(Hip-Hop) Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP

[Iai]

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004WMYB.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Released 2000.
Aftermath Records.
#302 on Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums Ever.
#5 on Q's Top 100 Albums Ever.

Tracklisting -
1. Public Service Announcement 2000 (skit)
2. Kill You
3. Stan
4. Paul (skit)
5. Who Knew
6. Steve Berman (skit)
7. Way I Am
8. The Real Slim Shady
9. Remember Me - (feat. RBX/Sticky Fingaz)
10. I'm Back
11. Marshall Mathers
12. Ken Kaniff (skit)
13. Drug Ballad
14. Amityville (feat. Bizarre)
15. Bitch Please II (feat. Dr. Dre/Snoop Dogg/Xzibit/Nate Dogg)
16. Kim
17. Under The Influence
18. Criminal

Albums, sometimes, are big. You know Elephant? That was big. And then, sometimes, albums are huge. Hybrid Theory? That was huge. And then, every so often, an album comes along that practically eats the world. Everywhere you go, it's there. It seems like everyone you know owns a copy. The lyrics and images within the album become an essential part of our culture. The artist comes to be among the world's most important fashion icons, and has their entire career made up. And for a while at least, it feels like nothing and nobody is seperate from its influence.

Albums like this don't come every day. In the 90's, only 3 albums could really claim that status - Nevermind, Jagged Little Pill, and OK Computer. And this decade, only one - The Marshall Mathers LP.

You'd have to be about 7 years old to not remember how massive this album was. It broke all records for first-week sales by a solo artist. It went 5-times platinum in its first month of release, a feat matched only by 2Pac and Notorious BIG. It has since sold 9 million copies in the US alone, and 15.3 million worldwide. It helped turn hip-hop into the most commercially lucrative form of music in the world. Without it, D-12 and 50 Cent wouldn't exist, and it's probable that Jay-Z and his ilk wouldn't be the stars they are today.

Nowadays, in the wake of this album, Eminem's every move and every utterance is scrutinized. He's recently come under fire for 2 bootlegs - one saying he wished the President was dead, and one attacking an ex-girlfriend - these events led to FBI investigation and a public apology after the song about his girlfriend was construed as racist by The Source (a magazine that has declared all-out war on him). Oh, and he's won an Oscar.

Perhaps the influence of this album can be put to words by the reader's comment on Q's Top 100 Albums Of All Time. 'It made me give a **** about music again.' That's exactly what this album did for me. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Before this, I saw music as being one of three things - unintelligible noise, boring, or for little kids. Sometimes all three. Then this album came out.

It still amazes me how well this album did, commercially. It's witty, intelligent, and not easy to listen to. Those aren't qualities you tend to associate with a 15-million seller. Eminem resolutedly HATED pop music. The moment this album dropped, he BECAME pop music. The face of the charts changed. Just as symbolic as Nirvana displacing Michael Jackson, Eminem displaced Britney Spears in the Billboard charts.

The key element to The Marshall Mathers LP is its intensity. Eminem didn't water down his sound to become such a success. This album was more intense, harder, louder, cruder, scarier, funnier, wittier, more shocking, infinitely more soul-bearing.....it was The Slim Shady LP to the nth degree. And you know he means every minute of it. You know that's he's hungry to prove himself - to prove all those Vanilla Ice comparisons wrong, to prove he's not a gimmick, to prove that white guys can rap.

And prove it he does. This is the album that stamped Eminem's reputation as possibly the best MC since Rakim - certainly the best to gain mainstream acceptance. There's more than enough here to prove his wit and technical ability - Who Knew's explanation of the hypocricy of middle American parents; Amityville's portrayal of the Detroit he grew up in; The Way I Am as a whole.

What elevates this above most mainstream rap albums is the variation. From Kill You's excellent use of silence and sparcity, to Stan's sampling of Dido and use of rain and writing sound effects, to The Real Slim Shady's twisted pop, to Marshall Mather's lonely acoustic guitar, to Bitch Please II's Dre-trademarked G-funk, to Kim. Oh man, you have to hear Kim. It's utterly incredible. Emotional, epic, tragic, disturbing, thought-provoking. It's the under-rated jewel in this LP, and indeed, Eminem's career.

