Review Summary: Accent, schmaccent, this was Em at his straight up sickest in years, if not ever.
You'd think after roughly (insert my album rating here) years out of the spotlight, Em would look to position himself atop of the rap world, hell, the music world, once again. Not only was Encore a critical disaster, but its sales continued the downward trend in Shady's work post-MMLP. Not to say Encore was a flop by any means, but it just seemed that Eminem was slowly but surely on his way to losing his top dog status. So with his first album since 2004, Em was surely going to try to win back some fans with another hit-producing bohemoth of an LP, right?
Wrong. Dead wrong. I'm talking Kim Mathers in a trunk wrong. With Relapse, Slim trades in the Mockingbirds and Lose Yourselfs of his past discography in favor of gore-filled insanity. Now, that's not to say that his past work isn't controversial (just give '97 Bonnie and Clyde or Kim a listen), but I mean this album is straight up demented almost throughout. Before getting all soft on our asses with Recovery a year later, Relapse is perhaps the last we will ever see of Mathers' Shady persona - and I'll say he certainly went out with a bang.
1. Dr. West - Although the album starts off in traditional Em fashion with a skit, this particular opener is different than many of his past, as it does an excellent job setting the dark and gloomy tone for the rest of the CD.
2. 3 A.M. - Let's just address it now - Em raps with an accent on this album. And I'll admit that upon firt hearing this track as a single, the voice change did bother me a bit. But as I continued to listen to the album and focused more on the rhymes and beats, I found myself almost unfazed by it. Now that that's out of the way, 3 A.M. really showcases Em's lyrical prowess. I mean, between internal rhymes, multi-syllabic flows, and creating 25 successive rhymes in the first verse alone (using anything from "McDonalds with" to "audience"), I was blown away by this track. Plus, the beat is fantastic, with a rather haunting feel to it; even incorporating some chants of "eeevvvviiiillll" towards the end. 4.5/5
3. My Mom - Right off the bat, Shady points out that, yeah, he has bitched about his mom for quite some time now, perhaps even too much time. However, being that he seems to possess a maturity level of half his age though most of the album, he just keeps dissing her. With My Mom, though, he tosses aside the Cleaning Out My Closet approach and just goes balls out, rapping about obviously-exaggerated scenarios regarding his mother's treatment of him as a child. Granted this track is more or less pointless, but honestly, anyone with half a brain should realize that Relapse isn't about introspective, meaningful bull*** - it's about absurd subject matter and offensive punchlines. 4/5
4. Insane - Didn't I just mention something about offensive punchlines? Well how's this - "I was born with a dick in my brain, yeah, ***ed in the head; my stepfather said that I sucked in the bed." Essentially a three-minute rant again painting an ostensibly false picture of his childhood, this track is (as Paul so touchingly puts it) "the whole gay stepfather incest rape thing." This song may be pointless, but it has some side-splitting punchlines. 4/5
5. Bagpipes from Baghdad - Focusing on Em's relationship with Mariah Carey, this song is basically Relapse’s Superman. Except more blatant in its approach. Legit, Em just pretty much lets her have it in this one - dropping the C word, hinting that she’s an alcoholic, etc. Despite my overall defense of the accent, though, I will concede that Slim’s voice sounds godawful in the chorus during this track. 3.5/5
6. Hello – Although vicotin references abound in My Mom, Hello is an all-out drug track. While much of this album, and this track, is more or less shock rap prattle, Em does make a conscience effort to point out just how difficult recovery (the process, not the somewhat ***ty album) was. Still, though, while this song merely makes drug references, it fails where Déj* Vu succeeds in tackling the problems associated with his addiction. 3/5
7. Tonya – Nothing to see here, just another ho hum abduction by Shady. This skit is a lead-in to…
8. Same Song & Dance – In keeping theme with the rest of the album, Em tells a tale from the point of a drug addict/rapist/murderer who has relapsed (a.k.a. himself). This track in particular is ***ed as hell. I mean, Slim may be a chart-topping icon, but he’s seriously a sick bastard. Hell, this track has lines about him mailing one of his ears to Britney Spears and creeping on her in stilettos. Also, this song has a fittingly eerie and intriguing beat. 3.5/5
9. We Made You – Now it’s no secret that this is the predictable, goofy, pop-culture-referencing first single of the album. Clearly, this song was made solely for radio and MTV purposes. Still, though, it has some lol-inducing lines (i.e. “Jessica Alba, put a breast on my mouth [brup]. Wowzers I just made a mess in my trousers”). Overall, though, this isn’t a great track by any means. 3.5/5
10. Medicine Ball – Holy ***, Eminem is a complete monster and kind of an asshole on this track. Honestly, I don’t know how I expected anything different, though, being that he’s been making Christopher Reeve jokes for years now. Still though, the guy’s dead for ***’s sake. I literally can’t believe how many lines Em crosses in this four-minute douchefest. Also interesting is the line during which Em says, “I’ll pee on Rihanna, see I’ll do what I wanna.” Personally, I have this theory that Rihanna was going to sue Slim after she heard this, so he let her make some cash with Love the Way You Lie to make up for it. Because, legit, why the hell else would she ever work with him after a line like that? Crackpot theories aside, this is a darkly hilarious song. 4/5
