Eminem/ Relapse/ album review
Global rating of the product : 2 stars
For a first time listener, Relapse shouldn’t be a reference album. Anybody who’d check Eminem as an artist for the first time should really dig deeper into the emcee’s previous work in order to see what he can do. Unfortunately, Relapse is a pale reflection of Eminem’s artistry.
I can tell, because I have spent years enjoying Eminem’s music and writing about it-from his pre-Infinite work till now. Eminem’s music influenced my life tremendously and in a very positive way. So please don’t take my honest critic of his present album as the words from the mouth of a hater. I am definitely not. I still have loads of respect for Eminem and I am still enjoying his former work.
But from a professional’s point of view, I owe the artist the truth about how I feel about his current music. I also owe the truth to all of you readers, no matter if you like to hear it or not.
The first detail that really bothered me while listening to Relapse, is Eminem’s fake accent. I used to enjoy his REAL voice and his edgy spirit. I keep asking me where Slim Shady has gone. Let me guess…oh true, Eminem killed his fictional character in Encore, but was he right to do so?
Not in my opinion. The full mouthed, lyrical, bad spirited Slim Shady had the power to conquer crowds with his creative skills. He has now been replaced by a weak sounding supposedly ironic accent that spoils most songs in the album.
Second detail that really spoils it all: the music.
Hip hop purists will probably agree with me: Relapse sounds more like bad mainstream pop than good hip hop. Eminem takes the role of a random singer. Has he forgotten that he was supposed to rap on a rap album?
While I still appreciate Eminem’s very personal approach in the album and his honesty towards his public about what he has been going through during the last couple of years, I am disappointed with his performance. I think I am not the only critic/ listener to feel the same way.
I was bored, most of the time. Although My Mom recalls some serious drug addiction history in Eminem’s family, the usually brilliant emcee should have chose a less theatrical entry and a more serious tone to talk about such issues. The instrumentals ( horrible tuba sounds) don’t fit with the theme either.
I already expressed about the mediocrity of We Made You. Also, I don’t see the point in dissing so many celebrities while being himself a very famous person.
Despite the fact I don’t like Eminem’s voice in it, 3 AM ( particularly after watching the video) is probably the best song of the album. Eminem has made a good effort on the lyrics, and his video is very imaginative. Plus he keeps being real about his addiction. The instrumentals and vocals manage to create a scary atmosphere here. If he only dropped that stupid accent, the song would have been fine, because I even enjoyed the rapping style in it.
I enjoyed Bagpipes From Bagdad, because I don’t like Mariah Carey and her brand new husband. Nick Cannon is fully ignorant to call a white man who spend most of his life among black folks and whose best friends and collaborators are mostly black – a racist. You go, Eminem, diss them hypocrites!
However, most other songs in the albums are really disappointing.
Crack A Bottle is a nightmare- lyrically and instrumentally as well. Even Dr Dre sets up a very weak performance. The video doesn’t make sense at all.
Old Times Sakes does not enlighten the artists abilities at all.
Globally speaking, Eminem’s new album is a flop. I am really disappointed. Marshall Mathers might be going through a lot at the moment, I don’t know. Hopefully he will come back with something better in the future.
Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved
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I think you should expand your tastes about hip hop if you hate 99% of it, before making any judgment about Eminem and other rappers…
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no,i don’t think it is him at the beginning…and it’s the part you are talking about, I really loathe most…
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NO! It’s Paul Rodgers singing “Reaching Out.”
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I can’t rember the Eminem Relapse music as soon as I’ve listen to it, like a goldfish. This is not as poweful as his other classic albums. There are better 2Pac’s, Snoop Dogg’s, Ice Cube’s, than this and that’s saying something. I can’t belive Dr.Dre produced this. Westside rules!!
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yes Luke, i agree…Em used to write powerful stuff…but in my opinion, this is his weakest album…i was also wondering how Dr Dre could produce this…hopefully Relapse 2 will be good..i really hope so…
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Album was terapeutic for EM.
Em dosnt need to make any records or proove anything to anyone. He is just having some fun rapping and getting high on raps after the drugs almost killed him. I find actually that this is, in a way, the less mainstream album he did so far.
