Posted by Eminem’s tendency to drop unexpected albums over the past few years is a formula that’s worked for him. From 2018’s Kamikaze to January’s Music To Be Murdered By: Side B, Slim Shady has made it clear he enjoys the element of surprise.
Now, it looks like there could potentially be another album on the way from the diamond-selling rapper — and Stans are convinced it’s another installment of the Marshall Mathers LP.
According to an Eminem Reddit thread, the clues are adding up. For starters, they believe a post from longtime Eminem collaborator Fredwreck point to an impending project.
The post, shared to his Instagram Stories, shows an image of Eminem’s childhood home, which was the same image used for the original Marshall Mathers LP cover art. The thread also notes Fredwreck posted a picture of a building with an address number of 1001 on his Instagram Story as well, which suggests a release date of Friday (October 1).
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
Adding fuel to the fire is a post from singer-songwriter Skylar Grey who has appeared on numerous Eminem songs. On Monday (September 20), she shared a haunting image of herself on Instagram with the caption, “This month has been hellish… but I see the light at the end… can’t wait for October 1st… mark your calendar.”
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Mozzy’s manager also tweeted his client had been in the studio with both Eminem and Polo G, leading many to wonder if the possible collaboration is for the MMLP3 album.
Meanwhile, Eminem’s Shady Records artists Grip and Boogie were also spotted in the studio together recently, and the image was shared on Shady’s Instagram.
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Then there’s the film Venom: Let There Be Carnage. The Marvel Studios movie was originally expected to arrive on October 15, but the release date was bumped up to October 1 with no explanation. Eminem fans may recall he contributed the song “Venom” to the 2018 original, which appeared on the film’s official soundtrack and aforementioned Kamikaze album.
The Reddit thread also notes an Aftermath Records “takeover” will take place in the fourth quarter of the year, which also begins on October 1. It supposedly includes albums from Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Dr. Dre.
Of course, this could all be the result of Shady fans with too much time on their hands, but it wouldn’t be out of the question for Eminem to attempt to pull off another surprise release.
After all, Em has been pumping out albums pretty steadily since 2017’s Revival and manages to keep his name in the mix no matter what he’s doing.
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Another Marshall Mathers LP would mark the first installment since 2013’s Marshall Mathers LP 2, which was executive produced by Dr. Dre and Rick Rubin.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with over 792,000 copies sold in its opening week. As of March 2017, it’s certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).