Eminem – Album by Album

[yoda you can call me]

http://musiccourtblog.com/2014/02/25/em ... -by-album/

Debate has raged for years over Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers): was he successful mainly because he was white? The answer’s yes – but not for the reason you think. His skin colour locked him out of the profitable gangsta rap market, and rapping about crime or drug dealing would have caused many listeners to accuse him of being inauthentic. He couldn’t even drop the ‘n word’ which most rappers throw around like sweets. Instead, he was forced to invent new ways to shock and outrage middle America. Enter Slim Shady.

The twisted alter ego of his stage name Eminem, Slim Shady said and did everything controversial you ever thought about. He baited politicians, outraged parents, made kids laugh and brought in a whole new demographic to rap music. Marshall Mathers also had another trick up his sleeve so not to alienate more hardcore listeners: his ferocious wordplay and rhyming. Casually dropping multi-syllable rhymes into the middle of lines were nothing to him. When his music first came out, they began describing him as one of the greatest white rappers ever. They quickly dropped the ‘white’.



The Slim Shady LP (1999) – The Blueprint

The story behind Eminem’s first album reads like a movie script: an unknown Detroit rapper gets his break by getting producer Dr Dre to hear his tape, and in a matter of months becomes a superstar. However if the Slim Shady LP is any genre, it’s a horror. While playing Slim Shady, Eminem wasn’t afraid to get cynical, provocative and very, very violent. It’s difficult to know what are scarier – the over-the-top gruesome fantasies, or vivid descriptions of being down and out. Nowhere is his dark persona better show than on Guilty Conscience, where Eminem and Dre trade verses as a devil and angel respectively. In the final verse, Em manages to provoke Dre – the former bad boy of rap – into losing his cool, effectively passing the torch onto his protégée.

The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) – The Masterpiece

This is without a doubt his darkest album. With a front cover of him huddled near the fireplace of his abandoned home, it dealt with subjects like his many family problems, drug use and his ‘corruption’ of teenage youth. He was accused of homophobia and misogyny, and did little to convince people otherwise. Even on his poppier tracks, he set out to offend as many celebrities as possible for the enjoyment of his listeners. However, he proved impossible to pin down. Whenever critics were prepare to write him off after his harrowing song about murdering his wife, he would release something like Stan, a touching and tragic tale of a deranged fan. His incredible wordplay and rhyming abilities were almost a footnote after his song topics. Nevertheless, it remains the best album of his career.

The Eminem Show (2002) – The Political One

After the madness of his last album, Eminem decided he had some growing up to do. That’s not to say it had no sense of humour – far from it – but Eminem was keener than ever to satirise the world at large. He was always a joker, and like Batman’s nemesis, he was skilled at holding up a mirror to society and saying: “You think I’m crazy? You made me this way!” There were still zany moments like Without Me, but the tone on a whole was more mature. He even confronted his troubled relationship with his mother and how rap music can save troubled kids. For most fans, it’s his most personal and powerful album, even if a few weaker songs kept it off the top spot.

Encore (2004) – The Disappointment

Perhaps based on expectations, Encore received rave reviews as usual when it was released, yet listening to it today, it’s hard not to wonder what went wrong. The highlights were his reflective songs – Like Toy Soldiers and Mockingbird – and his anti-Bush rant also deserves a few listens, but everything else verges on terrible. His lead singles still had a juvenile sense of humour but no meaning or purpose. His usually dexterous, quick-witting flow sounded stumbling and amateurish. Most of this was down to his increasing pill addiction which meant he was barely getting two hours sleep a night. If it had been a true encore, it would have been a terrible way to end his career.

Relapse (2009) – The Pretend Comeback

Eminem may have never been subtle, but it was a little on-the-nose to call a record Relapse while as in rehab. Thematically, he resurrected his Slim Shady character and tried to imitate the darker content that had launched his career. However, most songs sounded insincere compared to the passion of his earlier work. Many fans also complained about his constant use of accents. Eminem would later say the last two albums didn’t count as ‘Encore I was on drugs, Relapse I was flushing ‘em out.’ Either way, a slight improvement was good enough for fans after a long break from music.

