Eminem is “Not Afraid” to let go of his alter ego, Slim Shady, because, as he recalled, “times have changed.”
Complex brought together the 51-year-old rapper alongside his past egotistical character in a feature titled Slim Shady vs. Marshall Mathers: The Face Off. In this ongoing diss between his old self and his current self, he reflects on how he has changed and no longer wants to be his old persona because it’s “f*****g 2024.”
The “My Name Is” hitmaker addressed his past self, known for causing controversy by dissing singers in his music back in the late ’90s and early 2000s. “Look, man. I’ve grown up, bro. My fanbase has grown up… The world’s changed. F—ing people are way more sensitive now. Every other week on TikTok, Gen-Z discovers you on Monday and cancels me on Tuesday,” Eminem told Slim.
Being that Slim has a personality of his own, he fired back at his creator, “We sold all that sh*t off my back, don’t get it twisted.” Despite that alter ego being what changed the rapper with 26 years in the industry, Eminem expressed that during his Shady days, those were the times he had to “self-medicate” and emphasized he “almost lost my f—-g career, my family, my life” because of him.
While excelling in his career, he revealed that the rapper has battled drug addiction. After 16 years, he finally became sober and has since looked at life differently. In sharing that he wanted to cut off Slim in his recently dropped album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), he asked his past self, “So you think it’s entertaining to just be a d—head and piss people off?”
Their talk seemed to have made Slim put his feet on the ground, but the two are always going to be one. It’s like I’m obviously this rapper with imposter syndrome overcompensating with misplaced aggression. I needed this trauma bonding sh*t to f—-g help me protect my peace. No one understands how f—-g toxic it is to always be the bad guy,” ’90s Eminem told his present self.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, snowflake, you’re not the bad guy… No bro, I mean we all know you mean well,” Marshall told himself. The two ended their feud on a good note, sharing their appreciation for one another.
