Years later, Em came out of hiding and rumors of two new Eminem albums shocked the hip-hop world. The second of these two albums never actually came to frutition, as the first installment of this would have been series titled Relapse, was met with a lot of harsh opinions, by not only critics, but his most loyal fans. These complaints were often based off of misconceptions, or judgments based on shallow listening, but regardless Marshall countered these complaints with Recovery. While it did avoid the so called missteps on Relapse (accents and horrorcore overtones) it introduced a whole new set of problems with core Eminem fans. This album felt uninspired, and often repetitive and had a heavy pop influence. Hearing the fans once again, Em saw what we all needed him to do. He saw that the only way to recapture the success of his past albums was to revisit the past, and make a "sequel" to the most successful album in his catalog.
The Marshal Mathers LP 2 was announced the night of the VMAs on MTV and the internet (along with the rest of the world) went into a frenzy. Eminem haters and stans alike let their voices be heard via social media platforms, and it seemed that everyone in the world had formed an opinion before this album was even released. It has been evident through cameo appearances, and a successful EP as one half of Bad Meets Evil, that Eminem has been improving since the release of his last LP leaving myself with high expectations for this album. Eminem will always be one of the best rappers to touch a mic, and one of the most influential artists of the last decade, but the legacy of his musical product can always be diminished. Hopefully Marshal has one more gem (at least) left in his arsenal, and Mr. Controversy will give us all something to talk about again. Whether or not Em still has this kind of hold over pop culture is up for debate. However, this record may just be the one to silence any doubters. Let's hope that ends up being the case.
1.Bad Guy
Since this is a sequel to The Marshall Mathers LP here, I was expecting some kind of public service announcement. Thats not the case however. Instead Em dives straight into a S1 and M Phases instrumental that's not completely terrible. (I actually dig the shit out of it) We find our host planning the death of an unnamed victim, but as the plot develops, we realize its actually Matthew Mitchell (the little brother in "Stan") planning the death of Eminem. I like the concept. I'm not going to spoiler the ending, but I have a hard time believing most of you all have already heard this anyways. The beat switches up after Marshall is "killed". (I guess I did spoil it) Its pretty meh all over but I guess it gets the job done. I've got two problems with this song, though. First: the hook is the most useless thing I've heard since the last Big Sean album. Second: the "like I reached my full potential-I peaked" punch line was so bad I almost turned off the album. I didn't, though, and I was rewarded with a pretty damn good intro. This one gets two thumbs up from me.
2. Parking Lot (Skit)
Apparently it was a good idea to revisit the final skit on the original MMLP. Apparently. This time we find out the Em was left by his robbery partner, which leads to him killing a dog and himself. You're still telling me this isn't a sequel, Marshall?
3. Rhyme or Reason
Not more singing. It was a nice little bit of comedy when Em first started crooning, but he's taking it out of control here. I really like this shit, though. The Zombies sample shows that Rick Rubin still has something in the tank and doesn't just watch the album recording process. Yes, a natural hook would have slightly improved the song, but Eminem's lyrics are more than entertaining. (I'm still at a loss at what to think of that damn Yoda voice, though. He kind of nailed it.)Its interesting to see our host taking more shots at his father instead of his mom. (More on that later) Em rhymes with the same flow for the most part, only taking a few seconds to yet again reference "Criminal". It'll be interesting to see if this album reaches Marshall's goal of going emerald.
4. So Much Better
I initially thought this was going to be a rendition of "Kim", his classic track from the original. That may have been the goal, but this sounds like a Kids Bop cover. This is actually more about paranoia during a relationship. Until the hook I guess. I have a hard time making that sound like anything more than Eminem wishing this person was dead. It's again sung, but whatever. The instrumental sounds like something that would come straight out of the original, which is a good thing. Em has always worked better exploring open space. All I know is I wouldn't want to be the person breaking his heart, this gets flat out mean at points. It pretty much goes without saying the rapping here is good, but this is nothing that'll knock your socks off.
