Review Summary: After flops like Encore and Relapse, Em comes back with his best album since The Eminem Show.
It's fair to say that Eminem's sequel to his critically acclaimed album "The Marshal Mathers LP 2" has been highly anticipated, and several people have been hoping for a sense of nostalgia in Eminem's new album. Several people expect a flop, or just a bad album in general. The album has it's weak points, and even has cringe worthy tunes at some points. However when Eminem gets it right, he absolutely destroys the track. The album isn't a consistent throwback to the original MMLP, which is a shame because Eminem finds more strength in his old sound. The album that will remind you most of MMLP will be Bad Guy, which is the strongest song on the album. The song is an actual sequel to "Stan", and even lives up the standards. The album is full of emotion, and has the structure of a novel. The song gets angrier as it progresses which is the rising action, and a climax of instrumental change and Eminem dropping into an incredible flow in which he as speaking as Stan's brother with a verse that serves as a reality check for Eminem. The whole song is brilliant, and is one of Eminem's best.
The cons of this album often occur when Eminem goes to his new sound, or has guest features. With how personal some of these songs are it's unfitting to include someone who hasn't been in Marshal's shoes. The biggest example of misuse of a guest appearance is "Headlights". This is one of Eminem's most personal songs yet, and serves as an apology to his mother. The album includes Nate Ruess from pop sensation Fun. The reason his appearance is so awkward, is because the emotion of this song is fueled from Eminem's heart, and for Nate to have an entire verse is absurd. Another weak point of the album is the instrumentals. While "Rap God" is one of Eminem's most incredible songs lyrically, rapping 6.5 words per second somewhere between the 4 and 5 minute mark, the instrumental feels like it was rushed. The instrumental is actually a neglected instrumental, rejected by several rappers, and Eminem took advantage of it. The instrumental just sounds....cheap, shallow, and generic. "The Monster" and "So Far" are both obnoxious songs all the way around. "The Monster" has an instrumental that would be better fitting on a Katy Perry album, and chorus on a Cher Llyod album, with a solid delivery from Eminem however. The problem with "So Far" is it's absolute rip off instrumental, from a country/rock song, and it's absolutely atrocious lyrics. "I'd rather wallow then bass suffering from succotash But the antacid is my stomach gas I mix my corn with my ***ing mash Potato, so what, ho, kiss my country bumpkin ass".
Then the good points of the album, which show that the pros often outweigh the cons on Eminem's LPs. The good things to list about this album is how personal it is, witty lyrics, catchy hooks, incredible flows, and raw production on several tracks. The strengths of the album are the strongest they've been since "The Eminem Show". This album has Eminem rapping faster than he ever has in his career, and it's incredibly...loud album. Listening to several tracks on this album, you will find the cons are inconsistent, which is a huge saving grace. If the majority of the album had lyrical imperfections like "So Far", the album wouldn't even be worth listening to. However if an LP has about 14 songs ranging from decent to masterpiece, it's probably worth listening to.
TBT:
Bad Guy-5/5
Parking Lot- 4.5/5
Rhyme Or Reason- 4.5/5
So Much Better- 3.3/5
Survival- 3.9/5
Legacy- 5/5
Asshole- 3.5/5
Berzerk- 4/5
Rap God- 4.5/5
Brainless- 4.4/5
Stronger Than I Was- 3/5
The Monster- 2/5
So Far- 1.5/5
Love Game- 3.4/5
Headlights- 3.6/5
Evil Twin- 4.2/5
Average-3.7
