Eminem Reappears with Single + Music Video, “Houdini”

Guess who’s back? Eminem returns with “Houdini,” a hard-hitting new single with a fitting video. Eminem teased the drop earlier this week in a FaceTime with David Blaine — the clip ended with the magician eating a wine glass and the rapper declaring, “Well, for my last trick, I’m gonna make my career disappear.” “Houdini” gives fans the first taste of Eminem’s 12th album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), due this summer.

“Houdini” is produced by Eminem himself and, continuing the theme, features a sample and interpolation of Steve Miller Band’s 1982 hit, “Abracadabra.” The accompanying clip imagines Eminem’s antagonist character, Slim Shady, emerging in the present day via a “portal”—and finds himself confused and unsettled by what he sees in 2024. Determined to mould the modern era into a place more suited to his unique worldview, he sets off on a mission to do that. Only current-day Eminem’s alter-alter ego, “Rap Boy,” can save the world from Shady, along with his long-time mentor, the legendary Dr. Dre.

In an effort to neutralize these nefarious actions, things go sideways, and an unholy hybrid version of Eminem is created. Dr. Dre is less than thrilled with the results and hastily leaves the hybrid Shady to continue on his own… until a wandering stranger joins in and takes the wheel. Guess who’s back, indeed.

Directed by long-running collaborator Rich Lee (“Not Afraid,” “The Monster,” “Venom,” etc.), the innovative “Houdini” video freely calls back to classic Eminem videos such as Joseph Khan’s “Without Me” and Phillip Atwell’s “Real Slim Shady.” “Houdini” is packed with cameos, including Dr. Dre, Pete Davidson, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Jimmy Iovine, Grip, Westside Boogie, Denaun Porter, Royce da 5’ 9”, Paul Rosenberg, The Alchemist, EZ Mil, Ryan Keely, Samantha Mack, and comedian Shane Gillis. The generative AI used in the video was created by Metaphysic, with Jo Plaete and Chris Ume supervising production.

Rich Lee speaks on the video by mentioning:

“What if Shady from the 2000s got teleported into the modern day and we got his take on what the world has become… and what if ‘Rap Boy’ was the only person who could stop him? But, 20+ years have passed so there’s a little less stamina and some bad knees. The crazy combination of new tech that made this music video possible. We are in such an awesome time now for filmmaking, and we were able to leverage so much of the great tech we have at hand.”

The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) will be Eminem’s first album since 2020’s Music to Be Murdered By, which not only topped the Billboard 200 but also was the artist’s tenth to do so. That set was packed with a generation and genre-spanning guest list, ranging from Dr. Dre to Ed Sheeran to Juice Wrld. Not much has yet been revealed about the forthcoming full-length, but fans have been searching for clues in a special episode of Detroit Murder Files and a mysterious obituary published in the Detroit Free Press. Dr. Dre has confirmed his involvement.

Eminem “Houdini” single artwork