Eminem Slays P. Diddy in Acrobatic Lyrics to New Diss Track ‘Fuel’

On his new song “Fuel,” Eminem rips Diddy to shreds with some of his most venomous verses in ages. The track, which also features J.I.D, appears on Eminem’s just-released 12th album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce).

After J.I.D’s verse, Eminem zeroes in on the recent allegations that Diddy sexually assaulted women. “I’m like a R-A-P-E-R,” he says, and the typo is intentional. “Got so many S-As [sexual assaults]… Wait, he didn’t just spell the word ‘Rapper’ and leave out a P, did he?” And he delivers those last three words so they sound exactly like “P. Diddy.” Sean “Diddy” Combs, of course, is currently facing several lawsuits alleging rape.

As the verse uncoils, Em offers an R.I.P. to both Diddy’s late buddy the Notorious B.I.G. and his late nemesis Tupac Shakur, but with a twist that brings the subject back to Combs. “I ain’t tryna beef with him,” Eminem raps, returning to Diddy, “‘Cause he might put a hit on me like Keffe D did him.” Last year, authorities charged Duane “Keffe D” Davis with Shakur’s murder; Davis has claimed in the past that Diddy offered him $1 million to kill Shakur and rival hip-hop mogul Suge Knight.

Eminem spends the rest of the verse bragging about his lyrical acumen, which, after the Diddy lyrics, he probably didn’t need to. He references LL Cool J, uses TechN9ne’s cadence while rapping about TEC-9 guns (“ninas”), and references another celebrity who’s currently in court. “Fuck around and get popped like Halyna Hutchins, like I’m Alec Baldwin,” he raps, referring to the cinematographer who died on the set of the movie Rust when Baldwin allegedly fired a gun at her that contained a live round.

The verses could be in contention for some of Eminem’s cleverest ever. Two decades ago, in an interview with Rolling Stone, P. Diddy himself recognized Eminem’s skill. “I think Eminem’s up there with the best of them,” Diddy said. “Biggie and Tupac, that’s another type of beast, though. They was just some other shit, in a totally separate category, like the Hall of Fame. I think Eminem will definitely join them one day … but I wouldn’t compare players that’s still playing right now to people that’s in the Hall of Fame.” Diddy may be rehinking those words of praise now.