Recovery (2010) – The Real Comeback

His true resurrection came in 2010 when, finally clean, he set out to work out what a ‘grown up’ Eminem album would sound like. The violent skits and songs poking fun at pop culture were gone – in their place were inspirational songs with positive messages. Both Not Afraid and Won’t Back Down were well received and showed how Eminem had changed his outlook. The lyrics were much tighter, although his duet with Rhianna showed he could still put himself in a dark place when needed. It was more earnest than his earlier work, and he still had the technical skills and wordplay to deliver his message well.

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013) – The Legacy

Sequels usually suggest creative bankruptcy. Nevertheless, with some of biggest producers in music (including Dr Dre and Rick Rubin) behind him, Eminem could hardly fail. He managed to create an organic-feeling continuation of his most acclaimed song, Stan. He also produced some of the fastest, most intricate rapping of his career in Rap God. At one point, he was rapping an astonishing 10 syllables per second – not good for casual listeners, but music to the ears of his core audience. After seven albums and 16 years, he had reached the point where he could legitimately call himself a Rap God.

[Lost Myself]

Anyone who thinks Relapse is just a "slight improvement" over Encore needs to actually listen to the lyrics. And saying it isn't "passionate" enough is pretty subjective, although I've always viewed Beautiful and My Darling as some of his most emotional songs.

Besides that, it was a good read. It's interesting to really look back and see how his music evolved as Eminem did as a person. But shit, calling MMLP2 his "legacy" album gives it so much finality. I don't think he'll retire, but just listening to MMLP2 makes me realize Eminem's future is hazier now than it's ever been since his comeback

[RSoares]

Nice read. I agree with almost everything written there.

[VINTAGƎ]

I've never -- creatively -- seen or heard of an artist delivering their greatest work and follow it up with total shit.

The Eminem Show, 8 Mile (both soundtrack and movie), dominant victories over an entire label (the inc) and a fucking publication (the source) and then...Encore.

Seriously what the fuck. Never in my life I've seen this.

I don't just blame him, as he was under the influence of a lot of drugs as we now well know - I blame Paul, Dre, Jimmy -- anyone who heard the album and thought it was a respectable follow up to Eminem Show.

I'll never get over that shit.

[yoda you can call me]

Let it go, you must, my little padawan

[Jaba]

Relapse < Encore

Encore had some meaningful songs about himself, Relapse was murder-horrorcore, with all fake songs.

[EminemInsider]

However if the Slim Shady LP is any genre, it’s a horror.

Do people who write this shit even listen to the stuff they're talking about?

[Notalius]

Relapse < Encore

Encore had some meaningful songs about himself, Relapse was murder-horrorcore, with all fake songs.

UUUUUGGGHHH - Eminem

[Coulter]

However if the Slim Shady LP is any genre, it’s a horror.

Do people who write this shit even listen to the stuff they're talking about?

I think the writer might be trying to say that he did such a good job of balancing 'real' lyrics from his obviously exaggerated ones that it was almost horrific for first time listeners back then because the lines were blurry and you couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

Yeah, I could see someone who listened to the album because they heard 'My Name Is' being completely taken aback after hearing '97 B&C. The album was pretty dark, so it's not totally wrong.

[VINTAGƎ]

Let it go, you must, my little padawan

Am trying.

Still though.

[shadyblogger]

Great read

Thanks Yoda

[yoda you can call me]

Let it go, you must, my little padawan

Am trying.

Still though.

Great read

Thanks Yoda

NP

[TheBoss123]

Good read!

[Raul]

Encore = disappointment?

smh fuck this article

[Mr Change]

Encore = disappointment?

smh fuck this article

You're hilarious. They actually went extremely easy on that piece of trash album.

Should've called it "Encore- Absolute Garbage"