shit go and slide/’Melle Mel shouldn’t get no reply’/‘That man is a legend,’ bitch, so am I”— “Tobey”
Everyone remembers Melle Mel dissing Eminem last year. And of course, Em got his get back on last year’s Ez Mil track, “Realest.” But he decided to spin the block—lightly—by sending more shots Mel’s way.
