Eminem and CeeLo Green‘s powerful contribution to the Elvis soundtrack arrived on Thursday (June 16), in the form of the hard-hitting “The King And I.”
Em compares himself to Elvis Presley in his rapid fire verses, declaring, “Now I’m about to explain to you all the parallels / Between Elvis and me, myself / It seem obvious: one, he’s pale as me / Second, we both been hailed as kings / He used to rock the Jailhouse, and I used to rock The Shelter / We sell like Velveeta Shells & Cheese.”
CeeLo then comes in with a swinging chorus, singing, “So I don’t give a s— about a thing you say / I just wanna feel like a king today / And if you don’t like it you can sit and spin / Middle fingers up, we ’bout to do this s— again.”
“Me and Eminem have been friends for years, I’ve longed for an opportunity to work with him,” Green said of the collaboration. “He said, ‘Hey man can you do this for me? I need it really quickly, I need it tonight.’ So when Eminem says he needs something tonight, you deliver.”
The soundtrack for the upcoming Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic about Elvis, starring Austin Butler, will also feature contributions from Stevie Nicks, Kacey Musgraves, Maneskin, Jack White, Tame Impala, Jazmine Sullivan, Gary Clark Jr. and Doja Cat, whose dynamic “Vegas” was previously released as the soundtrack’s first single. The song interpolates Big Mama Thornton’s 1952 foundational rock and roll song “Hound Dog,” which was later famously recorded Presley.
Listen to “The King And I” below. Elvis hits theaters on June 24.