5. Survival
This was the first track released to the public, but I'm not sure if it was the first single. Or something like that. Either way I listened to this shit way too much in hope that it would grow on me. The arena rock instrumental only halfway works, but ultimately makes this feel like something that was left on the Recovery cutting board, which was most disappointing. That stupid ass hook is doing jack and shit for me, but I may have forced myself into liking this just a little bit. There's a couple cringe worthy lines, but for the most part, Eminem sounds exceptional. Instead of just shouting for the hell of it, he actually sounds really fucking pissed off. That's about where the good runs out, though. This was obviously an obligation for that damn Call of Duty deal, but whatever. I'll get over it.
6. Legacy
Oh, lord. This is the exact thing I was hoping to avoid on this album. Em's story may be interesting to some, but that's only if you've never heard a hip hop album in your life. I mean seriously, how many times do we have to hear the same story about turning bulling into something positive. He's still technically sound, and the fact that he was able to use the same flow for the whole song is quite impressive, but this is easily is worst performance on the album. I did find it humorous whenever he started on sausages coming out of his ass or something of the sort. The real tragedy is the awful hook, though. At this point in the mans career, I'm not listening to Eminem for brilliantly written chorus', but this is inexcusable. The female vocalist sounds so unsure that she very well could have been held at gunpoint during the recording process and the rhyme scheme sounds like something out of a first grade poetry book. I can't imagine any of you all enjoying the instrumental either, so this is just an all around failure. *Sigh*
7. Asshole (Feat. Skylar Grey)
I'm not a Skylar Grey fan by any stretch of the imagination and almost shed a tear when I saw her same on the tracklist, but, to my surprise, she delivers a shockingly entertaining hook. I don't know if I've just lowered my standard after that last track, but she killed this shit. The beat comes off rather simple, but it works really well for the most part. Eminem has also successfully returned from Recovery territory, delivering three wildly entertaining verses. The only complaint I really have is the fact that he decides to throw a couple shots at Asher Roth. Ive heard what Asher had to say about Em and have a really hard time taking that as anything close to a diss. Id like to see him go at someone a little more relevant, but I guess that defeats the whole purpose of him maturing. I'll stop nitpicking, though. This shit was nice.
8. Berzerk
Released as the first official single, "Berzerk" seems to have garnered polar opposite opinions, as do most Eminem singles. I've had several people ask my opinion, and to be completely honest, I like it. Not amazing, but one of the better singles he's released in the last five years. It sounds like almost nothing else on the album, which is credit to Rick Rubin, but also to the creative genes in our host. The energy he brings over the generous sample from Billy Squire's "The Stoke" is entertaining as hell. Any way you look at it, the second verse is pretty damn terrible, but it doesn't bother me all that much. The hook seems as kinds of messy, but it's incredibly catchy, which is one of the biggest reasons this has grown on me so much. I approve.
9. Rap God
The albums third single was release to the Internet and received a reception similar to Kendrick Lamar's (still over rated) "Control" verse. This was Eminem's way of talking shit for six minutes, loosely switching up topics, and proving to the youngsters that he's still one of the greatest to ever to it. I know damn well that I'll be in the minority here, but I actually really enjoyed the DVLP instrumental, and Marshall works his ass off to make it sounds even better that it already does. One listen shows one of the more impressive flows you'll hear all year, but if you take a deeper look into the lyrics, it becomes slightly less impressively. He goes about five seconds in the first verse simply making sounds, and the fact that he thought it was necessarily to revisit the Fabolous and Ray J beef was all sorts of baffling. And what was that gay lookin' boy shit all about? Ehh, this is still really damn good. I can understand not really enjoying the song, but if you're going to tell me that this is flat out bad, I'm gonna have a hard time actually caring about your opinion.
