EminemMusic/YouTube

Since the surprise release of his tenth album Kamikaze, Eminem has made more headlines than most rappers do in their whole career.

On the surface, Kamikaze was, and still is, a huge success. With no hype or build up before its release, Eminem stunned fans and critics by simply putting the album out there with the message: ‘Tried not 2 overthink this 1 .. enjoy. [sic]’

Fans were quick to praise the rapper’s apparent return to form after the generally disappointing 2017 album Revival, welcoming back ‘the old Slim Shady’ – something which he addressed in the first video from the album, for the song Fall.

Kamikaze became Slim’s ninth consecutive number one album, breaking a 36-year-old record in the process.

Despite its success, Eminem has been criticised for using certain lyrics and messages in the new album.

Most notably, the 45-year-old rapper uses a homophobic slur in his track Fall, aimed at rapper Tyler, the Creator.

The lyric in question is:

Tyler create nothin’, I see why you called yourself a f****t, b*tch / It’s not just ‘cause you lack attention, it’s ‘cause you worship D12’s balls, you’re sacrilegious.

The line sparked outrage, with many people calling Eminem out for the lyric.

Dan Reynolds, from the band Imagine Dragons, tweeted:

It’s never ok to say a word that is filled with hate. I don’t care what year you were born in or what meaning it has to you. if it contributes to hate and bigotry then it is hateful. period. there is never an ok time to say the word f****t I don’t care who you are. [sic]

it’s never ok to say a word that is filled with hate. I don’t care what year you were born in or what meaning it has to you. if it contributes to hate and bigotry then it is hateful. period. there is never an ok time to say the word fa**ot I don’t care who you are. — Dan Reynolds (@DanReynolds) August 31, 2018

Justin Vernon, of Bon Iver, whose vocals appear on the track, also distanced himself from the song, saying he wasn’t involved in the song’s production and wasn’t aware of the lyrical content before its release.

Vernon said:

Was not in the studio for the Eminem track… came from a session with BJ Burton and Mike Will. Not a fan of the message, it’s tired. Asked them to change the track, wouldn’t do it.

He later added:

Eminem is one of the best rappers of all time, there is no doubt. I have and will respect that. Tho, this is not the time to criticize Youth, it’s the time to listen. To act. [sic] It is certainly not the time for slurs. Wish they would have listened when we asked them to change it [sic]

Was not in the studio for the Eminem track… came from a session with BJ Burton and Mike Will. Not a fan of the message, it’s tired. Asked them to change the track, wouldn’t do it. Thanks for listening to BRM https://t.co/E0wmt732ty — blobtower (@blobtower) August 31, 2018

Eminem is one of the best rappers of all time , there is no doubt. I have and will respect that. Tho, this is not the time to criticize Youth, it’s the time to listen. To act. It is certainly not the time for slurs. Wish they would have listened when we asked them to change it — blobtower (@blobtower) August 31, 2018

Now, in a recent multi-part interview with Sway, Eminem has opened up about the lyric.

In the interview he discusses his initial reasoning behind the decision to use it and ultimately, the regret he has over it:

During the interview, Eminem says:

I think the word that I called him on that song was one of the things where I felt like this might be too far. Because in my quest to hurt him, I realise that I was hurting a lot of other people by saying it. … It was one of the things that I kept going back to and going ‘I don’t feel right with this.’

The rapper also revealed where the fuel behind the line came from, saying Tyler had tweeted negative things about him, as well as criticising Eminem’s collaboration with Beyoncé on the track Walk on Water.

Of course, Slim is no stranger to diss tracks.

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