The most logic thing to do at this point (36) for him was to develop a more constructive and maybe mature content.
Yeah sure! Well your not having that thanks god.
He is Slim Shady, and if you remember Slim dosnt give a **** he just says what he feels like.
Slim is dissing himself in many ways in Relapse. Maybe he just wants you to share some of his crapo instead of being labeled ‘The best rapper of all times’ every 2 seconds by people in love with commercial songs like “Lose Yourself”
Em is a real person with real issues that got involved in the mainstream thanks also to the truth of him being undergound. (MC battles should be more followed – hiphop is underground and charts and billboards are not)
And I bet now he gets kicks about confusing fans with a genious record with terrible accents. This is no “fluke” or “flop” beacuse that would involve an faliure of acceiving with his art. I think critics, people, dont and cant have the balls or saying to undermine his art by simply not liking this album. Of course if you payed money for somthing you dont like you have all the freedom to complain or be dissapinted and i am with you 100 per cent!!
In 3am he uses that annoying accent because it makes that track even darker and twisted. It is not for us. Its for the sake of art itself and maybe thats why people hate the track the first time then grow to like it… it is solid, no fluke
Sorry my english sux -
Try listening to this album on a good sound system!!!
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yes sure…i understand that this album was Em’s therapy…i also admire his courage for coming back clean and talking about his addiction problems publicly…of course it is great that he is still kicking, but i think his former albums were better…
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I will make the effort to listen to the whole album, song after song, as soon as I will have time…i don’t like this album that much, but as a music journalist, i think it would be worth for me to go deeper with it and have a second look at the lyrics…sth positive might come out of this…yea, maybe…
Well…I don’t like what he did here, but I still like his narrative approach and his honesty…he is one of the rare artists who stayed honest, and that’s a point in his favor.
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My point is: Em is an artist like many others in the game, and I agree that fans should focus more on the music than on the man himself…however, Eminem, Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers or whatever you call him begged to be different…since the Slim Shady LP, he has been building-willingly or unwillingly- a personal relationship with his fans…he shared very personal details of his life, his disputes with Kim, his workplace, his issues with his granny, the death of Ronnie, his love for his daughter Hailie and niece Alaina, he even made a footage of his kids for us fans…he was contantly taking us fans into his universe…I agree, I don’t know the man personally and I don’t intend to bother his personal life nor invade his privacy ( I am totally opposed to such behaviors), but I think Em gave his fans the impression that he was a personal friend through his music and you cannot analyze Eminem’s music without investigating his personal life (otherwise his music wouldn’t make sense)…look, I never heard about Proof’s kids’ names until he died and i have been a real big fan of his music…I don’t know Nas’ kids names, nor Ice Cube’s…every Eminem fan in the world knows he’s got a little girl named Hailie Jade…
Em wanted to be known, loved, adored, so why complain?
Do you get me now?
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I do get your point.
He did exspose himself in the past with his personal life more then others would ever be willing to. What i do care is how he responds and reacts to his ‘personal issues’ not the issues itself. Thats what i can relate to. I like that he has the balls to say what he dose but I dont care about his personal life problems too much. Even if im a fan I dont personaly know the dude. Em is messing with your mind most of the time anyway.
There is one thing i really care about. I care about how he spits.
Em spits like crazy. Especialy on Relapse. That stuff is advanced.
The accent and some absence of a content in his verses i think is what people get confused over.
I think he is simply distorting words so that they ryhme together, not really adopting an accent.
He really dose have a COMPLICATED flow and i mean it in a very good way.
Ryhme patterns and schemes are everything in Relapse.. not really the content of his words.If you dont like the album.. put a ballon in your pussy, queef and blow it up!
I know Realpse2 will please more ears, and be a more serious album for the generic fan.
(I think this is a great blog and i thank you alot for your imput Isabelle and i really hope you will enjoy Relaspe2, lots of respect for saying what you think)
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Im joking about the queefing
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Thanks for this input Jonathan:) I am happy you appreciate this blog…I will always speak my mind on different subjects…i like being honest about how i feel…well like i said i will give Em’s new album another attentive listen and will have a closer look at his lyrics too…
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lol i know
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eminem is the best entertainer of the world. Great album!
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im agree with you that this’s his weakest album
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