Eminem returned Tuesday with his second “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)" single, “Tobey,” alongside Detroit native Big Sean and metro Detroit emcee Babytron.
Fans were perplexed when the track didn’t drop at the assumed midnight hour, but he officially released it 12 hours later. Right down to the single cover art, which nods to a Spider-Man meme, “Tobey” refers to the comic franchise and one of its film stars. “Tobey Maguire got bit by a spider but see, me? It was a goat,” begins the track.
Babytron and Big Sean warm up the song for the rapper about halfway through the track, spending his verse establishing his place in the top five firmament in hip-hop. “Ain’t feeling 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,” he raps.
The verse is most likely inspired by remarks Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 made last year, claiming that the only reason that Eminem is considered top five is because he’s white.
Em addressed this in a subsequent feature on Ez Mil’s “Realest,” which dropped in August, but still, he elaborates on “Tobey”: “So when I get dissed though by a pioneer who is one of the reasons why I am here / They tell me that I should just let the shit go and slide / Melle Mel shouldn’t get no reply, that man is a legend / B***h, so am I.”
Fans seem pretty impressed by what early online reactions suggest, pointing out some of their favorite bars and remarking on all MCs' lyrical capabilities.
The release comes fresh off the rapper announcing a July 12 release date for his upcoming album“The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)".
Eminem has been on somewhat of a nostalgia kick in the rollout for “The Death of Slim Shady” with the release a few weeks back of “Houdini,” a callback to his 2002 single “Without Me,” right down the music video where he’s dressed like a superhero navigating a comic strip world.
He announced “The Death of Slim Shady” during the NFL Draft in April with a Detroit Murder Files crime show teaser.
The rapper hinted that the project would be framed around the demise of his classic alter ego. He later ran an obituary in the Detroit Free Press saying farewell to Slim Shady.
Little is known about “The Death of Slim Shady,” as Eminem has been coy about details. With the album announcement, he stated that it would come sometime this summer, and Dr. Dre has already revealed that he has contributed to production for the record.
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