The album is flawed only by a couple of skits (the Ken Kaniff skit is disgusting and has no place in music) and by guest appearances. Amityville would be much better off without Bizzare. D12 have never been up to Eminem's standards, a fact first proved on Under The Influence. Remember Me is better, but below average for this album. No such problems with Dido on Stan or Dre, Snoop, Xzibit, and Nate Dogg on Bitch Please II, though. Something that should be mentioned - although it is not necessarily a flaw as such - is the amount of nods to The Slim Shady LP. Drug Ballad is a sequel to Cum On Everybody, Kim ends the way '97 Bonnie & Clyde started, and the skit for both albums run parallel (Public Service Announcement, Ken Kaniff, and Paul are all on both albums). This may mean that this album becomes more enjoyable after having heard Slim Shady.

I'm willing to lay money on the fact that the vast majority of people reading this have already heard this album and made up their minds. If you haven't you pretty much missed out on the most culturally important musical event since grunge - maybe even since punk. Nevermind though. (Pun intended.) And it's for that reason that I'm not sure what score to give this album. It's not perfect, and thus doesn't deserve 5. And yet, a 5 denotes an album that everybody should hear and should own - and I believe that to be true of this album. Even if you ignore the album's importance, it remains a truly special album, unique in rap's canon, owing its spirit to rock and its heritage to rap, in a way I've certainly never seen. Not to mention, it is an immensely opinion-dividing album, and one blamed for offending as many people as it delights. So, I hope you understand when I say....

No score given.

Recommended Download -
If you really haven't heard anything from this album (which I doubt), then The Way I Am is a great place to start. If you have, and you made your mind up about Eminem before hearing it, then it has to be the immense Kim.

[Iai]

I'm sorry if this isn't quite up to my usual standards....I've spent all day trying to get rid of several annoying trojans and pieces of spyware, and I'm tired.

[Bartender]

One of the few Top 500 albums I could have reviewed, gone. Better than I would have done though, so tis a good thing overall.

I really like this album, basically because I enjoy quick, flowing, witty rapping, and Eminem is really very good at it. I used to listen to it frequently, when it first came out, but now it's not my usual genre of music by a long shot, so I don't listen to it very often. I haven't listened to it in a long while actually, though that's as much to do with not being able to find it as anything else.

[SubtleDagger]

He's good at what he does, but I don't appreciate that you give this album so much credit simply because of its sales. And the fact that you mention Jagged Little Pill and OK Computer is just proposterous. Those albums have nothing in common with each other. They did not attain the sales of Nevermind or this album. They were not breakthrough/crossover albums by any means.

If there's one thing I dislike, it's going through sales garbage in a record review. It's just wrong.

[LoveBuzzed]

It went 5-times platinum in its first month of release, a feat matched only by 2Pac and Notorious BIG.

You said this ^^^^^

Are they the only "rap/hip-hop" artists to do this or are they the only people ever?

[YDload]

Ever since the most popular punk bands were replaced by "pop" punk and all intelligent political and social discourse was removed, Eminem has been the undisputed king of pissing people off. Plus, he's a very good rapper with regards to voice and speed, not to mention he's pretty damn funny when he wants to be.

Thanks for reviewing this; it's starred on the list now.

[ludacrishiphop]

did you write that yourself?? its not really an album review, its more of a sales review.... but ludacris likes :cool:

[bassitup]

"...Before this, I saw music as being one of three things - unintelligible noise, boring, or for little kids. Sometimes all three. Then this album came out."

i hate you for that comment.
maybe you should listen to some real music.


eminems good at what he does, but im not into rap/hiphop/rnb - my most hated genres, equal with anything heard on the radio.

and i dont believe you wrote this review. its like something out of an article.

[brycey]

The review does seem a tad professional I have to admit. I love this album. It was one of the first albums/artists I listened to and that got me into music. Suspiciously fantastic review.

[Kif]

I really like Eminem. He's rhymes and style of writing are so much more intelligent than regular mainstream rap, so when I picked up this album I was looking forward to listening to it.

I was impressed with the lyrical value, and overall it was a good album

[Iai]

"...Before this, I saw music as being one of three things - unintelligible noise, boring, or for little kids. Sometimes all three. Then this album came out."

i hate you for that comment.
maybe you should listen to some real music.

