Two new Beyoncé features in two months? That's good news for fans awaiting the singer's post-twins return.
After lending her vocals to a charity remix of J Balvin and Willy William's Mi Gente, Bey returned Friday with a feature on Eminem's surprise new single Walk on Water. The new single is the rapper's latest endeavor since his polarizing anti-Trump freestyle at the BET Hip Hop Awards last month, and his first single since 2015.
It's not often listeners get a ballad from Eminem, but Walk on Water is a moving return for the two stars that sees them on equal footing, opening with soulful vocals from Bey before the rapper's introspective verses.
There's still plenty of bragging as Em looks back on his career, reminding fans of one of his enduring hits, rapping, "(Expletive), I wrote Stan."
While the rapper hasn't confirmed that Walk on Water is part of a forthcoming larger release, fans have speculated that a new Eminem album may be arriving soon. In recent weeks, his social media feeds have featured cryptic posts about a mysterious drug named "Revival," including a teaser from several days ago with a written prescription, recommending to “walk on water.”
Expect to hear the song during Eminem's upcoming Nov. 18performance on Saturday Night Live. Potentially with Beyoncé in tow?
Not even Beyoncé can save Eminem's ridiculous new whine-fest
It requires some serious suspension of disbelief to buy that Eminem is an underdog at this point, considering that his last album is both quadruple platinum and the winner of the Best Rap Album Grammy. But saying “everybody hates me” and, more specifically, “guess who’s back?” has served his career well so far, and the narrative continues on the just-released, kinda-awful Beyoncé-enhanced single “Walk On Water.” The world agrees that Beyoncé is a magical angel, equal parts badassery and pure talent, but even she can’t save this one.
Produced by Rick Rubin—as presumably the upcoming Eminem full-length, Revival, was—“Walk On Water” is built largely on a maudlin piano line and Beyoncé’s vocal hook, which features lyrics so patently goofy you’re going to think they’re made up: “I walk on water / but I ain’t no Jesus / I walk on water / but only when it freezes.”
But Eminem is not Jesus, you see: He doubts his own ability just like anyone else. “If you bitches are tryin’ to strip me of my confidence, mission accomplished,” he snarls at some imaginary bitches who perhaps looked at him askance at the supermarket, or criticized a particularly perilous rhyme scheme on the internet. He further goes on to list all of the artists that he is not, including Prince—ignoring the fact that, like Eminem, Prince released plenty of garbage right alongside the good stuff. He further claims that he’s “gettin’ clowned and frowned on,” and that “the world no longer cares or gives a fuck about [his] rhymes.”
As ever, though, once Eminem has built himself an imaginary enemy—lower record sales? people who don’t like his hair?—he fights back, letting us know that he will decide when his career is over, not you, invisible beast who stops careers. There is also the sound of what I think is supposed to be ice cracking under Em’s feet, because of that chorus about walking on ice, because he is not Jesus.
And then, just when you think Eminem has gotten humble, he flips the script. He is the best after all, according to him! Bitch, he wrote “Stan!” (He also wrote “Walk On Water,” so... call it even?)