It was hard to think that a trashy, young, but most of all, WHITE rapper from Detroit could get to where he is now: a rap celebrity. Looking back in his career, it was in 1996 where Eminem released his first full-length studio album, Infinite [1996]. Tracks such as "Infinite" and "313" were combinations of a slow bass-drove groove with his witty lyrics. Despite negative feedback, including criticism of him copying AZ and Nas's styles, Eminem pulled it off with the Slim Shady EP [1997] a year later. This got the attention of well-knowned West-Coast producer, Dr. Dre, who quickly signed Eminem to his fledgling label, Aftermath.
Working together in the studio, Eminem boldly reintroduced himself as his alter-ego Slim Shady (which he already had in his EP) with the booming pop single, "My Name Is," followed by his second LP, The Slim Shady LP [1999]. He quickly gained mainstream attention and stirred a considerable amount of controversy over his misogynistic and extremely violent lyrics depicting frequent use of drugs and murder. It didn't stop there. A year later, Eminem dropped his first single for his upcoming album, The Marshall Mathers LP [2000], "The Real Slim Shady." It was a brash assault on celebrities on the times over a Dre-produced beat; poppy as was his first. Following his previous album, he dropped his third LP a week later, selling 1.76 million in the first week, breaking records fast. Controversy seemed to follow every track he had on the album, strongly criticizing the homophobic and violent fantasies of his lyrics. After it seemed the hype died down a little, Eminem was back on top of his game, dominating MTV awards with his new single, "Without Me," a self-produced track directed to mainstream audiences and radio airplay about his return to save hip-hop. The Eminem Show followed suit, as usual, and later that year the movie 8 Mile was released to theaters with its accompanying soundtrack. It was crazy. Everyone was talking about Eminem at that time. He was what no artist could dream of becoming: a super-star. Or more fittingly: a rock star, as explored later in my review of "We Made You."
But he wasn't finished... yet. "Just Lose It" was released in November 2004. It was, in short, another "poppy single" that took shots at Michael Jackson's incidents at that time mixed in with strange sounds and a funky, and somewhat childish, beat. Some people did not take the insults well, but no doubt, Encore [2004] was released for purchase (bootlegs had appeared before) soon after. Similarly to his previous albums, excluding his first LP, his new album destroyed sale records, selling approximately 700,000 in its shortened 3-day opening week. But unlike his other records, Encore [2004] sparked less controversy in its lyrics. Then, finally it seemed, Eminem took a hiatus from his career after a compilation album of his hits, Curtain Call: The Hits [2005], occasionally releasing material such as Eminem Presents: The Re-Up [2006] or being featured in songs such as "Smack That" with Akon, but for the most part producing for his label, Shady Records.
Now, it seems Eminem is ready to release his sixth solo studio album, Relapse [2009], as confirmed in 2008. The first single, "We Made You," was released on April 7, attacking outdated celebrities at random with a beat of horns and piano loops in the background.
Okay, here's the deal. It IS another poppy single, following his formula of success. It IS produced by Dr. Dre. But it's missing something most of his singles had: Slim Shady. "My Name Is" had well-disguised anger. "The Real Slim Shady" had clear anger. "Without Me" somewhat had anger. At least "Just Lose It" had more than five swear words. "We Made You" has none of this. So what does it have? Well, it brings further anticipation for his upcoming record, but in short: it offers nothing new that we do not know yet. I'm not being harsh (I find the song alright actually) but it has a much less effect on my then his other first singles. Maybe he's out of his time period.
Beat- 7/10 (It's interesting with the horns and piano loops. Similar to "Crack a Bottle" beat.)
Lyrical Content- 6/10 (Random and has no focus. Why is there no swearing?)
Flow- 9/10 (His entering verse is clearly amazing and flows exceedingly well. The accent is slightly annoying though, reminiscent of "Ass Like That.")
Catchiness/Appeal- 7/10 (The chorus should be him, not a singer. It is slightly catchy, though.)
Overall- 75% (Decent)
I personally think his new album will not disappoint at all, but I find his first singles becoming slightly repetitive. But Eminem's return is certainly something to greatly look foward to.
RELAPSE WILL SELL SO MANY RECORDS THAT LIL WAYNE WILL HAVE TO ADD PROMO ITEMS TO PURCHASE OF HIS ALBUM, REBIRTH, TO GET MORE SALES. RELAPSE SHALL SELL 2 MIL. (I know it won't but I'm hoping...
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