Eminem joins Skylar Grey for “Last One Standing” from the Venom: Let There Be Carnage soundtrack and drops some tasteless bars

Remember the early 2000s when original movie soundtracks had featured artists making songs that were at least fun? Well, welcome to 2021, where OSTs see early 2000s icons making early 2000s references on songs that are at best offensive. Eminem has returned to the world of Sony’s Marvel Universe for a new track from Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and it is… woof.

Em, who wrote the title theme from the first Venom, this time joins Skylar Grey, Polo G, and Mozzy on “Last One Standing.” Frankly, nothing about the track makes sense: It’s credited to Grey, who has the least to do; it’s a hip-hop ballad about perseverance for a movie about two comic book alien monsters; and then there’s Eminem’s verses. Polo and Mozzy essentially sleepwalk through their bars and cash Sony’s paycheck, but Em goes for it in increasingly weird — and cringey — ways.

The freshly minted spaghetti restaurateur/server has plenty of unforgivable wordplay here, like, “Got all this bread/ I’m still sour though,” and, “Just follow me, and I’ll light the way/ Look to the hook if your sky look grey (Skylar Grey).” (Thanks for spelling that last one out for us, Slim.) But then there’s this simply horrendous moment: “So a lot of this pain isn’t healing/ No escaping it, this anger is spilling/ Almost like recreating the feeling of 9/11 when the second plane hit the building,” raps Em, as the actual sound of a plane crash explodes through the beat.

Again, this is for a comic book movie based on Marvel Comics characters. Admittedly, gruesome and horrifying Marvel characters, but not straight up traumatic. Even understanding that Eminem built a career on shock rap, this song should come with a trigger warning for anyone over the age of 20. At nearly 50, Em should be able to do better.

If you dare, listen to Grey and Eminem’s “Last One Standing” below. Venom: Let There Be Carnage, meanwhile, is out this Friday, October 1st. Then, if you have the stomach for it after bars like these, you can check out Em’s new Mom’s Spaghetti restaurant in Detroit.