Jessie Reyes crawls out of a shallow grave for a knock-down, vengeful fight against Eminem in the bloody video for “Good Guy,” from Em’s latest album, Kamikaze. “Good Guy” was one of the album’s standout tracks, featuring an apologetic reflection on Eminem’s fractured relationship with an ex-lover. The video picks up that thread and follows it all the way to a bloody conclusion that sees Jessie and Em trading places by the end.
From the first shot, a stunning closeup on Jessie’s hand as she claws her way out of her not-so-final resting place, the video is a heart-gripping thriller. As Jessie returns to the mansion she apparently shares with Em in the video’s narrative, the rapper is caught off-guard while making himself a bowl of cereal. For an instant, the duo’s reactions are ambiguous, but it quickly becomes clear that, yes, Eminem was the one to put Jessie in that hole. They brawl throughout the house, with the singer gaining the upper hand, and the video ends with her pyrrhic victory.
Kamikaze marked a return to form for the lyrical wizardry of Eminem after the poor reception of his prior album, Revival. However, it still drew its share of controversy as well, sparking criticism for shots he took at Tyler The Creator and even a short-lived rap beef with MGK. None of that stopped it from receiving a Grammy nomination for the song “Lucky You” with Joyner Lucas.
Kamikaze is out now via Shady Records/Aftermath/Interscope.
