Tobey (song)

"Tobey" is a song by American rapper Eminem, featuring fellow American rappers Big Sean and BabyTron. It was released on July 2, 2024, through Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records as the second single from Eminem's twelfth studio album ''The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)''. The song makes numerous references to ''Star Wars'' and Spider-Man, the latter of which has been portrayed by the song's namesake, Tobey Maguire. It has charted within the top 30 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Production and release

"Tobey" is a collaborative effort from Michigan natives Eminem, Big Sean and BabyTron. Released on July 2, 2024, through Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records, it was produced by Eminem, Cole Bennett, Car!ton, Daniyel, Marvy Ayy, and John Nocito. "Tobey" is the fourth collaboration between Eminem and Big Sean, following " Detroit vs. Everybody", " No Favors" and " Friday Night Cypher", and the second single taken from Eminem's twelfth studio album ''The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)'' following " Houdini". Shortly after the music video was released, Cole Bennett stated on Instagram that the track started life as a BabyTron track, with Big Sean brought in later as "a moment for Detroit" and Eminem brought in after that to bring "three generations of Detroit" together. "Tobey" marks BabyTron's first entry on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

On June 28, Eminem posted a horror-themed trailer for "Tobey" on his social media accounts, containing himself, Big Sean and BabyTron, announcing that it would be released on July 2, 2024, and its music video, directed by Bennett, set to premiere three days later on July 5. The trailer featured Eminem in a Jason Voorhees mask carving into a bleeding invisible figure with a chainsaw, intended to represent Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, followed by BabyTron rapping " Tobey Maguire got bit by a spider, but see, me, it was a goat". The video was delayed by three days after it became apparent that it was not ready, with Eminem instead releasing a short snippet in which he rapped outside his house.

Cover art and composition

The single cover is a reference to a meme in which three Spider-Men point at each other, derived from episode nineteen of the 1967 Spider-Man television series, and the song was titled in reference to American actor Tobey Maguire, who played Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' film trilogy and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film '' Spider-Man: No Way Home''; Eminem had previously referenced Spider-Man characters in his songs " Rap God" and "These Demons", while BabyTron had referenced the title character in his earlier single "Spidey Senses".

Over a beat including bells and a hard rock guitar riff, BabyTron uses his hook to reference Princess Leia telling Obi-Wan Kenobi that he was her only hope in the 1977 film ''Star Wars'' and ''The Iron Giant'''s consumption of scrap metal, and Big Sean references Yoda and Wes Craven. Eminem uses his verse to criticise his fifth-place ranking on ''Billboard'' and ''Vibe''s "50 Greatest Rappers of All Time" list and criticise Melle Mel for questioning his high ranking; upon release, many fans interpreted some of his verse as taking shots at Jay-Z, prompting Royce da 5′9″ to opine otherwise.

Music video

The music video for "Tobey" was directed by Cole Bennett, who previously directed Eminem's videos for " Godzilla", " Gnat" and " Doomsday Pt. 2", and was released on July 8, 2024. The video features multiple copies of each rapper delivering their verses, and contains scenes of Eminem rapping outside his childhood house and carving into his alter ego Slim Shady. Shortly after release, Bennett posted to Instagram to state that the video had been shot six weeks earlier during a single day, with post-production stopping only two hours earlier. He also stated that he had intended a more embellished version of his video for "100 Bars", his earlier BabyTron track.

Critical reception

Tom Breihan of ''Stereogum'', who had previously panned "Houdini", expressed that "Tobey" was "more like it," describing the latter as "rap for rap's sake, without headline-chasing edgy jokes or forced, rushed cadences." He also opined that the song's central concept was "a little goofy," but felt that it worked. Upon release, Anthony Fantano criticized the instrumental, but admired the concept and lyrics and felt that the track was a "big Detroit deal" on the grounds that the track comprised "three generations of Detroit artists". Upon reviewing the album, however, he felt that his words made its narrative "a little confusing" due to the conflicting messages he was getting from "Tobey" and that album's "Guilty Conscience 2".

Personnel

;Musicians
* Eminem – primary artist, vocals, songwriter, additional producer
* Big Sean – primary artist, vocals, songwriter
* BabyTron – primary artist, vocals, songwriter
* Luis Resto – keyboards, songwriter
* Cole Bennett – producer, songwriter
* Carlton McDowell – producer, songwriter
* Daniyel – producer, songwriter
* John Nocito – producer, songwriter
* Marvy Ayy – producer, songwriter

;Technical
* Mike Strange – recording engineer, mixing engineer
* Tony Campana – recording engineer
* Tom Kahre – recording engineer
* Milan Becker – recording engineer
* Brian Gardner – mastering engineer
* James Johnson – recording engineer

Charts

References

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2024 songs
2024 singles
Eminem songs
Big Sean songs
Rap rock songs
Song recordings produced by Eminem
Songs written by Big Sean
Songs written by Eminem