Note that I said - BEFORE THIS. Indicating, that I didn't bother listening to music properly until this came out. It was this album that made me realise there was more out there. Pretty obvious if you read the quote before - 'It made me give a **** about music'. How about reading it properly, yeah?

did you write that yourself?? its not really an album review, its more of a sales review....

As I said, I didn't feel there was much I could say as an album review, because pretty much everybody has heard it. Over the whole spectrum of this forum, I'd reckon on maybe a maximum of 30 people having not heard anything from it. And those are people who live in obscure countries.

Are they the only "rap/hip-hop" artists to do this or are they the only people ever?

They're the only hip-hop artists ever. Sorry, should have clarified that.

He's good at what he does, but I don't appreciate that you give this album so much credit simply because of its sales.

Did you read beyond the first paragraph?

And the fact that you mention Jagged Little Pill and OK Computer is just proposterous. Those albums have nothing in common with each other. They did not attain the sales of Nevermind or this album. They were not breakthrough/crossover albums by any means.

Sales isn't the most important thing. The influence they had is. As soon as OK Computer was released, everybody was labelling it the best album ever. It has been labelled as such in many reader-voted polls. And it proved to be a massive influence on Travis, Elbow, Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Mansun, Martin Grech....there was a massive wave of indie bands who appeared in the mainstream bearing an obvious debt to this album, and they're still appearing today. Jagged Little Pill did much the same - Jewel, Mel Bainbridge, right up to Michelle Branch and Avril Lavigne today. It re-invented the idea of being a female singer-songwriter.

And, in fact, Jagged Little Pill outsold Nevermind by quite a large margin.

And, again as mentioned in the review, the sales are merely a barometer of the cultural impact it had - a concrete way of saying it.

And in response to.....everyone, pretty much....yes I did write this, with the help of the web for the sales figures, and one quote taken from Q. I'll take the fact you think it's plagiarized as a compliment.

[Iai]

eminems good at what he does, but im not into rap/hiphop/rnb - my most hated genres, equal with anything heard on the radio.

Might I also add that, if you hate anything on the radio, why do you have RHCP as your avatar? Get your head out of your ***.

[mexicanfloydian]

Great review. I liked this album long time ago.

[Kiedisfan69]

One of my favorite rap albums of all time. All of these songs are catchy and have good lyrics. My favorite songs are: Criminal, Marshal Mathers, The Way I am, and Under the Influence. Out of those, "Marshal Mathers" has the most interesting lyrics.

[CommieCanada]

Great review. I liked this album long time ago.
yeah, back when eminem was "cool".... sellout

[superpeer]

This album is pretty good. But not really my style anymore.

[The Scentless Apprentice]

i think he raps about his mum too much.. well thats all i see on music channels, he must rap about his mum in at least three songs and i think now its time that he moves onto another topic

*then again it is my own stupid fault for watching music channels in the first place.

[ken1kanniff]

i write lyrics...pretty well , some have told me. and for that i would like to point out to anyone in these forums interested in the lyrical aspect of music that eminem...whether you like rap or not...is one of the most talended lyricists of our time. Quite possibly THE most. i don't even listen to rap and still...if you have an open enough mind to respect something for what it is whether you prefer to listen to it or not...nobody with half a brain can deny this kid his pure ability.

he has turned the world on its ear with what he's done. in an industry filled with folks rappin about cars money and otherwise i think it's refreshing to hear somebody rap about politics, the dangers of drugs (albeit also endorsing on occasion), and the f##ked up things that go on in the music industry.

great album

and i'm a granola head DMB and grateful dead loving hippie...but i can admit when someone is good at something...eminem is the only really tallented person in maistream rap today....imho

[pixiesfanyo]

He's a pretty good lyricist. Not the best by any means though.

Eminem is decent. He is getting kind of old with D12. And I'm a bigger fan of the Slim Shady EP (since it's insane and he is on it).

Great review

[SubtleDagger]

I'll give him credit for writing something personal and having an excellent rapping style, but his lyrics really aren't that insightful. Matter of fact, they're pretty boring.

But at least he tries to do something personal, which puts him on a higher level than many rappers.

