What do you think is the most HONEST album from Em?

[Shpongle]

TES, and my favourite Em album

[EminemInsider]

I've always wondered why he lied about his age when he first came onto the scene

Eyes, hazel complexion...Age still in question

[shadyblogger]

Now that I think about it, Recovery was one of his most genuine albums. He was actually rapping about how he felt at the time and appeared very vulnerable. His insecurities were shining bright on that album imo

[UofLCard]

I've always wondered why he lied about his age when he first came onto the scene

His agents probably told him to lie to make him appear more appealing.

[Jaba]

MMLP or Recovery.

[electroencephalogram]

At the surface level, MMLP2. It feels like he's being himself, a social awkward kid who likes to rap. All his pre-hiatus albums have a phoniness in them to me. He's playing up his image and attitude so much. SSLP and MMLP he pretends that he's always psychotic, when really, he's depressed. Then he starts taking up the gangsta persona a little bit in TES, and even more so in Encore. Recovery he was very honest in what he said, but not really in his style.

But, on a deeper level, I think he's completely honest on all of his albums. If he was a shy kid who got bullied, his humorous persona on SSLP is a mask he developed. When people choose to be the clown, they do it to intentionally devalue themselves because they think they can't compete with alphas. It explains why comedians have such poor self esteem. With his next few albums, he had a platform that people had to listen to, so he became the person he always fantasied of being. He could mess with people without regard, be a bully, be a gangsta, like he never was before. Being in a constant state of powerlessness makes people frustrated, and makes people have crazy fantasies. He's been powerless his whole life before becoming famous- as a child, in every school, and in every job.

I don't think there is such thing as "being fake". Anytime someone is being "fake", they are being themselves in that moment, given the circumstances. I don't believe that anybody has a true self, so I really can't judge if a person is being themselves or not, and neither can anyone else.