A dream came true for country artist Jelly Roll after his childhood hero, Eminem, featured the chorus of his 2020 track “Save Me” on the concluding track of his 2024 magnum opus, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) titled “Somebody Save Me.” On X, formerly Twitter, the singer wrote his disbelief, “I can’t believe I’m on Eminem’s album.”
I can’t believe I’m on Eminem’s album
— Jelly Roll (@JellyRoll615) July 12, 2024
“Save Me,” a heart-wrenching hit about Jelly Roll’s life story and a cry for help as he battles with addiction, struck a note with fans when he first released it in 2020. And then, in 2023, it hit a whole chord after he rereleased a remix version with Lainey Wilson. Now, it’s been given a new breath of life by none other than Eminem.
In a lengthy, heartfelt tribute to the Grammy-winning Rap God on Instagram, Jelly Roll shared that his childhood hero lived between Willie Nelson and Eminem. He then went on to express how big of a fan he was — and still is — of the latter.
He penned, “As a teenager (and still today) I could recite every song on the Slim Shady album, the Marshal Mathers album and the Eminem show. When I bonded out of jail at 17 years old and was sneaking into cyphers and battles in Nashville they would also play the “lose yourself” beat when I came out on stage at the freestyle battles.” He continued, saying that he related to every word Eminem wrote and felt understood by him after spending most of his life feeling misunderstood.
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So, it was a big deal for him when he got the call that his childhood hero would be sampling the song. But what brought him to tears was that the rapper used it to explore the other side of the story — an alternate reality portraying what could have happened if he allowed his demons to win. Just like Jelly Roll, Eminem battled addiction, and he almost lost that fight and his life in his near-fatal drug overdose in 2007.
As soon as the song was out, fans and fellow artists dropped by Jelly Roll’s comments and showed him some love.
Rapper Chris Webby wrote, “Legendary my brother. I had such a moment listening to that album last night and then when I heard your voice it stirred up crazy emotions in my soul. Hard to explain it honestly, but I’m so damn proud of you dude.” A fan also commented, saying that the song touched their soul. Another said they were in literal tears when they heard it.
The Death of Slim Shady was released on July 12 and featured guest appearances from White Gold, Sly Pyper, JID, Dem Jointz, Ez Mil, Skylar Grey, BabyTron, and Big Sean. Earlier this year, Eminem brought Jelly Roll on stage to sing his track “Sing For The Moment” at the Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central.
