Marshall Bruce Mathers III, better known as Eminem, recently parted ways with his infamous alter ego "Slim Shady" and finally embraced the title of "White Rapper" after decades of resisting this label. This shift likely coincides with the Detroit rapper and producer's partnership with White Castle, which included a limited edition EMINEM X WHITE CASTLE merch collaboration earlier this summer.
The collaboration was announced on July 9 when Eminem tweeted a post revealing images of the merch line featuring a t-shirt and trucker hat branded with the “White Rapper” title, along with the hamburger chain’s iconic castle logo and its famous “...Buy ‘em by the ‘Sack’” tagline.
To outsiders, the partnership with White Castle appeared to be a strategic move in promoting Eminem’s highly anticipated 12th album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), which dropped on July 12. This marks Eminem’s first release since his 2020 album Music to Be Murdered By, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album explores the concept of killing off his alter ego, Slim Shady, with supporting artwork depicting Shady in a body bag. While it's unclear whether Eminem is fully embracing the "White Rapper" label, it's likely that we've witnessed the complete life cycle of the controversial character "Slim Shady"—from the birth of this persona, its rise and fall in the music industry, to its recently publicized demise.
While the album has garnered mixed reviews, the EMINEM X WHITE CASTLE collaboration had fans ravenously snapping up every piece of merch.
The original retail price for merch ranged from $30 USD – $35 USD, and in less than one month the collection has sold out completely so any "White Rapper" enthusiasts will most likely need to do some StockX hunting.
