Eminem Says He Invented Slim Shady Because ‘My Life Was F—ed Up’ — but It ‘Actually Made S— Worse’

Eminem Says He Invented Slim Shady Because ‘My Life Was F—ed Up’ — but It ‘Actually Made S— Worse’

Before officially bidding farewell to Slim Shady, Eminem had a heart-to-heart with his alter-ego.

In a video special titled Slim Shady vs. Mashall Mathers: The Face-Off for his Complex cover story on Tuesday, July 30, Eminem reflected on the impact Slim Shady — which has been a part of his career since his 1997 Slim Shady and 1999 The Slim Shady LPs — had on his life.

“I invented you because my life was f—ed up. My music was going nowhere and I was broke,” Eminem, 51, told a younger and AI version of himself.

 

“You didn’t fix anything. You actually made that s— worse,” he continued. “You’re the reason I had to self-medicate.” Because of you I almost lost my f—ing career, my f—ing family, my life.”

 

He concluded, “Life’s been great since you’ve been gone.”

The face-off comes after Eminem released his latest studio album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) on July 12. Hours before its release, Eminem told fans on X (formerly Twitter), “Public service announcement: the ‘death of slim shady’ is a conceptual album, therefore, if you listen to songs out of order they might not make sense. Enjoy.”

In May, Eminem shared an obituary for Slim Shady in the Detroit Free Press, declaring him dead ahead of the album release.

 

“A product of Detroit who began his career there as a rogue splinter in the flourishing underground rap scene of the mid to late 1990s, Shady first became a household name in 1999 with the debut of his playfully deranged single ‘My Name Is,’” the piece read, “which — along with its uniquely eye catching video — exposed the young artist and his lyrics to a wider audience.”

The obituary continued, “Ultimately, the very things that seemed to be the tools he used became calling cards that defined an existence that could only come to a sudden and horrific end. His complex and tortured existence has come to a close, and the legacy he leaves behind is no closer to resolution than the manner in which this character departed this world.”