Duly noted, it’s not very frequently that Eminem delivers a new album and when he does, he makes it count. Seeing how Eminem went back into hiatus mode after his last album, it looked like he bowed out of the game. Most wouldn’t argue that Eminem’s last album was a classic.
An artist at heart, Eminem decided he would try to top his last effort and show more personal growth. For years, Eminem has played the role of the misunderstood young man, but he’s in his forties now. Already, Eminem put his beefs with other artists to rest and on The Marshall Mathers LP 2, he puts his issues with his mother to rest.
Eminem balled a lot into one album, including reviving the old school sound made popular by Rick Rubin. When he introduced The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Eminem did so with “Berzerk,” a b-boy inspired record. Introducing a new layer to his arsenal, Eminem also included a bit of the 2010 Eminem the world embraced with such tracks as “The Monster” with Rihanna.
Absent from The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is Dr. Dre, making this the first time since Infinite that Eminem did not work with his mentor and this goes back to his personal growth. For a lot of artists, trying something new on an album sounds a little forced and, being honest, Eminem did sound a bit forced on “Berzerk,” but he was willing to bring that sound back to hip hop. All in all, what Eminem delivered was an album that has a little something for everyone.
Eminem definitely does his past justice, showing there is a bit of him that remains on “Rap God.” Making an enemy out of Lupe Fiasco along the way, Eminem named himself the god of the jungle that is the rap game, but that’s what legends do. While making himself a legend, Eminem made himself an enemy of the homosexual audience and that came during the era of the original Marshall Mathers LP and he angered the audience again on the sequel with his slurs.
Definitely an enjoyable album, it is the source of a lot of debate, with some wanting to slam it and others offering critical praise, so it remains to be seen how the world will react to it until they do years from now. But, Eminem’s never been one to make sub-par music, so The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is definitely a way to spend some time listening to good music from a good artist. At the end of the day, solid material is all the people can ask for and Eminem goes way beyond meeting those standards on this album.
Hip Hop Vibe’s Rating: 8/10
