Guess who’s back? Eminem returns with “Houdini”a new single, accompanied by a great video. Eminem teased the release earlier this week in a FaceTime with David Blaine: The clip ended with the magician eating a glass of wine and the rapper declaring, “Well, for my last trick, I’m going to make my career disappear.” “Houdini” offers fans a first taste of Eminem’s twelfth album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), which will be out soon.
“Houdini” is produced by himself Eminem and, continuing the theme, features a sample and interpolation of the Steve Miller Band’s 1982 hit, “Abracadabra.” The clip imagines Eminem’s antagonist character, Slim Shady, emerging in the present day through a “portal,” and finds himself confused and unsettled by what he sees in 2024. Determined to shape the modern era into a place more suited to his unique vision of the world, embarks on a mission to do exactly that.
Only Eminem’s current 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 wrong and an unholy hybrid version of Eminem is created. Dr. Dre is the least thrilled with the results, hastily abandoning the Shady hybrid to continue alone… until an errant stranger joins in and takes the wheel. He guesses who’s back, actually.
Directed by long-time collaborator Rich Lee (“Not Afraid,” “The Monster,” “Venom,” etc.), the groundbreaking video “Houdini” It loosely recalls classic Eminem videos like Joseph Khan’s “Without Me” and Atwell’s Phillip “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 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 overseeing production.
