Eminem‘s twelfth studio album is less than two weeks away from going live, and its second single has now dropped.
On Tuesday (June 2), the rap veteran released “Tobey” in partnership with fellow Detroit MCs Big Sean and BabyTron. Joining the never-ending debate over the greatest rappers of all time, the 51-year-old asserts his dominance in the culture, while addressing those who have questioned it.
“Ain’t feelin’ your top five favorite rappers/ So I know they ’bout to be pissed at me/ But this, to me, is a mystery/ How rappers I’ve already ripped could be/ Higher up on a list than me/ Yet here I sit on your list though at five (Hm), which still was fine/ But just know inside, to me, that shit’s hilarious,” he spits on the explosive track.
Shifting his focus to Melle Mel’s recent criticism of his place in Hip Hop, Em adds: “When I 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.”
Directed by Cole Bennett, the music video for the new joint will go live on Friday (July 5).
The Death of Slim Shady (Coupe De Grâce) is scheduled to be released on July 12.
Last month, Eminem kickstarted its rollout by releasing an obituary for his fictional alter ego, Slim Shady. Published in the Detroit Free Press back in mid-May, the piece was was centered on the forthcoming LP.
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Accompanied by a picture of the 8 Mile star wearing a Jason Voorhees-style hockey mask reminiscent of his younger days, the article stated that “Fans ‘Will Never Forget’ [The] Controversial Rapper” in the subheading.
The body read: “A product of Detroit who began his career there as a rogue splinter in the flourishing underground rap scene of the mid to late 1990s, Shady first became a household name in 1999 with the debut of his playfully deranged single ‘My Name Is,’ which — along with its uniquely eye catching video — exposed the young artist and his lyrics to a wider audience.
“Ultimately, the very things that seemed to be the tools he used became calling cards that defined an existence that could only come to a sudden and horrific end. His complex and tortured existence has come to a close, and the legacy he leaves behind is no closer to resolution than the manner in which this character departed this world. May he truly find the peace in an afterlife that he could not find on Earth.”
