痞子特攻队 (2018)

Kamikaze is the tenth studio album by the American rapper Eminem, released on August 31, 2018, by Shady Records, Goliath Artists, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records. The album, executive produced by Eminem and Dr. Dre, was released with no prior announcement just eight months after his previous album, Revival, in retaliation to the backlash it received. It features guest appearances from Joyner Lucas, Royce da 5'9", and Jessie Reyez. Production on the album was handled by Eminem, Luis Resto, Boi-1da, Tay Keith, Ronny J, Mike Will Made It, amongst others.

Following the polarizing reception of Revival, music journalists debated over whether Eminem's relevance and ability were waning. Kamikaze represents a response, containing various insults against critics and rappers alike. The artwork is an homage to Beastie Boys' debut album, Licensed to Ill (1986). Critical reception towards Kamikaze ranged from mixed to positive. Some praised it as an improvement over Revival and a welcome return to Eminem's more aggressive persona, while others criticized him for failing to adapt to the current sound of hip-hop, and found the album outdated as a result. It also generated some controversy for its diss tracks against various artists.

Kamikaze was promoted with three singles: "Fall", "Venom" (from the 2018 film of the same name), and "Lucky You", and a music video for "Good Guy", along with a supporting tour. Commercially, the album reached number one in 21 countries, becoming Eminem's ninth consecutive number-one album in the United States, and later becoming the best-selling hip-hop album of 2018. It sold 434,000 album-equivalent units in its first week in the US and later received a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Recording and release

On January 8, 2018, Eminem unexpectedly released a remix to his Revival song "Chloraseptic", featuring 2 Chainz and Phresher. In the song, Eminem mocked critics of Revival, concluding "I just added to the fuel in my rocket pack, till I'm ready to respond then I'ma launch it at 'em... I'll be back..." On January 22, 2018, photos revealed Mike Will Made-It in the studio with Eminem and Dr. Dre. During the Revival sessions, S1 tried to work with Eminem but he refused; the producer kept sending him beats to use on future tracks that the rapper incorporated into Kamikaze songs. The afternoon before Kamikaze's release, Eminem posted a 15-second teaser of a new song on social media, featuring the logo for the superhero film Venom, without comment.

On August 31, 2018, he released the album to digital music stores and streaming services without any promotion or pre-announcement, unlike the extensive marketing done for Revival; he would repeat the strategy with 2020's Music to Be Murdered By. Billboard credits the success of the surprise release to Beyoncé's self-titled fifth studio album released in December 2013 without any promotion or pre-announcement, which was a critical and commercial success, ultimately changing the global release day for music from Tuesday to Friday. The album was sold on his website in several formats, including bundled with merchandise such as apparel. Eminem used social media services such as Instagram and Twitter to announce the release and has relied on the extensive feedback from diss tracks and Internet hype to spread the word of the album. Several weeks after the album's release and subsequent commercial success, Eminem took out a full-page ad in The Hollywood Reporter mocking negative reviews of Kamikaze, including The Hollywood Reporter's review itself.

Although he had no marketing prior to the debut, Eminem had previously debuted freestyle rap "The Storm" at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards using similar lyrics to the eventual title track and he directly referred to his experience performing it on "The Ringer". He debuted a clothing line featuring "The Kamikaze" t-shirt the month prior. Producer Illa da Producer sees the album as similar to The Slim Shady LP in terms of its ferocity, rather than the subdued Revival.

American singer Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, whose vocals were uncredited on the song "Fall", disavowed his participation in the album, claiming that he was not in the studio when the recording was made. A music video for "Fall" was released on September 4, 2018, addressing criticism of Revival. The music video was directed by James Larese, who previously directed the music videos of "Framed" and "Caterpillar". A second video was released for "Lucky You" on September 13, 2018, followed by one for "Venom" on October 5, 2018, as well as one for "Good Guy" on December 7, 2018.