Eminem is lacing up his blue suede shoes.
The Detroit rapper teams up with CeeLo Green on “The King and I” for the Elvis soundtrack. Over a sample of “Jailhouse Rock,” he pays homage to the King of Rock N’ Roll.
“Me and Elvis jell together like cellmates / Yeah, this the jailhouse, bitch and I don’t give a…” raps Em before CeeLo comes in on the hook: “Middle fingers up, we ’bout to do this shit again.”
He reflects on the criticism surrounding his career (“I stole Black music, yeah, true / Perhaps used it as a tool to combat school kids”) and points out the parallels between him and Elvis (“One, he’s pale as me / Second, we both been hailed as king / He used to rock the jailhouse and I used to rock The Shelter”).
Later, Em unapologetically confronts his haters. “I need doubters because you motherfu**ers motivate me,” he raps. “All I need to do is hear you say the same shit my father said to me when I was just a week or two / ‘Marshall, I be leavin’ you.’”
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis hits theaters June 24 starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, while the soundtrack arrives the same day featuring additional contributions from Doja Cat, Jazmine Sullivan, Swae Lee, and Nardo Wick.
