With the gradual but sure declining state of commercial lyrical rap music, there’s been a steady and consistent trend of ol’-school rappers frolicking in recent years, strutting their verbal goods in the shape of meticulously curated music. From Nas’s Grammy-winning King’s Disease and Magic series to Killer Mike’s Michael claiming the same honours, what was once known as a young man’s sport has become a open playing ground for veteran MCs versed in the braided art of blending rhythmic poetry, storytelling, and beat selection into experiences which capture the imagination. One of rap’s finest artists Eminem has jumped on this band wagon, returning to the scene with his latest single “Houdini”, titled after the late world-renowned Hungarian magician.
Billed as the last kick of the dying horse that is his Slim Shady persona, “Houdini” is a hip-hop song that features sample work from “Abracadabra” by Steve Miller Band released in 1982. Built atop whimsical production handled by the man himself and longtime collaborator Luis Resto, “Houdini” is textured as a fitting tone-setter for the advent – or rather the apt return of Slim Shady – with the musical atmosphere mimicking the goofy and playful mood of his 1999 album The Slim Shady LP. True to the nostalgia of controversy, Eminem also interpolates lines from his 2002 hit single “Without Me” and 1999’s “As the World Turns”.
What’s fascinating about the song is Eminem’s ability to weave the theme of escape magic to the act of “making his career disappear”, as per the forthcoming album dictates – though, rappers rarely keep their word when it comes to hanging up the mic. Using Harry Houdini as a controlling metaphor, the Detroit icon maintains the high standard which he’s lived up to throughout his career, loading the song with witty punchlines (Lyrical technician, an electrician / Y’all light work), dizzying rhyme scheme patterns, and the flowery incorporation of poetic devices such as onomatopoeia and assonance.
Insult comedy also rears its head, though unsurprisingly not without any shock value. From shading Megan thee Stallion’s shooting incident (“If I was to ask for Megan Thee (What?) / Stallion if she would collab with me / Would I really have a shot at a feat?“) to making questionable remarks at the trans community, Eminem vehemently goes against the status quo which has been built atop sensitivity and tolerance, thus marking a true return of the hip-hop world’s most flagged iconoclast.
“Houdini” is without a doubt nothing new from Em, but this isn’t a criticism because he’s a lyricist who has done it all and then some. This humourous but crass visitation of Slim Shady is not only a welcome breath of fresh air in an age plagued with censorship, it’s also a reminder of the things society claims it isn’t, but is behind closed doors. After all, Eminem has always “had the balls to say it” in front of everybody as he claimed on “The Real Slim Shady”.
Listen to “Houdini”:
