Paul Rosenberg, Eminem‘s manager and current CEO/President of Def Jam Records as of 2018, may have just cleverly revealed a hint to the title of Eminem’s upcoming album. Posting a photo of Yelawolf’s new CD, Trial By Fire, from his Shady Records office, a glimpse of an intriguingly phony-looking medication ad can be seen through the window. The billboard features the sort of cheesy, stock photo of a smiling woman typical of such marketing, with the tagline, “Seize the moment with Revival.”
However, the first “E” in revival is flipped, a common trait of Eminem album artwork, where at least one “E” in his name or the album title will be flipped in the same way. The internet being full of amateur detectives, the ad was quickly hunted down in its entirety and a few more interesting details come to light.
A disclaimer near the bottom reads, “REVIVAL does not cause these side effects, but if you have them you should for sure seek medical attention, ‘I need a doctor.'” If you’ll recall, “I Need A Doctor” is the title of an Eminem collaboration with Dr. Dre from the now-scrapped, near-mythical Dr. Dre project, Detox. Eminem has a preoccupation with prescription medication in both his music and his previous album titles, constantly referencing popping pills, and naming previous efforts Relapse and Recovery, respectively.
The phone number at the top right of the ad leads to an audio message that says, “Thank you for your interest in Revival, the No. 1 slightly invasive treatment for Atrox Rithimus. You only get one shot to beat AR.” If one holds long enough, the tone of the ad becomes much more comedic in nature: “We give you some serious f*cking credit for sticking through this ad,” and lists a litany of possible side effects that reference previous Eminem songs like “Brain Damage.”
Similar gags run throughout the website listed. Finally, Atrox Rithimus isn’t a real disease — we’ll give you a second to check WebMD to verify for yourself.
All in all, it’s a clever promotional tactic, and one that will likely have Eminem fans chomping at the bit come November 17, the album’s rumored release date.
