Eminem revived his classic Slim Shady flow while reuniting with Shady Records rapper Ez Mil on “Madara.” The Naruto-inspired single — which arrived on Friday (Oct. 9) — also enlists Japanese rapper Hideyoshi and Madara Uchiha’s voice actor, Neil Kaplan.
Eminem enters the anime world in an accompanying visualizer. He appears to use a saturated vocal filter to call back to his vintage Shady rapping style, which drew mixed reviews from fans on social media.
Regardless, Em’s bars remain razor-sharp and up-tempo, as he can still rap circles around contemporaries half his age. “Now you all do as I say/ I am not anti-gay/ But I’m not gonna dance my way ’round your little p—y-ass feelings/ And I may rant like Ye,” he raps, comparing himself to Kanye West when it comes to his tirades.
Even as an elder statesman in hip-hop, Eminem rhymes that he stays war-ready for battle on wax at any time: “But to have my rage at my age/ I’d give my left genital to be in the middle of beef considerably.”
Eminem also gets vulnerable while looking at the early days of his career, as the doubters crept into his psyche to the point he couldn’t believe someone like Dr. Dre had faith in him. After discovering the Detroit rapper in 1997, Dre signed Em to his Aftermath Entertainment label in 1998, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“So many non-believers fueling my rage/ That I truly never really believed I’d make it/ Let alone believed in fully by Dre/ So when he said he was puttin’ me on/ I thought he was pullin’ my leg/ Ironic, I found the doc, then I got sicker,” Shady raps.
“Madara” is slated to land on Ez Mil’s 3RD WRLD VOL. 2 EP, which finds Em on board as a co-producer.
Eminem has yet to release a single in 2026, but fans of the rap icon won’t have to wait much longer for another verse, since he’s also set to collaborate with Kid Rock on a track titled “7 Sins,” which will land on his fellow Michigan native’s Halfway to Jesus album on Oct. 17.
50 Cent also promised to recruit his good friend, Eminem, for the Street Fighter soundtrack, which arrives alongside the blockbuster on Oct. 16.
The Oscar-winning rapper’s most recent album arrived in July 2024 with The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce). The set topped the Billboard 200 and earned 281,000 total album-equivalent units in its first week, according to Luminate.
Listen to “Madara” below.
