Eminem has a knack for getting under the skin of racists, conservatives, hardcore feminists and the LGBTQ community — he’s been doing it since 1999 when he dropped his major label debut The Slim Shady LP. His verse on Big Sean’s 2017 I Decided track “No Flavors” was no different.
Par for the course, Slim Shady set his sights on several prevalent names in pop culture, including Donald Trump, far-right media pundit Ann Coulter, singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey and Michel’le, Dr. Dre’s former fiancée and World Class Wreckin’ Cru collaborator.
Shady once again reunited with Sean for the “Friday Night Cypher” from Sean Don’s highly anticipated Detroit 2 album, which arrived on Thursday night (September 3). The ambitious track features several Detroit rappers, including Tee Grizzley, Sada Baby, Boldy James, Kash Doll, 42 Dugg and more. This time, Em name drops Kendrick Lamar and Logic, proving he always has his finger on the Hip Hop pulse.
“I don’t think it would be logic for me to say that I’m retirin’,” he spits. “But I should say bye-bye, earthlings/’Cause I’m back on Uranus fuckin’ up this ‘Grindin’ beat, yeah,” a nod to Logic’s recent “retirement” announcement.
In terms of K. Dot — who has been spotted recently filming a music video — he gets a quick mention with Em rapping, “Like I don’t make sure every sentence and bar with a pencil is sharp, and I’m quick on the draw/Yeah, so when I pull it, surprise (Pull it, surprise), like Kendrick Lamar,” a slick reference to Kendrick’s Pulitzer Prize-winning album DAMN.
On Friday (September 4), Em tweeted about his involvement in the project, writing, “So happy to be a part of the sequel- @Big Sean #Detroit2 #fridaynightcypher,” to which Sean replied, “And your verse.” He added multiple head-exploding emojis for emphasis.
And your verse ?????
— Sean Don (@BigSean) September 4, 2020
Detroit 2 serves as the follow-up to 2012’s Detroit mixtape and features Stevie Wonder, Travis Scott, Post Malone, Royce Da 5’9, Diddy, Erykah Badu, Sean’s on-again, off-again girlfriend Jhené Aiko, Dave Chappelle, Young Thug, Lil Wayne and more.
Check out the “Friday Night Cypher” lyrics in full via Genius below.