Estelle Clifford: Eminem - The Death of Slim Shady

Eminem’s newly released album ‘The Death of Slim Shady’ has had a mixed reception.  

Many critics are calling it a mixed bag, saying it feels like yet another late-period Eminem album as opposed to anything new. 

The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis says the album “has successes and misfires in equal measure. It’s not bad enough to count as terrible, not good enough to count as great.” 

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on the new release. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks at b Wells.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Friday Night, Nor Date for the Bob just got quite
checking out by the mind spending from school for setting
off the alarm. Keep some keep screaming you're gonna drop
the bomb in anyway every day. I'm gonna get it
right here. That is em and m You know the
voice immediately. His new album is called the Death of
Slim Shady. That song is called Brand New Dance, and

(00:38):
our music reviewers Dell Clifford has been listening Good Morning for.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
Jess Olvis had to work cut out for her today
where we've hit a cut every swear word known to man,
which you would imagine as part of a Slim Shady album.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, I reckon. He's one of these people who obviously
devise people in terms of his music. But I think
you'd have to be a pretty miserable person to listen
to Slim Shady and listen to Eminem and not agree
that he has a really profound talent.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Oh absolutely, that's what is evident in this album. So
you've gone back to this place where you're like, WHOA
this dude can still do those rap belts that he
does where it's so fast you're like, where does he
even breathe? So he still has all of that going
on in here, and then he has those catchy like
that tune their brand new dance typical shady A like

(01:29):
it's catchy beat the Matlady. You're kind of getting taken
away with it and you're like, oh man, this is
kind of fun and it sounds innocent.

Speaker 4 (01:36):
And then you're like he's just bagging Christopher Reeves again,
like oh my gosh, you're going to go back there,
but with some other I don't know, he has clever wordplay.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
And so that's still very evidence in slim Shady as well.
And I think if you just revisit this, because this
is the whole chat about to day, like, ye, the
world is different since nineteen ninety nine, so can you
still say the same stuff and get away with it?
And then if you think slim Shady is an alter ego,
is that what then makes it okay to say some

(02:08):
of the stuff. So this is the final blow, right,
this is the album that's meant to take out slim Shady,
but it kind of leaves you going, does it.

Speaker 4 (02:17):
For me?

Speaker 3 (02:18):
Anyway? He has advised. Eminem has advised that you should
listen from start to finish. So since like, you know,
midnight last night when it finally came out.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
You've been working hard.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yeah, there's nothing like went into your child goes to bed,
and then I'm like, wow, she's going to hear these
words eventually, so why not on a Saturday morning at
our house.

Speaker 4 (02:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:40):
It's a real interesting listen for the fact that I
think you can innocently listen to it for all the
clever beats and you know, the production work where you're like, oh,
that's so catchy, and he uses threads from past music
and albums, so it's like got that nostalgia vibe about
it that brings you in. There's a track called Lucifer
and it's got like this little looped rhythm melody that's

(03:04):
going through it that sounds like you're my Greek wedding,
like something off the movie.

Speaker 4 (03:08):
And so again you're like, oh gosh, this is so catchy.

Speaker 3 (03:11):
And then he's just just sing on political commentator Kendice Owens.

Speaker 4 (03:16):
And Mega.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
So you know, like I think that's the thing about
Slim Shady. You kind of can delve a little deeper
every time you sort of listen to it. Who Deni
is one of the first singles he released in anticipation
of this album coming out. He incorporates Ebraca Debra, which
I think we're going to play some of from Steve
Miller games. And when I just say it like that,

(03:37):
you'll be like what. But as soon as you Abra
Cabra Na Nana and Steve Miller is all like, yes,
Eminem totally use one of my songs. He called them
one of those timeless originators who can take classics, put
their own spin on them and use them, but also
knows to credit the person who originally did it as

(03:58):
a post that it's ripping stuff off. Yeah, he's very aware,
isn't He likes Eminem slim shady Marshall methods. He's very
aware of what's socially around, what's politically around, what's going
on on TikTok, what's going on on social media, because
then he just puts it all in to his album
and then randomly, halfway through the album gets emotional about

(04:20):
his daughter and you go back to one of those
places you know where he.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Pens seems really like amazingly well rounded and normal. Is
that fair age another world yeah, where you're like, oh man, oh,
you know, Eminem's probably have had a pretty crazy life,
but she just seems really cool.

Speaker 3 (04:41):
Well maybe she's just had some other really normal people
behind the scenes to help and guide the way. She's
been able to see her dad for who he is.
I think that's the other thing, though. He's never shied
away from who he is totally, and he's given that
exactly to his kids, and he apologizes it for it
profusely in nearly every single album. Yeah, but it's funny,
right because he's getting taken away with some of these
real big slams and then suddenly you get all emotional

(05:04):
and this vulnerable layer comes out. And he finished the
album like that as well, which I think is supposed
to be that final see your latest Sliming, But I
don't know. I mean, this is just an album where
he's like, he's just spitting out stuff about you know,
the woke society, and there's so many references about Caitlyn
Jenner and also being gay, and I'm like, I don't

(05:27):
what's the thing with Tena and yeah and the whole
I'm willing to accept people, but do we have to
be so woke about it with all the different pronouns
and things like that. And then I'm like that again,
is that just because Slim Shady can get away of
saying that he has arguments with himself in the album Eminem?

Speaker 2 (05:44):
It sounds at the very least like it's like worth
listening just from that kind of conceptual perspective. So what
did you give it?

Speaker 3 (05:51):
Yeah, I'm giving it a seven out of ten. Some
are saying his best album ever. I'm not quite there. Yeah,
I think I still love nineteen ninety nine slim Shady,
but he's still clever, and he's still incredible with the
co labs and the work that he does. And I think,
just out of social interest, you want to hear it,
you know.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
And even if it's the death of slim Shady, he
can still release music at Eminem, right because.

Speaker 3 (06:12):
It caricature, that's right, And it's a caricature your alter ego, Like,
don't mean, can I want to just escapism? Yeah, So
we shouldn't take it so seriously, like there's always that
thing for me. Is he being serious or has he
just been so tongue in shit provocative?

Speaker 4 (06:26):
Yeah? Okay, he wants to poke.

Speaker 3 (06:28):
He wants to poke the beer. He's poking the beer
as a seven out of ten, very.

Speaker 2 (06:31):
Good, Thank you so much. As for the death of
Slim Shady, will have a bit more of a listen
in a couple of.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
Minutes for more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame. Listen
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