11. Paul – I shat my pants when I first heard this skit. Easily my favorite Paul skit.
12. Stay Wide Awake – Rapping over a sinister beat, Em again rhymes from the P.O.V. of a serial killer/rapist. Between cracking jokes(?) about Ted Bundy and dropping lines such as, “Impregnate a lesbian, yeah now let’s see her have triplets and I’ll di / sintegrate them babies soon as they’re out her with formalde / hyde and cyanide, girl you can try and hide, you can try and scream louder.” This is just a morally-horrendous song all around, but if you listen with open ears and an open heart, I’m sure it’ll get you through some tough times. 4/5
13. Old Time’s Sake – The first collaborative track on the album, Old Time’s Sake features Dre, which is sure to be fun, right? Much like the first time I used this joke, wrong. Seeing how Em writes Dre’s lines, they are of course as ***ed up as the rest of the content on this LP, with the occasional predictable “Dre’s still relevant” lines. With a lack of memorable punchlines, this song serves as a weak spot on the album, and only adds fuel to the fire of those who detest Em’s accent (the third verse makes the accent very noticeable, especially when it directly follows Dre’s normally-toned lines). 3/5
14. Must Be the Ganja – I was actually on the verge of giving this a poor rating. But after listening to it again, I’m realizing that there are some truly ***ed lines in this song, definitely on par with the ***edupness of previous tracks. Opposed by a relatively uninspired beat, however, this track comes out as a 3.5/5.
15. Mr. Mathers – Although it’s just a skit, I find that this track is perfectly-placed, shifting the mood of the album from a couple pointless, but still somewhat entertaining, songs to a pair of serious, reflective works.
16. Déj* Vu – Despite the well-documented impact that Proof had on Em, his death is not brought forth until this personal track. Rather than rapping about killing babies or raping bitches, Em faces his drug demons, weighing in on the effect they have truly had on his life. Plus, the somber, menacing beat is definitely worth mentioning. 4/5
17. Beautiful – What’s wrong with Eminem’s voice on this one? Well at least that’s what you would say if Relapse was the only Em material you had ever heard. Giving a depressing depiction of his own life and fame, which simultaneously inspiring listeners with a hopeful message, this is truly the highlight of the album. 5/5
18. Crack a Bottle – ***’s aight. A collaboration between Em, Fifty, and Dre, this track doesn’t really accomplish much, and, much like the album’s first collab, has few memorable punchlines. Plus, the chord sequence is the exact same one used in Déj* Vu just two tracks prior. Overall, it’s still a pretty fun song, though, and is enjoyable for the most part. 3/5
19. Steve Berman – The Steve skits just get more extreme by the album, this one having everyone’s favorite record executive pulling a gun on Sir Marshall of Mathers.
20. Underground – I really think this song should have been on Recovery. It sounds nothing at all like the rest of the album, and, although it has a few grotesque lines, it doesn’t have as many “oh, no he didn’t” moments as some of the previous tracks. The retro intro and hilarious Ken Kaniff outro earn it some brownie points in my book, too. 3.5/5
So, overall, why did I give this a 4.5? Only two songs individually had at least a rating that high, so what the ***? Well I give this a 4.5 because I truly commend Em’s old-school “just don’t give a ***” approach to his comeback album, during which Shady has the balls to purposely disregard mainstream elements. Due partly to the superb beats and partly to the simply gruesome appeal, this album is miles better than Recovery in my book and is probably my third favorite album from everyone’s favorite Asher Roth wannabe. Oh wait…
