Did you know that Stephen King has been an Eminem fan for years? If you did, you would not be surprised to learn that he sneaks an Eminem reference or two in his books.
A Reddit user was pleasantly surprised, and shared their findings on a sub, showing a page from “The Institute”, a 2019 book about a facility for kids with paranormal abilities. It’s just a line where a character deflects a comment about his hat, declaring himself an Eminem fan.
It is not the first time the King of Horror employs Eminem as a recognisable cultural marker. For instance, in the 2006 novel “Cell”, Stephen King referenced the whole Eminem vs Moby beef and took Marshall’s side. This quote was also publicised by a Redditor:
What is surprising is that the Eminem and Stephen King audiences are not overlapping enough. Both have a remarkable command of the English language, deal with the darkest themes, and know how to shock their audience and grip their attention. And both are extraordinarily successful in what they do.
Stephen King has been following Em’s career from the very beginning. In an interview with himself published in 2022 he shares:
Steve: What are you listening to these days?
S.K. Well, the new Eminem record kicks major ass. The guy is funny, smart, and sometimes shocking. Those are all things I look for in rock and roll.
Steve: Eminem’s a rapper.
S.K. It’s all rock and roll to me, although Eminem might not go along with that. In fact, he’d probably get his buddy Slim Shady to call me on the phone and tell me to go fuck myself.
Later, Stephen King named Eminem’s Recovery album one of the highlights of 2010:
I started off thinking Eminem was a flash in the pan, a kind of hip-hop Hanson brother. How wrong I was. Recovery is sometimes funny, sometimes terrible, always painfully honest. The matching of Eminem and Rihanna on “Love the Way You Lie” is pure genius. “Not Afraid” is pretty great too.
Do you think Eminem, in his turn, is one of Stephen King’s many fans?