[Shadows]

And, in fact, Jagged Little Pill outsold Nevermind by quite a large margin.Nothing personal, but that sickens me.

Rap/hip-hop is not my type of music by any means, and overall I find Eminem to be extremely annoying to any extent, so I can't really contribute to the thread. I suppose it was a decent review, although I find track-by-track reviews to be much more useful and interesting to read.

[The Scentless Apprentice]

in fact after a while i find his voice rather irrateing 'these chicks dont even know the name of my band' try hearing that on TV everyday 100 times :(

*oh yeah, 'band!?' wtf!?

[Iai]

Nothing personal, but that sickens me.

Well, I don't particularly like either album....so I guess I can't comment on that. But I think the margin is something like Nevermind's 10 million, to Jagged Little Pill's 16 million (in the US - source, http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0151020.html). Worldwide JLP sold 30 million. Nevermind, I think, is something like 16m. As much as rampant Nirvana fans piss me off, that kind of....well, it doesn't sicken me at all, I just find it odd.

Rap/hip-hop is not my type of music by any means, and overall I find Eminem to be extremely annoying to any extent, so I can't really contribute to the thread. I suppose it was a decent review, although I find track-by-track reviews to be much more useful and interesting to read.

I only do track-by-track for compilations, because I feel albums should be taken as a complete piece of work, rather than in fragments. Since Napster I've been fighting a losing battle on that, but ****it, I'm a purist. Going track-by-track takes away from contributing on how the album flows, et cetera. I could do both, but that's very long-winded and I haven't got the time.

[Iai]

in fact after a while i find his voice rather irrateing 'these chicks dont even know the name of my band' try hearing that on TV everyday 100 times :(

*oh yeah, 'band!?' wtf!?

Yes, that's an incredibly annoying song. I really feel you have to look at D12 and Eminem as two seperate entities, though. Eminem really doesn't put in the effort with the group - his lyrics are still good, but the delivery is pretty monotone, and you get the feeling he isn't trying as hard to make them fit in, smooth out the edges. Like he's saving all his best stuff for his own albums.

Funny thing with D12, though - the better Eminem gets, the worse the rest of them get. And vice versa.

And what's wrong with band? Are they not a group of people who make music? Oh well, Proof agrees with you (hint: check the lyrics).

[Bartender]

I like reviews both with track-by-track and without; I think it depends which is better suited to the album being reviewed.

[Arucard]

even though, im more into rock and stuff this album does rap justice
all those people that are like, rap isnt real music need to grow up
this is great
a masterpiece of music

[Arucard]

this album owns with a capitol O
i think im gonna review lil john and the eastside bois - kings of krunk
man that album is so good

[RIPJoeStrummer]

I'm not a big fan of Eminem, his new stuff (solo and D12) is horrible but this actually was a pretty OK album. Although I think the Slim Shady LP is better.

[splashfreak]

I hate rap, and I hate eminem, but pretty decent review, I would say... well, not bad at least. I think u sucked up to the album quite a bit, but sucking up to an album doesn't even make any sense, so nevermind...

[fuctup]

i hate rap in almost all of its forms but there are 3 artist in rap music that i respect Eminem is one of them(black eyed peas and public enemy are the others...if any one gives a SHlT). this album (except for a few songs) was has a phonomenal amount of whitt to it and pretty much broke down all the ruels of rap music.

[Iai]

i hate rap in almost all of its forms but there are 3 artist in rap music that i respect Eminem is one of them(black eyed peas and public enemy are the others...if any one gives a SHlT). this album (except for a few songs) was has a phonomenal amount of whitt to it and pretty much broke down all the ruels of rap music.
That post sums up why this album was so important, and so great.

And good call on Public Enemy.

[Iai]

I hate rap, and I hate eminem, but pretty decent review, I would say... well, not bad at least. I think u sucked up to the album quite a bit, but sucking up to an album doesn't even make any sense, so nevermind...
Yeah, I did suck up to it. I totally admit that. But then, as I said, this was the album that made care about music in the first place, and now music is my life. So, this album is pretty special to me.

