'RIP Slim Shady': Fans ecstatic as Eminem announces alter ego's death in 'obituary' ahead of new album

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: As per the Detroit Free Press, the Real Slim Shady is no longer able to answer the phone because he's dead!

Rap icon Eminem is serious about his intentions to kill off his alter ego, as readers of the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press observed on Monday, May 13.

The rapper's upcoming album, 'The Death of Slim Shady', would be discreetly promoted in the print versions of both newspapers, which included an obituary for Slim.

Detroit newspaper carried obituary for Eminem's 'complex and tortured' Slim Shady alter ego

According to Complex, the twisted rap alter ego of the 51-year-old 'Marshall Mathers LP' artist — which has been a part of his career since his 1997 and 1999 'The Slim Shady' LPs—was the subject of a fake obituary that appeared in the Detroit Free Press on Monday.

The obituary declared him dead ahead of Eminem's 12th studio album, 'The Death Of Slim Shady' ('Coup de Grace'), which is set to drop this summer, per PEOPLE.

The obituary's header reads, "Slim Shady Made Lasting Impressions," while the sub-headline reads, "Fans will never forget controversial rapper."

The obituary referred to Slim as 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," along a photo of Eminem wearing overalls and a hockey mask, a look he wore during his 2000 'Up in Smoke' tour.

It continued by saying that Slim rose to fame following his 1999 breakthrough before exposing his listeners to "extreme darkness" and guiding "millions of music fans down a road that glorified a demonstrably nihilistic worldview."

The obituary went on: "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."

The obit concluded by saying: "May he truly find the peace in an afterlife that he could not find on Earth."

The release of the cinematic obituary comes only weeks after Eminem announced the release of his new album on April 25 with an Instagram teaser that aired before his Detroit, Michigan, hometown appearance in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The project is the 15-time Grammy winner's first full-length release since the unexpected January 2020 release of 'Music to Be Murdered By.'

Despite being labeled as an advertisement, the "obituary" doesn't specifically mention Eminem or the impending album, but fans quickly saw the connection.

Eminem's Slim Shady alter ego obituary sends fans into a frenzy

There are conjectures on social media that the rapper concealed the name of his first single within the obituary text, with one X user noting, "New Eminem single "Will Never Forget" coming real soon..."

A second one added, "I don’t want to reach or get anyone’s hopes up, but isn’t it weird they’d have quotation marks on “Will Never Forget” ? Could be a song title or single? Eminem is known to have some weird song titles so I wouldn’t put it past him."

"This is top tier promotion. Album bout to be a classic," a third one added, referring to unique way of promoting Eminem's new album.

A fourth one remarked, "This is some brilliant promotion. Unique. Chilling. Keep it goin," echoing a similar sentiment.

"He was so young what, 28? RIP Slim Shady, can't wait to find out who got you and how it happened!" quipped another one.

Another one noted, "The "Will Never Forget" is really something. This is turning out to be a deeply conceptual album. Writing your own obituary and shit. Something only Eminem could pull off."

"Man, Eminem's always got some wild album concepts. RIP Slim Shady, but we all know Em's got like nine lives when it comes to his music personas. Can't wait to see what he's cooked up," exclaimed one.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.