On his latest album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), Eminem released a tearjerker. According to its dramatic title and several allusions, the 51-year-old rapper’s 19-track LP, released on Friday, July 12, is the end of Slim Shady. However, Eminem’s sentiments about mortality are also expressed in the mournful tune “Temporary,” which features Skylar Grey and recordings of his daughter Hailie Jade Scott as a baby.
For Hailie, 28, when her father dies, the melancholy song was created, according to its opening. “Many people ask me if I fear death. At the start of the tune, Eminem says, “The truth is, I think what scares me most is not being able to say all the things I wanna say to you when I’m no longer here.” “So this song is for Hailie, for that day.”
“Yeah, so Hailie Jade, I wrote you this song / To help you cope with life now that I’m gone / How should I start?” the Grammy winner raps, weaving old recordings of Hailie throughout the tune. Please watch Alaina, Stevie, and Uncle Nate.”
He continues, “And, sweetie, be strong, I was your rock / And I still am, saying goodbye is just not easy, why you crying?” Stop, Hailie, sweetheart, wipe your eye—this is not forever.” Eminem dedicates “Somebody Save Me,” another song on his album, to Hailie and his other two daughters, Alaina, 31, and Stevie Laine, 22, along with ex-wife Kim Scott.
The song, which contains Jelly Roll’s “Save Me” chorus, apologizes to his children for missing out on their lives due to drug usage. “Sorry I picked drugs over you / Sorry I didn’t love you enough / Give them up, how the f— can I not love you more than a pill? Wondering at the ceiling from this floor.”
In his second stanza, the rapper apologizes for her hearing him fall in the restroom. Sorry, Stevie, I missed you. Growing up and I didn’t get to be your dad / Things I wanted to watch you do This is my song to you. Sorry I quit, but I’m defeated.”
Eminem has rapped about his kids in “Mockingbird,” “When I’m Gone,” and “Hailie’s Song.” The three of them featured on a FaceTime chat in the rap star’s May 31 “Houdini” music video, pretending to be astonished when their dad rapped, “F— my own kids, they’re brats / They can screw off, them and you all.”