Eminem fans, er, stans, are some of the fiercest and most devoted, so much so that Em wrote the 2000 track "Stan" about an obsessed fan who takes his own life which, would go on to become a real word (thanks, Merriam-Webster!) to describe overzealous fans, like the one in the Dido-accompanied track.
Though not all may be as, uh, passionate, as the song's namesake, many are putting their detective caps on (is that a thing?) for some serious internet sleuthing in hopes of uncovering what the fuck is happening on Oct. 1., and if it will it involve the Detroit rapper.
According to a Reddit thread, the chances that Em could drop something — be it Revival 2, Marshall Mathers LP 3, or, as one Reddit user predicted, a merch drop — are not all that slim.
First off, Oct. 1 is a Friday, and Friday is when new music and movies are typically released.
Then there's the fact that Eminem released his last two records — 2018's Kamikaze and last year's Music to Be Murdered By, and Music to Be Murdered By Side B — without warning, though there were clues.
"...I feel like when I talk about an album that’s coming out, if I give people, notice and they started seeing the track list or they know it’s coming, I feel like my best shot at avoiding some of that is to just drop it," Eminem said in an interview last year. "It kind of gives everybody too much time to think about it and their expectations of what they think it should be, and I’ll never meet that. That’s kind of the theory I based it off ever since, I think, Revival."
But for what could be his latest, fans are looking to hints on social media accounts of Em's closest collaborators, release dates of other projects, and, well, some pretty out there theories.
Fans started prodding when producer Fredwreck, who produced Em's 2017 record Revival, posted an illustration of the Detroit rapper's childhood home, which appeared on both covers for The Marshall Mathers LP and The Marshall Mathers LP 2, on an Instagram story. Per a Reddit thread, Fredwreck also allegedly posted a photo of a building with address numbers of 1001, a possible clue to new music.
Then, earlier this week, Eminem collaborator Skyler Grey, who co-wrote "Love the Way You Lie" and appeared as a vocalist on Em and Dr Dre's "I Need a Doctor," posted a cryptic photo with a cryptic caption: "This month has been hellish… but I see the light at the end… can’t wait for October 1st… mark your calendar."Fredwreck posting an art of Eminem's old house (MMLP2 Cover) on his IG stories...👀👀 pic.twitter.com/72Jqxzri9f
— Shady Times (@ShadyTimes) September 19, 2021
Many of the comments on Grey's post also speculate that Oct. 1 is something Em-related.
Then there's the Marvel movie Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the sequel to the 2018 film Venom, which Eminem penned a track for titled, you guessed it, "Venom." The song also ended up on Kamikaze. The film, which was originally scheduled to be released on Oct. 15, was mysteriously moved to Oct. 1. A coincidence? Probably, but fans seem to be sinking their teeth into the idea.
Then there's Mozzy. The rapper's manager alluded to a collaboration between Mozzy, Polo G, and Eminem, which some fans think must be for Em's new record.
The most recent clue, however, actually comes from a Facebook post from XXL Magazine sharing the outlet's article, "Is Eminem Getting Ready to Drop Marshall Mathers LP III?" The post, however, received a curious comment from Detroit rapper Royce da 5'9'', who simply posted the thinking emoji.
Royce Da 5'9 commenting "🤔" under XXL's post about Eminem's rumored "The Marshall Mathers LP III" album 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/6orBcmBeNh
— Shady Times (@ShadyTimes) September 21, 2021
Some Reddit users think Royce's comment is nothing but a well-timed troll, while others think it is the clearest sign that a new Eminem album is on the way. But, at the end of the day, user FuzionWolf7 speaks for most of us:
"Mfs going crazy over an emoji lmao."
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