Eminem fans think they’ve unlocked mindblowing concept after listening to new album in reverse order

In the run-up to the release of his new album The Death of Slim Shady, Eminem was pretty clear with fans that there was a right and proper way to listen to it.

Just before the album released, the rapper told his fans: "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."

Pretty clear, right?

While some fans found it pretty funny that Eminem might have to explain what a concept album was, others declared: "Anybody that listens to an album for the first time on shuffle deserves to go to prison."

The album takes listeners on quite a ride as Eminem appears to confront his caustic alter ego Slim Shady while paying tribute to some of his earlier work.

Listened to in order, you can certainly tell why the album was called The Death of Slim Shady, but some of the rapper's fans reckon they've found a new meaning in it by flipping the script and turning Eminem's words on their head.

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.

— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) July 11, 2024

They've claimed that what you ought to do is listen to the new album backwards, as apparently that means the album is now not about Slim Shady being put to rest, but him coming back to life and taking over.

I'm not quite sure about this myself but an Eminem fan on Twitter going by the name @Pecora_boy123 called the rapper a 'CLEVER F**K' seems to have the details all sorted out in their mind.

The album's last song, 'Somebody Save Me' is apparently now a foreshadowing of Eminem's death and then Slim Shady shows up, and from there grows in power as Marshall Mathers fades out.

Since the album is being listened to in reverse the first song becomes the last song and the album ends on 'Renaissance', a rebirth for Slim Shady while Marshall Mathers ends up being buried.

This has fuelled a bit of speculation that there could be a 'side B' to the album that'll take this twist and release more songs to prove Slim Shady isn't really gone after all.

Other Eminem fans said the theory had 'blown my mind' and that 'after they fuse in Houdini the rest of the songs are more Shady like if it's played backwards'.

However, that might be because as the album progresses the songs are getting less like Shady as he fades, like if you watch Star Wars in reverse the Death Star manages to reassemble itself and then undoes the destruction of a planet.

The sceptics of this theory reckoned that the 'stans are reaching very hard', since it would seem as though an album called The Death of Slim Shady might be about what it says on the tin.

Either way, it's another reason to go back and listen to the album again.