10. Brainless
Eminem pretty much takes the same story from "Legacy", but makes it much more vulgar and entertaining. Em has more of a bounce in his voice, which is an automatic improvement over the previously mentioned track, but also he manages to provide quotables out the ass. I audio sample at the beginning is a nice touch, and I really enjoy the beat. I can't say it would pop out at me by itself, but Em does wonders with it and really adds some personality to the song. And for some really odd reason, I didn't mind the singing on the hook at all. Em's vocals seem even and the whole progress just moves along real nicely.
11. Stronger Than I Was
Nope.
12. The Monster
Oh man, this motherfucker is going to dominate the radio. Frequency's relatively safe beat and Rihanna's contributions automatically provide this with a spot on the Billboard top 5. This isn't completely terrible, though. For a beat so designed for the radio, the instrumental wasn't all that bad. It definitely could have been worse. (Alex Da Kid worse)
You can't really blame Interscope for trying to capitalize on the stupid success of "Love the Way You Lie".(I think its sold over 9 million copies!)As for Em, he throws in some nice gems. It takes a lot of confidence to start your opening verse off with a reference to your own song. But when you have "Lose Yourself" on your list of accomplishments, its hard to complain. Still,even though this could have been worse, I sure as hell don't like it. Aside from Marshall's Bruce Lee and Kool Keith references, I was relatively bored. On the topic of the latter, the underground legend still hasn't even heard the damn song. He's been promoting the shit out of it, but as far as I know, he's yet to actually hear his name dropped. I find that hilarious. It kind of comforts me to know that Marshall is such a fan, being that he's a well documented fan of indie hip hop. Outside of this song, I also remember him mentioning Dr. Octagon (another Keith reference, for those unaware) during his posse cut with Tha Outsidaz. There's your hip hop trivia of the day.
13. So Far...
Here's another Rick Rubin produced track, this one being far better than "Berzerk". Personally, I would have voted for this to be one of the lead singles, but I can see where someone would be put off. Eminem goes on to tackle his changing relationship with fame. That's obviously a pretty generic topic and it even appeared in the track directly before "So Far...", but something about this is fucking hilarious. Marshall's ability to laugh at himself manages to come off really genuine and interesting. The Rubin beat is all over the place, changing about once a minute, but it worked for me. The use of the "I'm Back" and "The Real Slim Shady" were a nice touch as well. Its great that he's not flat out complaining about his fame, as he actually makes a couple comments on the benefits of meeting other celebrities. This was a really nice way to open the final quarter of the album.
14. Love Game (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)
I have a great relationship with this song. Coming into the album, this was undoubtably the most high profiled track. Its Eminem, one of the all time greats, and Kendrick Lamar, one of the most talented mainstream artist out. Even the hip hop heads who love to hate Eminem were exited to these two fiercely rhyme back and forth. I'm sure some of you all were hoping for another shitty love ballad as well. (Was "No Love" not bad enough?)Anyways, no one got what they wanted. I thought the song itself was pretty shitty, but the fact that they were able completely neck the entire hip hop fan base is absolutely beautiful. After repeated listens and hearing it in the context of the album, and it almost pains me to say this, it actually works. Even though the hook is overly simple and cheesy, Em and Kendrick are able to replicate the back and forth love atmosphere that you would see on a sitcom based on the 1950's. Its hard to really say one rapper outshines the other, but both Kendrick's and Marshall's second verse go really well with the topic. The first verse was fine too, but I'm sure most of you all don't even understand the Tribe Called Quest references. But yeah, I love the hell out of this shit. Deal with it.
