Next week, fans will flock into theaters to see Elvis, the highly publicizing biographical film that’s centered around the life and career of rock and roll legend Elvis Presley. Being a movie that will focus on music, its accompanying soundtrack looks to be as action-packed as its all-star cast, with contributions from the likes of Swae Lee, Diplo, Kacey Musgraves, Nardo Wick, Denzel Curry, Jazmine Sullivan, and Tame Impala.
Last month, we were able to check out Doja Cat’s “Vegas,” which served as the soundtrack’s lead single. Today (June 16), Eminem is up next with “The King & I,” a collaboration alongside CeeLo Green that the Detroit icon co-produced with longtime collaborator Dr. Dre. Over a sample of Elvis’ 50s classic “Jailhouse Rock,” Eminem can be heard making various references to the late musician while returning to race-related matters previously heard on songs like “White America“:
“I stole black music, yeah true, perhaps used it as a tool to combat school, kids came back on some bathroom shit, now I call a hater a bidet, ’cause they mad that they can’t do shit, and I know I’m such a dick, huh? … Now I’m about to explain to you all the parallels between Elvis and me, myself, it seem obvious: one, he’s pale as me, second, we both been hailed as kings, he used to rock the Jailhouse, and I used to rock The Shelter, we sell like Velveeta Shells & Cheese…”
In addition to taking part in the aforementioned soundtrack, Eminem decided to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his third album The Eminem Show with an expanded re-release. Along with The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show is one of only seven albums to ship over a million and become Diamond certified in the United States.
Press play on “The King & I” below.