RAP: Eminem’s new album alights.
By Stephen Park, Staff Writer
The bleached hair, the baggy khaki pants, the I-don’t-care attitude: oh man, Slim Shady must be back. But this isn’t a revival—this is more like Marshall Mather’s Halloween costume. This is a wannabe, an imitator dressed up for the 2001 trick-or-treating bonanza. This is a Halloween costume for someone who just heard the Slim Shady LP, memorized some of the fantastic punchlines and cannot wait to be the most relevant thing at the party. Yet when he walks in, there’s a sea of other Slim Shadys doing it better, and suddenly his costume feels cheap. So in response to the Marshal Mathers LP 2, I ask: will the real Slim Shady please stand up? Please, stand up?
A lot of Eminem’s success can be attributed to the controversial subjects he touched on early in his career. Angst, violence, hatred, drugs, sex and perversion, all packed into neat punchlines. It wasn’t Eminem’s stage name that made him the star that he is. It was “Slim Shady,” the antihero of the musical genre. Eminem recently experienced turbulence in his career: a drug problem and a hiatus followed by two lackluster LPs. While MMLP2 does get some things right, the entire package just falls short.
I’ll give respect where it’s due; Eminem is still very passionate about his music. He is still very technically skilled, evident from the flow, cadence and personality present in his album. On top of that, fans of the old Eminem will love the presence of crude humor, which he approaches with the tact of a bazooka. This is Eminem’s idea of a sequel to his most critically acclaimed album, the original Marshall Mathers LP—a very tall order by any musician’s standards. This is why the album feels so bland. Though I will admit it’s one of his more ambitious releases in modern times, Eminem no longer has anything left to prove. He’s already made his mark on the rap industry, so it’s really just a sub-par Eminem release.
But in a way, he does accomplish what he meant to achieve in this album. Many of the songs allude back to previous songs—if not just as direct sequels—and plenty of them are epic, personal and hilarious.
For instance, the album kicks off with the song “Bad Guy,” which is rapped from the viewpoint of Stan’s younger brother. Stan was an obsessed fanboy who is killed off in the song “Stan” from the original Marshall Mathers LP. “Parking Lot” revisits the song “Criminal” from one of his earlier works. In a new twist, Slim Shady criticizes himself rather than others. He raps about growing old and tired, the double standards he struggles against (like how he treats his daughters), as well as how he hated bullies but became one through his hostile rhymes. He comes across as self-loathing, but at the same time, he can sound so hungry, so passionate, so realistically angry as if he was once again the repulsive radioactive, bleached-haired kid again. This is especially evident in songs like “Survival” or “Berzerk,” where it feels like a gun is going off. Songs like “Rap God” or “Love Game” incite no doubt that Eminem is a champion of great technical prowess. However, not everything is edgy or masterful; in songs like “Groundhog Day” or “Legacy” Eminem’s flow is just laughable. His technical ability just gets swept underneath these cockamamie songs.
The main fault here is that some of Eminem’s verses are unforgivably cheesy and cringe-worthy. A few verses of this nature are: “Goddamn honkey/ That compliments like backhanding a donkey,” “I own a mansion but live in a house/ A king-sized bed but I sleep on the couch” or “Only option I have is a McDonald’s bathroom/ In a public stall droppin a football.” Some of the hooks on these tracks feel like Eminem didn’t even try. On top of that, he attempts elements out of his boundaries. The song “Stronger Than I Was” exemplifies this as Eminem sings throughout the entire song, but lacks the vocal talent needed.
Eminem has the capability to be a god of wordplay, but he doesn’t know how to apply it. What good is being an A1 racer with no car? This album is too inconsistent to be good. Great songs are met with terrible ones, but it takes too much effort to find the decent tracks. It’s an okay album, but it’s not as awe-inspiring as the original Marshall Mathers LP.
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