[Det_Nosnip]

Heh....you two (Bartender and Iai) have some of the most diverse tastes on this board. Good on you! :cool:

The Marshall Mathers LP was almost too heavy for me to take, but I definetly respect Eminem a good deal for what he did with it. It's incredibly powerful stuff, but almost too much...I have to be really in the mood for it to be able to handle it. Still, I agree that it's a great album of its own regard, highly groundbreaking and very important. Hopefully...maybe, just maybe, the rest of the rap world will catch up to the few brilliant artists and give us something worth listening to in the mainstream again.

[payable_on_death]

Awesome review. Did you write it?

[Iai]

Heh....you two (Bartender and Iai) have some of the most diverse tastes on this board. Good on you! :cool:

The Marshall Mathers LP was almost too heavy for me to take, but I definetly respect Eminem a good deal for what he did with it. It's incredibly powerful stuff, but almost too much...I have to be really in the mood for it to be able to handle it. Still, I agree that it's a great album of its own regard, highly groundbreaking and very important. Hopefully...maybe, just maybe, the rest of the rap world will catch up to the few brilliant artists and give us something worth listening to in the mainstream again.
Right now, the same thing seems to have happened as happened with Public Enemy - people are spending all their efforts trying to replicate the sound and the shock factor, while ignoring the spirit and the message.

I really think that, like Public Enemy, it will come to pass that Eminem will have a bigger impact on rock than rap.

[Iai]

Awesome review. Did you write it?
I did, yes. Thank you.

Seeing as the reason I write album reviews for this board is because I want to do it professionally later in life, people accusing me of plagiarising is the highest compliment. :cool: It's happened a lot in this thread.

[payable_on_death]

Eminem's become more...comical and mainstream with his newer releases in my opinion. His songs from The Eminem Show onwards are so radio-friendly. I hope Encore is a decent album.

[TouchNGo]

this album is comparable to nevermind in that many didnt see it as brilliant and genius on release however its impact was so great despite this. i still believe this album is the best piece of music that eminem has released as he was a relative unknown at the time and there was no pressure from the media etc, it was pure unadulterated marshall mathers. i must say everything pretty much after this album i have hated from eminem which has lead to me disliking an artist who was once one i truly enjoyed.

[Iai]

I've heard maybe half of Encore. It's his worst material yet.

[Bartender]

i still believe this album is the best piece of music that eminem has released as he was a relative unknown at the time and there was no pressure from the media etc, it was pure unadulterated marshall mathers.

Surely that would be the Slim Shady LP.

[manuscriptreplica]

I'm starting to like Eminem's stuff more lately, it just puts me off that all the homie fags listen to him. And Stan is such a **** song, it was overplayed to death over here in Australia

4/5 for this beast, I think 'The Way I Am' is his best song yet, and a real testament to his supreme skills

[LordDargon]

Eminem! The king, hero, icon, and role-model of all wiggers in the world...

No score given.
I assume you didn't give it a rating becuase it is impossible to come up with a rating bad enough for this album.

Good work soldier!

[Det_Nosnip]

Not exactly.

Here's the conversation....




.................................................. ...................here's you.

Notice the difference? In case you were wondering...no, that definetly doesn't mean you're "ahead."

[pixiesfanyo]

^ That made no sense.

Anyway, this is a good album. Not really that mind blowing. It hasn't had much infulence over rap either in my opinion.

[LordDargon]

I think he was trying to say (In his distorted, mongoloid way) that I was lagging behind on the conversation.

In that case, I will have to quote the review so his single brain cell can crank out an analysis of what it was I posted.

[patman04]

I have heard a lot of the new Eminem cd, and I must say that it is the same **** he's been making all along. There is one song that my roomate constantly plays about getting hard over all these teen icons like the olson twins. It is absolutely stupid, and considering that he is much older than these girls, it's kind of creepy.

[Det_Nosnip]

I think he was trying to say (In his distorted, mongoloid way) that I was lagging behind on the conversation.

In that case, I will have to quote the review so his single brain cell can crank out an analysis of what it was I posted.

Actually, I was pointing out that you were WAY off in your assessment.

Here's the review that you obviously didn't read:

http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224241&page=1&pp=25

Based upon your track record, I'm going to assume that you're going to fail to read it again, so I'll point out a few important bits in order to aid in understanding the reviewers' thoughts and opinions regarding the album:


Perhaps the influence of this album can be put to words by the reader's comment on Q's Top 100 Albums Of All Time. 'It made me give a **** about music again.' That's exactly what this album did for me. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Before this, I saw music as being one of three things - unintelligible noise, boring, or for little kids. Sometimes all three. Then this album came out.

