Review Summary: A dark, psychotic, entertaining group album that has a few gems, a solid amount of decent songs, and a few songs that are clearly far below what we would expect from Eminem's homeboys.
At first, it's easy to dismiss this as an album meant for Eminem 'stans', who will be willing to put up with his 5 friends in order to hear a few hot verses from Mathers. And while that is how an Eminem fan like myself got into this album after being rocked and shocked by the Marshall Mathers LP, I strongly believe that the other members of D12 can truly step up and deliver. When D12 is on top of their game - like in Fight Music or Revelation, they are truly a force to behold, each member with a unique style that compliments each other's.
Unfortunately, D12 is not always on point and that makes certain tracks very, very skippable. There's a bit too much cliche gun-slinging and boasting, a bit too much women-degrading, and a bit too much gross-out material - and this is coming from a reviewer who loves albums like Doggystyle and Slim Shady EP/LP. The only difference is that Snoop had the sheer charisma to pull off the degrading, chronic smoking, cap-blasting persona. Eminem, when he tries to shock you, is disgusting, yet brilliant and sometimes there is even a message in his twisted rhymes. However, on songs like Nasty Mind and Pimp Like Me, the explicit sex, rape, prostitution, and potty humor isn't funny, charming, or meaningful. Bizarre doesn't have the flow or skillful wordplay to make his horrendous lyrics acceptable.
However, I did give this album a four and that means I believe the great outweighs the bad. Here are the songs worth checking out.
*** Can Happen starts the album off decently. It's nothing special, but it serves as an introduction to what D12 is all about. Kon Artis has a pretty solid rap about how people get killed in Detroit, then Kuniva comes in, explaining that while the paramedics pick you up, they will be on the side laughing. The chorus is a bit annoying, but it explains the prominent theme of the album - that Detroit is the home of horror-core violence. Swift is probably the most consistent rapper in D12 - he has a good flow and he seems to always be rapping about the same thing: ***ing people up. And then Eminem comes in with what's easily the best verse on the song, kind of like he does on "Amityville". 3.5/5
Pistol Pistol - Same old gun slingin', but this is a very entertaining, with a slick, menacing beat, a catchy chorus by Em, and solid efforts by all of the D12 members. Once again, the best verse goes to Eminem, but Kuniva is good here too, talking about how he has to pack the heat because you never know when violence will crop up as it did with Bugz, leading to his death. 4/5
Ain't Nuttin But Music - Fans of The Real Slim Shady will love this. Catchy, bouncy Dre beat and celebrity bashing by all D12 members. It has the common Eminem theme of countering claims that his music is ruining America too. If you hate Britney and Christina Aguilera, you'll love this song. Eminem is on fire, Bizarre is actually funny, which is nice after the unbearable Nasty Mind, the rest of D12 delivers well.
American Psycho - This song stands out as the best horror song on the album. Not the best song, but the prime example of how to successfully do a truly twisted song. The beat isn't in your face like the Ain't Nuttin beat, it's foreboding, menacing, and scary - perfect for Eminem, Bizarre and Kon Artis to flip some "Silence of the Lambs" ***. Eminem in particular rips the song up in the beginning with lyrics like "So - lock your doors, drop to the floors
Get your shotguns drawn - here comes another "clockwork orange". Look at bizarre; you really think hes right in his mind? What the *** you thinks going through it when he's writing his rhymes?" Bizarre is in his element here, which means you'll love him or hate him. Kon Artis comes in with some of his best rapping on the album. 4.5/5
Purple Pills - This drug anthem is like a D12 version of "Drug Ballad" or a catchier, more commercial version of "Under the Influence." You've probably heard the heavily edited Purple Hills on the radio. When I heard this my first thought was that I sure hope I don't read in the news that D12 had managed to kill themselves from all the drugs they bragged about doing. But then one has to marvel at the way that such a explicit drug song can be so damn catchy. "Cool, calm, just like my mom, with a couple of valium inside her palm, Mr. Mischief with a trick up his sleeve, roll up on you like Christopher Reeve," will surely be stuck in your head after you hear this. Kuniva and Kon have great chemistry, Swift and Proof are average, and Bizarre is disgusting, but you're used to that by now. 4/5. Note: even if you don't like edited versions, check out Purple Hills, some of the changes are really funny.
Fight Music - This is the moment where D12 steps up and delivers hard. The scene is set perfectly with yelling voices over a riff that is derived from Kashmir. This has a very Fight Club feel, you get a picture of six grown men who are pissed off and violent. Eminem is something else though; he murders the song in the best way possible by taking the fiery violence and psychotic atmosphere that Kon, Bizarre, and Kuniva create and turns it into a red hot attack by attempting to "Capture the rage of today's youth and bottle it. Crush the glass from my bare hands and swallow it. Then spit it back in the faces of you racists and hypocrites who think the same *** but don't say ***." Then he talks about how he's saving the babies from parents who failed to raise them and egging teens to retaliate. 5/5.
Devil's Night - This song is a lot like Amityville in that it attempts to paint a picture of the hell that is Detroit, and then portrays D12 as the devils that reign over that hell. Strong song that is not thematically advanced, but had a good beat and a Satanic feel. The D12 members are interweaved, with Eminem flowing smoothly to Swift, who converses with Kon. The chorus is done by Eminem and Bizarre actually starts to get self-deprecating, which sets the scene for Revelation. 4/5.
Revelation - This is the song that shows how dynamic and powerful D12 can be as a group. This song makes songs like Pimp Like Me seem that much worse, because Revelation shows that D12 does have something to say and does not need to talk nonsense and gross out to make brilliant songs. This is based on Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, which is perfect thematically for this song, which deals with the issues that each member had growing up, isolation from society, and suicidal thoughts. Bizarre is comes in strong, with shocking lyrics about masturbation, about his father abusing him, about being fed up with the world. Is he being dead honest? He might just be. Eminem's rap is like a mix of Brain Damage (which may have been influenced by the Pink Floyd song?) and Sing for the Moment. You really get the feeling that hip hop and his crazy SS persona literally saved him from his awful childhood. The chorus expresses dissatisfaction with the what our parents want for us and Eminem rejects school and work - you can see why teens love him. Swifty has a great flow on this song and he rages against his teachers and authority figures. Kuniva spills about his family, his deadbeat dad, and how in his misery he contemplates suicide.
And Proof deserves his own paragraph. His raging lyrics are the highlight of the song in my opinion. He angrily explains how society drives this kid to drinking forties, about how the kid has only ever seen violence, about how his parents weren't parents, and thats why he blew out his brains and murdered you all. The guitar solo fits in perfectly and the Another Brick in the Wall tribute at the end is a perfect way to end the song and the album. Wow. 5/5
In conclusion, this album is a absolute must-hear for fans of horror rap or for fans of Eminem. I highly recommend it for any rap fans. Eminem is as sharp as he is on Marshall Mathers LP. Swift, Proof, Kuniva, and Kon have great chemistry and while none are great alone, they create a solid effect and atmosphere. Bizarre is something else; he does have it in him to be a decent rapper. He just chooses not to. What he does have is a strong personality, as does Eminem, the only difference being Bizarre lacks Eminem's skills to back up his gross insanity. Sure, the highlights of the album usually involve Eminem, but Devil's Night, while no Enter the 36, is an amazing group album. If every song packed the punch that Fight Music or Revelation did, this would be up there with Marshall Mathers LP as a cult-classic.
