Eminem‘s latest greatest-hits album is already causing a stir nearly one month before its release date.
A follow-up to 2005’s “Curtain Call,” his latest compilation will highlight his work from 2009 until now and is set to be released on Aug. 5.
The cover of “Curtain Call 2″ already has fans spotting numerous references to his past album artwork, including the fighter jet from “Kamikaze,” the devil horns from “The Marshall Mathers LP 2″ and buildings from his hometown of Detroit, among others.
Closer examination, though, reveals the kind of childish jokes that have made the 49-year-old rapper an easy target for criticism in recent years. Flip the cover upside down, and the numbers reveal crude calculator jokes: “558008″ becomes “BOOBSS.” Wrap it all together in an awkwardly colorized, pinball-themed cover, and you’ve got the latest Eminem-themed Twitter fodder for the day.
“This has to be up there with some of the worst album covers,” one user wrote.
“As an Eminem fan I can say Donda album cover is better than Curtain call 2 album cover,” another wrote, referencing the plain black square Kanye West used as his “Donda” cover art. “I’m sorry it is what it is.”
On June 24, Eminem linked with Snoop Dogg for “From the D 2 the LBC,” which sees the two riffing on their hometowns of Detroit and Long Beach over racing drums. The week prior, he hopped on the “Elvis” biopic soundtrack, tag-teaming with CeeLo Green on “The King and I.”
Both of the new songs will be on “Curtain Call 2,” along with one previously unreleased track.