It still amazes me how well this album did, commercially. It's witty, intelligent, and not easy to listen to. Those aren't qualities you tend to associate with a 15-million seller. Eminem resolutedly HATED pop music. The moment this album dropped, he BECAME pop music. The face of the charts changed. Just as symbolic as Nirvana displacing Michael Jackson, Eminem displaced Britney Spears in the Billboard charts.

Sounds like a pretty positive review, eh? Now, let's take a look at what YOU said:



Eminem! The king, hero, icon, and role-model of all wiggers in the world...


Quote:
Originally Posted by Iai
No score given.


I assume you didn't give it a rating becuase it is impossible to come up with a rating bad enough for this album.

Good work soldier!
Now, from a scale of 1-5, 1 being worst, 5 being spot on, how would you rate your assessment of the reviewers' opinions towards the Eminem release? (Hint: the answer isn't from 2-5)

So, yeah...I'd say you were pretty far off.

[LordDargon]

Oh, is that what you meant. I knew the guy liked the album - I was just trying to piss people off and state my opinion all at once. Looks like it worked :)

PS: I knew he would like it becuase I know what Iai likes. You are correct that I didn't read the whole review... It would be like saying "Jeezus, I hate this movie so much, it makes be puke" and then going and reading the script of the movie.

[Iai]

Oh, is that what you meant. I knew the guy liked the album - I was just trying to piss people off and state my opinion all at once. Looks like it worked :)

PS: I knew he would like it becuase I know what Iai likes. You are correct that I didn't read the whole review... It would be like saying "Jeezus, I hate this movie so much, it makes be puke" and then going and reading the script of the movie.
It must be said, Dargon, you are an elitest cunt - but the place wouldn't be half as fun without you.

[Det_Nosnip]

In other words, you were trolling...in a distorted, mongoloid kind of way.

[LordDargon]

Not so much, I did have a point, which was that I think Eminem is a massive, heaping pile of steaming dog sh.it and that his influence over society is greatly distorted - I can say with confidence that the only Eminem song I have ever heard is that insanely popular one that goes "guess who's back, back again" etc, and that is not off of this album.

Therefore, though the review stated that it was not likely ANYONE hadn't heard this album, it is a fact.

[Scott Herren]

I like this album. I think anyone who listens to it can like it. If you hate it because you are hardkhor and will never listen to rap, and haven't listened to it, then that is your business. I usually don't say music sucks, and especially if I haven't even heard it.

[juggalotricksta]

i gotta say i think this is eminem at his best. this was the only one of his albums that i cared enough about to listen to thoroughly. tracks i would recommend are kill you, bitch please II, and drug ballad. and on a side note, the ken kaniff skit from this album is a shot at insane clown posse. they have had an on going "beef" with eminem for quite a while, and i believe this (as well as the verse in marshall mathers about wrestler guys/clowns/faygo root beer) is his response to their crack at him - "slim anus" so its not really out of place in music, its just him sayin "i know you are but what am i."

[Bartender]

The thing is, the song ICP had up on their website for just a day ("Eminem Ain't Nothing But a Bitch", or something similar - they took it down to avoid legalities) was actually really good.

On a side note, does anyone have that song? I used to have it, but I lost :(

[juggalotricksta]

The thing is, the song ICP had up on their website for just a day ("Eminem Ain't Nothing But a Bitch", or something similar - they took it down to avoid legalities) was actually really good.

On a side note, does anyone have that song? I used to have it, but I lost :(


yeah i have it. thats actually the song they wrote to get back at eminem for the stuff he did on marshall mathers lp. you can find it on icp's cd forgotten freshness volume 3. and slim anus is on a pretty rare album of theirs psychopathics from outer space part I...if anyones interested.

[Bartender]

Thanks. Maybe I can track it down again now.

[juggalotricksta]

no problem. anything else you want by them let me know i probably have it.

[Scott Herren]

Wait, ICP has a good song? What's it called again? :lol:

[superpeer]

ICP rules.

[juggalotricksta]

ICP rules.


clown love yo.