The Fading Glory of the Legendary Rapper: Criticized as ‘Immature,’ Media Outlets Mocking the Icon

Eminem made a comeback after a four-year hiatus, but unfortunately, this return did not meet expectations.

The Return of the Rap King: After the buzz generated by his singles ‘Houdini’ and ‘Tobey,’ legendary rapper Eminem has officially released his new album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), marking his comeback after a four-year hiatus since his 2020 album.

Eminem’s latest studio album, *The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)*, has debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with 281,000 equivalent album units, according to Billboard and data from Luminate. This album has achieved the highest first-week sales among rap albums released in 2024, with 164,500 albums sold, equivalent to 220 million official on-demand streams, 114,000 digital album downloads, and 2,500 physical copies sold.

With *The Death of Slim Shady* marking Eminem’s 11th number-one album, he joins the ranks of Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, and Kanye West, securing his place as the artist with the fifth-most number-one albums on this prestigious chart.

With its success on the charts, *The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)* has managed to dethrone Taylor Swift’s album *The Tortured Poets Department*, which had held the number-one spot for 12 consecutive weeks. This was the best chart performance of the 34-year-old pop singer’s career, with her album maintaining the top position for three months straight. However, with Eminem’s “storm,” *The Tortured Poets Department* has fallen to number four on the chart this week.

To promote his album, Eminem launched a unique campaign featuring tombstone and obituary imagery in the Detroit Free Press, encouraging fans to listen to the album in the intended track order. Thematically centered around his career and the controversies that have marked his musical journey, *The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)* is seen as a final farewell to the Slim Shady persona—a character closely associated with Eminem’s legacy.

The album is packed with controversial themes and gimmicks reminiscent of Eminem’s previous works. Tracks like “Road Rage” are a critique of the body positivity movement, while “Bad One” makes light of Kanye West/Ye’s mental health struggles.

Despite his efforts to inject controversy and scandal into his comeback album, Eminem—who seemed to have retired with his 2020 release, *Music to Be Murdered By*—has garnered only limited attention, particularly in relation to contemporary female rapper Megan Thee Stallion. After this incident, Eminem struggled to generate enough buzz to captivate younger audiences, who are the primary consumers in today’s music market.

Despite the album’s buzz, it has faced significant criticism and negative reviews from critics. Music reviewers have consistently awarded it below-average scores, with *Album Of The Year* even suggesting that the album represents a desperate attempt by a rapper in his 50s to connect with younger audiences, implying that Eminem should consider retiring.

When Eminem’s latest album received a 4.8/10 rating from Pitchfork, he immediately came under scrutiny from an unlikely critic: Peppa Pig. The animated character, who scored a 6.5 on Pitchfork for her album, has become a benchmark of sorts, representing a “nightmare” for any album scoring below 6.5. This score has become a symbolic threshold, implying that if an album fails to surpass 6.5, it falls short even compared to a cartoon character. Taylor Swift’s *The Tortured Poets Department* also faced Peppa Pig’s critical glare with a 6.0/10 rating.

Pitchfork criticized *The Death of Slim Shady* for its outdated feel, accusing the album of recycling Eminem’s familiar themes of American bloodlust and reflecting the zeitgeist of book-banning thinkers and armed protesters.

“The report states, ‘Even if he is self-aware of becoming an older white man fearful of a changing culture, Eminem seems unable to confront this truth. He remains one of the best-selling and most-streamed artists in the U.S., but Eminem is constantly on the defensive, like a wealthy barbarian at the city gate, working tirelessly to convince critics that he deserves praise.’

Rolling Stone offered a modest rating of just 2 stars for the album, with a particularly scathing headline: ‘He Tried Hard!’ The once-great rapper now sounds like a star sweating profusely, desperately trying to reassure everyone that he’s still in his prime.”

Regardless of what truly motivated Eminem to complete and release his new album, it cannot be for money, fame, or any particular opinions he needs to share. The rapper is a sensitive soul who craves recognition. The report also finds it amusing that Eminem chose to revisit issues from 20 years ago, such as blaming women for his problems, fearing transgender individuals, being upset by the idea of eccentric people doing eccentric things, and still complaining about his mother.

The article suggests that this is not the future anyone hoped for Eminem. Even at the height of his career in 2001, he exhibited similar traits. After all these years, it’s evident that Eminem could achieve more both musically and personally—if only he truly wanted to rise up and move forward.

Variety took a more measured approach, noting, “After all, who is Eminem without Slim Shady?” The new album is described as calm and contemplative, reminiscent of his 2017 release *Revival*. The author suggests it is unfortunate if Eminem relies too heavily on the chaos of the Slim Shady persona and its immaturity, overshadowing the legacy he has built over the years.

However, the magazine also acknowledges that the album has its highlights, such as Eminem’s introspective moments and the track “Temporary,” featuring Skylar Grey. This song includes a poignant tribute to his daughter Hailie, incorporating a recording of her as a child, which is seen as a touching reminder of Eminem’s love for her during a time of personal loss.

Sputnik Music, known for its focus on rapper releases, offered some praise for the album despite giving it a score of 3.7. The review reflected on the inevitable return of Slim Shady in 2024: “Unfortunately, despite all the wit and sharp honesty of Slim Shady, he is a daring teenager with youthful rebellion—something Eminem cannot sustain indefinitely. However, the issue is that this persona has become the main benchmark for evaluating his work since its removal in 1997.”

The site views *The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)* as Eminem’s best album since *The Marshall Mathers LP2*. The review suggests that Eminem sees potential in bringing Slim Shady back, as it provides him an opportunity to make a significant impact once more.

Despite the varied opinions, one thing that netizens unanimously agree on is that the album has only made an impact within Eminem’s own fanbase or among dedicated rap enthusiasts. With the “disappearance” of singles and a “diminished” influence on forums, even with the return of Slim Shady, Eminem’s next moves remain a significant question mark for many.