Kamikaze (stylized as KAMIKAZƎ) is the tenth studio album by American rapper Eminem. The album was released on August 31, 2018, through Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records and Interscope Records.
The album features guest appearances from Joyner Lucas, Royce da 5'9" and Jessie Reyez, and uncredited vocals by Justin Vernon. The album is executively produced by Eminem and frequent collaborator Dr. Dre, and features production from a variety of producers, including Mike Will Made It, Illadaproducer, Ronny J, Cubeatz, Jeremy Miller, Boi-1da, Jahaan Sweet, Tay Keith, Tim Suby, Fred Ball and S1.
Critical reception has been positive, with reviewers preferring it to Eminem's 2017 release Revival but criticizing him for being out of step with contemporary hip hop.
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. The afternoon before Kamikaze's release, Eminem posted a 15-second teaser of a new song on social media, featuring the logo for the film Venom, without comment.
On August 31, 2018, he released the album to streaming music services Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, and YouTube on the same day without any promotion or announcement. Eminem had previously debuted a freestyle rap at the 2017 BET Awards using similar lyrics to the eventual title track and he debuted a clothing line featuring "The Kamikaze" t-shirt the month prior.
The album art mimics the Beastie Boys' 1986 Licensed to Ill; Eminem has cited them as an inspiration for several years.
Guest star Justin Vernon of Bon Iver disavowed his participation in the album, claiming that he wasn't in the studio when the recording was assembled.