NEW YORK: Eminem is provoking more outrage on a new album in which he threatens female stars, but this time he also waxes philosophical on the reasons for his aggression.

The top-selling artist in hip-hop history readily courts controversy on “Shady XV,” released Friday for the holiday shopping season.

A compilation album, “Shady XV” has one disc worth of new material from Eminem and other musicians on his Shady Records, with a second disc featuring hits from the label’s 15 years.

Eminem — or at least his musical character — imagines attacking singer Lana Del Rey as he alludes to one of the notorious recent incidents of violence against women, American football star Ray Rice’s beating of his girlfriend which was caught on a surveillance camera.

Eminem raps: “Play nice? Bitch, I’ll punch Lana Del Rey right in the face twice / Like Ray Rice in broad daylight.”

The lyrics drew widespread outrage on social media, with many saying such blatant misogyny was unacceptable, even for a rapper who frequently explains he is performing in the voice of the character “Slim Shady.”

Azalea belittled the 42-year-old Eminem on Twitter, writing that she was “bored of the old men threatening young women as entertainment trend.” Most famously, the Detroit rapper has had a complicated, to say the least, relationship with his mother.

He fantasized about violence against her on 2000’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” before apologizing to her in song.