Eminem steals the spotlight on Kid Cudi's new single

As promised earlier in the week, Kid Cudi’s new single ‘The Adventures of Moon Man and Slim Shady’ is now available. It features an extended feature from Eminem.

‘The Adventures of Moon Man and Slim Shady’ appeared online just as the clocks struck midnight in the USA’s eastern timezone. The song’s impact has been immediate, clocking up more than 100,000 streams on YouTube within the first hour of its release.

Although it’s officially a Cudi release, Shady steals the spotlight with an extended, politically sharpened guest verse. He shows up just before the half-way point and carries the song right up until Cudi’s outro. Along the way, Eminem references the deaths of African Americans George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, both of which had a catalysing impact on the ongoing Black Lives Matter demonstrations around the world.

“Prayers to George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery,” he raps. “How the fuck is it that so many cops are dirty? / Stop man, please, officer, I’m sorry / But I can’t breathe when I got you on top of me / Your goddamn knee’s on my carotid artery.”

He also has a dig at the Trump administration for its catastrophic handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the evolving culture war in the US on the topic of face masks.

“Bunch of half wits up in office,” raps Eminem. “Half of us walking around like a zombie apocalypse / Other half are just pissed off and don’t wanna wear a mask / And they’re just scoffing / And that’s how you end catching the shit off ’em / I just used the same basket as you shopping / Now I’m in a fucking casket from you coughing.”

‘The Adventures of Moon Man and Slim Shady’ is Cudi’s second new single of 2020. It follows ‘Leader of the Delinquents’, which came out in May. Eminem released his 11th studio album Music to Be Murdered By in January, the title of which now feels particularly prescient.