DETROIT — Sometimes it pays to read the print edition of the newspaper.
On Page 3B of Monday’s Detroit News, tucked inside the Sports section underneath a college football notebook item, a three-paragraph “obituary” ran for Slim Shady, the alter ego of rap superstar Eminem.
“Slim Shady Made Lasting Impressions,” reads the headline of the obit, a covert piece of advertising for Eminem’s upcoming new album “The Death of Slim Shady.” “Fans ‘Will Never Forget’ Controversial Rapper.”
Underneath a picture of Eminem in overalls and a hockey mask, a look he sported on 2000’s “Up in Smoke” tour, the copy reads, “A product of Detroit who began his career there as a rogue splinter in the flourishing underground rap scene of the mid to late 1990’s, Shady first became a household name in 1999 with the debut of his playfully deranged single ‘My Name Is,’ which — along with its uniquely eye catching video — exposed the young artist and his lyrics to a wider audience.
“That audience was soon exposed to the extreme darkness of the muse/ rapper, as he led millions of music fans down a road that glorified a demonstrably nihilistic worldview.”
