The anticipation was high and the wait was long. On April 7, 2009, loyal fans and obsessed Stans were finally rewarded with the release of Eminem's new single "We Made You" and its accompanying music video. Once again that distinct and familiar voice and the blasphemous message that comes along with it will dominate radio airwaves for the next few months.
The high-profile rapper has made such an effort to shun any public appearances during the last couple of years that the media decided to label him reclusive. Fans are still intrigued by Marshall Mathers and that is one of his biggest appeals. He raps about almost every aspect of his life, more so than a lot of other artists, and yet even his biggest fans have not the slightest clue to understanding him as a person. Eminem maintains an aura of mystery with the public. He only finds solace in his music and that is what makes him a great artist.
I will not call it a comeback because Eminem only took an extended break, but the new single "We Made You" is definitely a throwback to the early 2000's. Slim Shady maintains his persona and definitely has not lost his touch. The rhymes as only Eminem can deliver them is all there. The beat holds Dr. Dre's unmistakable signature. The list of pop celebrities and political figures to throw jabs at have been updated. Everything comes together with a hilarious music video directed by Joseph Kahn. We are given a treat with Eminem's frequent collaborator Dina Rae (and not Eminem himself) singing the catchy chorus. Eminem starts off with a disappointly high pitched accent reminscient of "Ass Like That" from his last album Encore. It was piercing to the ears and I was glad that he toned it down throughout the song. Trying to catch the complete list of celebrities and drugs he mentions is a good enough reason to justify listening to the song multiple times. Like most of Eminem's first singles, the song takes multiple plays before it grows on you. Notable targets are Sarah Palin, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Simpson, and Amy Winehouse. Eminem enlists Lisa Ann, the pornstar infamous for portraying Sarah Palin to appear in his music video.
There are however some key ingredients that I find absent from "We Made You". The first is a strong central underlying message. If we take a look back at "The Real Slim Shady", Slim points out that we live in an already imperfect world and he should not be judged for his brash rap style. His follow-up "Without Me", Eminem declared that his rhymes may be offensive but the world would be boring without that controversy. Other than the declaration that Slim Shady was back and the world adores him, I did not find any sort of statement from "We Made You". The new single also lacks any sense of sarcasm and anger. In Eminem's past work especially for his first pop single, his remarks were mostly sarcastic or angry and at the same time comical. With "We Made You" the comedy is still present, but the sarcasm and anger seems to have calmed. This may be a sign of Eminem's maturity as an artist and will be interesting to follow.
Any Eminem fan knows not to judge his album based on his first single. The single only serves to attract attention and draw interest to the album. With the slew of issues in the world and Eminem's loss of his close personal friend Proof, he will definitely be putting out a heartfelt ensemble. In the song Eminem says "Why should I wash my filthy mouth out?/You think thats bad, you should listen to the rest of my album". The new album called Relapse comes out May 19, 2009 and that is exactly what Eminem's legion of fans will be anxiously awaiting.
Source: http://www.rhymeculture.com/we-made-you.php