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‘Headlights’ or ‘Asshole’: Which Eminem Collaboration Is the Real Slim Shady?

Eminem, fun., Nate Ruess, Skylar Grey, "Headlights," "Asshole," 'The Marshall Mathers LP 2,' stream

Marshall Mathers loves his mother. He’s also a guy who says “motherfucking” a lot. Eminem’s whole career has reflected the complicated relationship between the rapper’s on-record alter-egos and his personal life, and the latest two collaborations to surface from his upcoming The Marshall Mathers LP 2 are a particular study in contrasts.

“Headlights,” with fun.’s Nate Ruess, is a drippy soft-rocker with Eminem apologizing to his mother for “Cleaning Out the Closet” with what comes across as extreme frankness. Skylar Grey-assisted “Asshole” is a harder-hitting horn stomper about what a, well, “asshole” Eminem supposedly is — though his ridiculous Gwen Stefani dis is less asshole-ish than straight up corny (while we’re making stale references, how about Cornholio?). Listen below, via Idolator.

MMLP2 arrives on November 5, the same day he sits down for a SiriusXM “Town Hall” session, and it includes Kendrick Lamar team-up “Love Game,” Rihanna collaboration “Monster,” “Rap God,” “Survival,” and “Berzerk.” According to USA Today, the whole album could be streaming on iTunes later today (October 31). Happy Halloween?