Honestly I can't see how people don't see this album is completely better than his last three, and it's not really close tbh.
Encore's issue was he had some great tracks on there, but he also had some of the absolute worst shit he's ever released on there.
Relapse's issue was him running the accents into the ground, and that it was basically Em trying to stir up controversy again by saying weird strange shit for a whole album.....and needless to say it failed, and wasn't well received for a reason.
Recovery's issue, and Rubin his the nail on the head.......a lot of stuff on Recovery didn't sound unique to Eminem like a lot of his previous albums. It sounded like others could go right on those beats, there wasn't a uniqueness to the album like his other ones. And the production is mostly to blame for that, though I still maintain Recovery is better than Relapse.
With MMLP2, he has ALL sorts of different stuff, but keeps that Eminem sound to me, but in a fresh way.
He's got the raw records: Brainless, Groundhog Day
He's got the classic shady shit: So Much Better, Evil Twin, Baby
He's got concepts and emotional cuts: Bad Guy, Legacy, Stronger Than I Was, Headlights, Beautiful Pain
He's got songs where he's just going off lyrically talking shit: Asshole, Rap God, Wicked Ways
He's got songs where he's experimenting with new sounds and/or being funny as shady: Rhyme or Reason, Love Game, So Far, or even Desperation
Like I hear the complaints about the choppy flow here and there, it does get a little much at times, but most of the flows are undeniable on the album, and the few weak lines or choppy flow here and there don't take anything away from the album. If the Eminem we hear on Bad Guy for 90% of the song, Rhye or Reason, So Much Better, Groundhog Day, Legacy, Baby, Rap God, Brainless, Headlights, Evil Twin, or even So Far and Love Game isn't the Eminem you want in 2013......then what the fuck do you want???
Like CTown said on DEHH, it's become fashionable to hate on Eminem or Jay Z now, because they aren't EXACTLY how they were in their primes. I hear it a little more with Jay, he's gotten incredibly lazy with his flow, and sounds like he phoned in about 2/3 of MCHG, but Ems still spittin' with passion, and you can feel what he's saying even if it isn't a personal track. He's spittin with a fire that's real and burns with purpose on MMLP2 to take what one review said. I can hear his fire more so on this album than any other release of his since Eminem Show, and Em sounds like he's having fun rapping again. And those couple reasons are why I think the critics are giving album as good of reviews as Eminem Show or Slim Shady LP, even though I still maintain this album doesn't touch those first three.
Eminem showcases all his talents on this album, and shows he's still lyric for lyric and bar for bar the best rapper alive. Only Nas or Kendrick can relate on that level right now, and Kendrick is pretty much in his peak, while Nas and Em aren't quite peak anymore. Ems flows are so diverse on this album ,it'll be hard to keep up for some, which is why some won't like it.
But that's something I've ALWAYS loved about Em as opposed to Jay or Nas, who I still LOVE.....is Em can spit over ANY type of beat on any song. You wouldn't hear Nas or Jay even attempt a track like So Far or Love Game, because they couldn't pull that off.
If Nas fans will still comparing his albums to Illmatic......then they'd be disappointed since 1996 tbh. But real Nas fans can accept he's not quite as good as his peak anymore, but he's still dope and releasing good albums. But Em fans and his haters can't accept that, it's like he either has to be 100% his prime self, or he's shit now. It's like they're incapable of saying "Well Eminem isn't quite as good or flawless as his peak years in the late 90's/early 00's, but he's still fucking dope lyrically and released a very good album. There's a reason critics are giving this one praise, they are getting of sort of right for once. Oh and Trilla/1Lyng and gay ass IT clown poster guy, where'd the pans go??? You guys all said the pans would start rolling in, and they didn't.