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2nd June 2024
01:47pm BST
Eminem has taken aim at fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion in his new song Houdini, referencing the 2020 shooting involving Tory Lanez.
Houdini is the rapper’s first single release in years, having mostly featured on other artists tracks of late, and it’s the first taste that fans have received of his upcoming album The Death of Slim Shady, which is due out later this year.
The track opens with a skit from Eminem’s longtime manager Paul Rosenberg, who calls up the rapper to tell him: "Hey Em, it’s Paul, uh, I was listening to the album… good f***ing luck, you’re on your own," before hanging up the phone. Then, Eminem’s most famous melody "guess who’s back, back again" kicks in.
Houdini uses the same iconic hook from the 2002 hit Without Me and similarly sees the 8 Mile star taking aim at critics, friends and his own family, which includes daughters Hailie Jade Scott, Alaina Scott and Stevie Laine Scott.
One line reads: "F**k my own kids, they’re brats. They can screw off, them and you all."
The video features cameos from Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Pete Davidson, 50 Cent and comedian Shane Gillis.
Em also namechecks Megan Thee Stallion with a line that references her 2020 shooting by rapper Tory Lanez: "If I was to ask for Megan Thee (What?)/ Stallion if she would collab with me/ Would I really have a shot at a feat?."
The Canadian shot Megan in the feet after they got into an argument on the way home from a pool party hosted by Kylie Jenner in July of 2020. At one point during the argument, Megan demanded to be let out of the vehicle. Lanez then started shooting at the ground and shouted at her to "dance."
Last August, Lanez was jailed for 10 years for the shooting.
Megan, 28, required surgery to remove bullet fragments from her foot.
The 31-year-old, who has had seven US top 10 albums in the past seven years, was found guilty of three gun-related charges last December – assault with a semi-automatic firearm; having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle; and discharging a firearm with gross negligence – and has been in jail since.
Though Megan Thee Stallion has not commented on Eminem’s song, she has previously slammed rappers for seeking "clout" by using the shooting as a diss.
In 2022, Drake rapped in his song with 21 Savage, Circo Loco, that "this b— lie ‘bout getting shots, but she still a stallion"—which many interpreted to be a diss suggesting Megan Thee Stallion fabricated the shooting incident.
She fired back on social media: "Since when tf is it cool to joke abt women getting shot!"
Megan Thee Stallion responds to reaction to a line off Circo Loco, on Drake and 21’s new album pic.twitter.com/IebVbIQXYE
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 4, 2022
Fans of both artists will be keen to see if she responds in the same way to Eminem's call out.
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