Antichrist

Album: The Death of Slim Shady (2024)
Charted: 39
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Eminem's 12th album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), released on July 12, 2024, tackles the demise of his iconic shock rap persona, Slim Shady.

    We first met Slim Shady in the video for "My Name Is," the debut single from Eminem's major-label breakthrough, The Slim Shady LP. This foul-mouthed alter ego of Marshall Mathers III propelled him to superstardom with a potent mix of dark humor and a penchant for pushing boundaries.

    But hip-hop has grown up, and folks aren't feeling Slim's offensive lyrics any more. Now he's in his 50s and Em's finally saying goodbye to that side.

    The Death of Slim Shady switches between two versions of Marshall Mathers: Eminem, the regular, albeit foul-mouthed, dude; and Slim, the obnoxious troublemaker. Shady kidnaps Em at the start, and Shady pulls out all the stops to be as offensive as possible, resorting to the same tired jokes about women, the disabled, members of the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups. But then two-thirds of the way through the album on "Guilty Conscience 2," Eminem shoots Shady dead - the Coup de Grâce of the title.

    But before we get to that track, we find "Antichrist," with Slim Shady still at large. Continuing the dark theme of preceding tracks like "Evil" and "Lucifer," he doubles down on his role as a music industry troublemaker.
  • On "Antichrist," Shady goes full nuclear on this whole "woke" business. He unleashes his classic super-dirty rhymes and throws major diss at such fallen celebs as Kanye, Diddy and Jeffrey Epstein. He brings back his old beefs and keeps spitting fire at anyone who tries to control him.
  • "Antichrist" must have been one of the last tracks Eminem recorded for The Death of Slim Shady because he references the video of Diddy assaulting R&B singer and ex Cassie Ventura. The surveillance footage was released in May 2024.
  • Eminem teams up with Bizarre from his old crew D12. Bizarre is known for his slow, hard-hitting flow and vulgar lyrics. He closes out "Antichrist" with a verse as twisted and disturbing as his bars on "Amityville" from The Marshall Mathers LP.
  • Behind the beat, it's all Em with some extra help from Resto and Foulmouth, keeping the sound raw and uncut.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?