15. Headlights (Feat. Nate Rues)
Here's another highly publicized track that I'm sure you've already heard. Yes, these are the verses where Eminem finally apologizes to his mother. Its easy to call Em immature, because he is, the amount of times "faggot, is thrown around will tell you that, but even the harshest of Eminem critics have to realize how big of a song this is for him. If you listen to this and "Cleaning Out My Closet" back to back, its pretty mind boggling. I kinda wish the Emile instrumental was a little more interesting, but it sets the mood fairly well. I honestly wasn't too sure exactly who in the hell Nate Rues was, but a it only takes a couple seconds to realize he's the lead singer of fun. (He's got one of the most distinctive voices in all of music) His hook is okay and sounds a little corny, but I'll say the same thing I did about the beat: it sets the mood well. I was dreading this one before I heard the album, but this is actually a damn good track.
16. Evil Twin
Despite sounding like a sonic mess upon first listen, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 ends with a fucking bang. The instrumental sounds like something off of Hell: The Sequel, which adds some distinction from the rest of the album, but the reason this tracks shines is the actual rapping from our host. For starters, throughout three verses, he manages to compile more quotables than Rick Ross has been able to think up over the last five years and his flow is just flat out nasty. His line about him and his evil twin being in the top four is fucking brilliant, if I may add. There's a loose theme as the Eminem and Slim Shady personas go back and forth, but this shit is about bars, son.
How bout those bonus tracks?
Look, I'm going to be completely honest: I'm kind of finished with this review. Track by tracks of an album this long tends to take a toll on me and I don't really have all that much to say about any of the other tracks. Therefore, I'll just let you know that "Groundhog Day" (this one especially!) and "Baby" (even though the hook is fucking awful) are very nice, I like "Wicked Ways", "Beautiful Pain" is incredibly boring, and "Desperation" is fucking awful.
Hopefully that went smoothly.
Rating: 4/5 (I've been swaying back and forth from a 3.5 and 4)
Contrary to popular belief, I don't have a fiery hatred mainstream hip hop. I just hate music that suck fat ass dick. Its just a coincidence that most mainstream hip hop falls under that category. Marshall is an exception. You can call me biased, but I like to think of myself of a fairly anti-Stan. (Meaning I set very high expectation) Hell, I'm one of the biggest Recovery critics you'll ever meet. Anyways, I got what I wanted with this album, aside from maybe three or four songs. For the most part, Em is able to put his talents to good use, which has been a consistent problem throughout his career. No one will ever doubt his technical abilities and he will surely go down as one of the top ten, of not three, rappers of all time. Here, he's actually putting together cohesive songs. (besides "Rap God", but that shit is still dope) Perhaps the most encouraging aspect is how natural our host sounds. For the first time since The Eminem Show, Em sounds like he's having fun in the studio and just wants to rap. He mentions the possibility of this being his final album, (I know he contradicts himself in, like, the next damn song but just play along) and if that is in fact the case, this is a fitting swan song. You don't have to remind of the numerous flaws of the album, I knows damn well that it hits a couple low points, and I might be a little generous with the rating, but I'm just so happy this thing didn't suck. 2013 has been disappointing in every sense of the word, with some of out so-called legends falling before out eyes. Its nice to see Eminem focusing on the art of rapping while Jay Z released Magna Carta...Holy Grail to make the damn Samsung deal and Kanye was doing his best to bite the shit out of Death Grips. No, Marshall is one of a select few that you can bring up in conversation and still talk about music. As for the album title, its appropriate. Obviously its not on the same level as the original, (but what album really is?) but I completely understand what he meant by saying this isn't a sequel, but rather a revisit. "Legacy" and "Stronger Than I Was" still have no place on the album, but this is Marshall in 2013. People will hate on this album relentlessly while constantly contradicting themselves on what they think they want from Eminem. I know its just another attempt for them to act like they're more in touch with the underground scene, but that's a story for another day. (I know I'm guilty of that as well, but I have reasons for most of my issues) In closure, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is an incredibly personal album that will generate polar opposite opinions. Many will never accept that Eminem isn't twenty-five anymore, and some will miss his Recovery songs, but this is some of the best pure rapping we've seen from Marshall in years. Much of the album is made up of his personal thoughts and your listening experience will ultimately depend on if you care about what he has to say.