Eminem / JAY-Z

Eminem returned on Tuesday (July 2, 2024) with his second The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace) single, titled “Tobey,” alongside fellow Detroit hip-hop artists Big Sean and BabyTron. Batting third on the track, Em sliced up the ominous production and even appeared to address Billboard ranking him at No. 5 on the 50 Greatest Rappers of All-Time list, which was published last year.

“Ain’t feelin’ your top five favorite rappers (Woo) / So I know they ’bout to be pissed at me (Why?) / But this, to me, is a mystery / How rappers I’ve already ripped could be (What?) / Higher up on a list than me (Ha) / Yet here I sit on your list though at five (Hm), which still was fine / But just know inside, to me, that s–t’s hilarious.”

It’s unclear who Slim Shady is targeting, but the four rappers ahead of him on the Billboard’s ranking (from four to one) are 2Pac, Nas, Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z. Eminem collaborated with all of them but he’s definitely not talking about 2Pac for a several reasons. Eminem and Nas collaborated on “EPMD 2” and Eminem and Kendrick Lamar on “Love Game” and I think Shady did outshine them on a track but the general assumption is not what I think. As far as Jay-Z, the two collaborated on “Renegade” in the early 2000s and the general assumption is that Eminem murdered Hov in his own s–t.

Right before these lines, Em raps: “Y’all thought you were sick, you were misdiagnosed (Nope) / I’m dope and you’ll never have this high a dose (Nope, yeah) / Now my estates in the buildin’, and bitch, I done slept on more floors than the Empire State (‘Pire State) Building.” While there is literal imagery of Eminem’s home now being the Empire State Building, which is so big (and expensive) that he has bedrooms on every floor, it’s really a metaphor for his legacy being a huge part of the rap game, and the fact that this respect wasn’t just handed to him. He worked hard for it. Moreover, this is the setup to subliminal shot that comes after those lines (mentioned above) that was taken at Jay-Z who has a track called “Empire State of Mind.”

“Eminem has poked fun at the idea that Jay-Z is better than him for a long time… he did it on “Seduction” in 2010 too.. he used Jay-Z’s favorite “ah” adlib from the Blueprint 3 while doing it too. Eminem always knew he was a better rapper than Jay-Z.. and so did anyone with sense.” said one of the fans on X. Another said: “I did NOT expect to see Eminem throwing subliminal disses to Jay-Z in 2024, damn… Right before this bar, he started the Jay-Z scheme by referencing the song “Empire State of Mind”, and continuing with this reference of the time he out-rapped him on “Renegade.” Someone tweeted: “This whole verse really reinforces Eminem’s legacy as a competitive rapper through and through. Jay-Z could use a little inspiration to get back in the booth too!”