Dijon Duenas, the Baltimore-born singer, producer, actor, and newly crowned Pitchfork Artist of the Year, has become one of modern music’s most unpredictable voices. Yet even longtime followers were surprised when, in a new feature, he lit up at the mention of an artist Pitchfork rarely treats kindly: Eminem.
A Warm Ode to Eminem
Pitchfork asked Dijon to assess a handful of cultural staples: microwaves, almond milk, underground rap, Bluey, buzz cuts… and Eminem. And suddenly the tone shifted. Dijon didn’t hesitate or hedge but beamed:
“Eminem, that’s my king. I just love him. Underrated, I love Eminem so much”.
It wasn’t passing admiration either. Dijon spoke like someone who’d spent years studying Marshall Mathers as a craftsman:
“There’s a couple things I would tweak in his most recent offerings… maybe the last 10 years. I’d get in there with him and figure out some new stuff, some new subjects, some new speeds at which to rap. Much slower, I think”.
Before that came the part that could truly stun longtime readers of the publication:
“I have no interest really anymore in writing with others – except Eminem. That’s it”.
Not Aligned
For more than a decade, Eminem has been Pitchfork’s favourite punchline. They gave Recovery a 2.8. They dismissed The Death of Slim Shady as “tired” and “dated”.
Yet now, the musician they call “one of the most compelling voices in modern music” looks directly into the camera and declares:
“Eminem, that’s my king”.
It is the kind of moment that reveals how far outside online narratives real artists often stand.
Who Is Dijon?
Dijon began as half of the R&B duo Abhi//Dijon, releasing hazy, intimate tracks that built a quiet cult following. Since going solo in 2017, he has become one of music’s most inventive storytellers.
His debut album, Absolutely (2021), arrived with its own companion film. His 2025 follow-up, Baby, earned widespread praise for its gripping, unfiltered emotionality. In between these two, Dijon co-wrote two of Justin Bieber’s recent albums. One of which, by the way, credits Eminem as a co-writer.
So, when someone the industry currently hails as a visionary calls Eminem “underrated”, it lands with weight. It hints at a generational shift as younger boundary-pushers come to understand something critics often overlook. Clearly, Eminem’s technical imagination, emotional clarity, and cultural imprint are still shaping artists far outside hip hop.
And perhaps someday, Dijon and Marshall will really get into a studio together. That would be a meeting worth waiting for.
