Eminem is both apologetic and shameless on his new album.
The 51-year-old rapper is facing backlash on social media over a reference to Alec Baldwin's Rust shooting on his new album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), which was released on Friday. In a track titled "Fuel," Eminem includes insensitive lyrics about the victim: "F**k around and get popped like Halyna Hutchins."
On Friday, Baldwin's trial was dismissed with prejudice. The 66-year-old actor was standing trial for one count of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the fatal shooting of Rustcinematographer Hutchins on the set of his film in October 2021. Rust director Joel Souza was also injured.
"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."
He continues, "You’re gonna suffer the f**kin' repercussions / The reaper's comin' to heathen and I need it from me / I keep replenishing fuel while the beat I'm punishin.'"
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. The rapper shares three children with his ex-wife, Kim Scott: Hailie Jade Scott, 28, Alaina Scott, 31, and Stevie Laine Scott, 22.
The song heavily samples Jelly Roll's 2023 hit, "Save Me," and opens with a recording of Eminem shrugging off a younger version of his daughter Alaina’s pleas for him to come eat with her, after which the "Halfway To Hell" musician’s voice jumps in.
"Somebody save me, me from myself," the country singer sings in the snippet. "I've spent so long living in Hell."
Eminem proceeds to dedicate bars to all three of his kids, openly apologizing for his past history of choosing drugs over his children. "I don’t even deserve the father title/ Hailie, I’m so sorry/ I know I wasn't there for your first guitar recital," he raps. "Alaina, sorry that you had to hear me fall in the bathroom … Stevie, I’m sorry, I missed you grow up and I didn't get to be the dad I wanted to be to you."
In between Eminem's verses, Jelly Roll's emotional chorus fades in and out. "They say my lifestyle is bad for my health," he belts. "It's the only thing that seems to help."
Last month, Eminem and Jelly Roll gave a surprise performance together at the Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central where the two sang several verses of Eminem's hit song "Lose Yourself."
Eminem performs at Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central on June 6.
Jelly Roll later spoke to ET at the CMA Fest in June, where he dished about his performance with Eminem, calling it one of the "coolest" moments of his life.
"When I think about coolest moments of my career, right now at the top, there has to be this thing that I got to go sing with Eminem in Detroit," he said. "I got to sing 'Sing for the Moment' with him, which is a record where he sampled Steven Tyler. I mean, just what an incredible night and I got to go do it in Detroit. It was unreal."
Jelly Roll -- whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord -- said that Eminem (whose real name is Marshall Mathers) had his team reach out for the surprise performance.
"Em reached out, his team reached out and said, 'Would you be interested in doing this since he was already there doing the secret tribute?' I couldn't believe it. I thought it was a joke until I met Eminem himself."
He added, "I thought I was being joked! I even know Eminem's manager. He's a friend of mine. He's really good to me. His name is Paul and I was like, 'Paul, don't play.' He was like, 'I swear.' And as soon as I met Eminem, it was like the coolest moment ever, man."
Jelly Roll couldn't contain his excitement.
"I was giddy, like a child," the "Wild Ones" singer said. "You could see it all over my performance. Just the kid in me. I thought the camera was off of me. So as soon as I get through singing, I'm like, whoa, I just let this steamroller out. It's really cool."
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