The song turns an arena rock drum beat into a funeral dirge. In retrospect, the song is less political than it makes itself out to be - Em spends most of the time recounting his own story - but to place this song at the front of a pop album in 2002 was a brave move. But the addition of “White America” right at the start changes the tone of everything. The album feels like a self-congratulatory victory lap in many senses. If you listen to 2002’s The Eminem Show without “White America,” the album seems to follow The Marshall Mathers LP’s formula almost to a T - goofy opener, left turn into morbid ballad, etc. “White America” (from The Eminem Show, 2002) Eminem’s top 10 songs will be judged not by the wizardry of his verses or the comedy of his punchlines, but by the strength of the music and lyrical content itself. Marshall Mathers was at his best - both on his records, and guesting for his companions, frequently stealing their thunder - when his penchant for darkness and self-reflection was not overpowered by his wit and rapping ability. Likewise, people who adore jester Eminem can find vindication elsewhere - I think “FACK”and “Rainman” are hilarious in spite of themselves, but they’re not good music. That said, fans of that material won’t find much to like in this list. Recovery moved major units, and The Marshall Mathers LP II is primed to do the same - heck, some critics even like it.
Mathers’ post-2002 output has its proponents. Eminem has become the Yngwie Malmsteen of hip-hop: all shred with no songs, propping his commercial value up with guest choruses supplied by talented contemporary singers. On the albums since then, Em’s technical rapping skill has increased exponentially - have you ever seen him on BET’s Cypher? At the same time, his knack for inventive storytelling seems to have faded - this is how you get songs like “Rap God,” jaw-dropping displays of tongue-twisting skill with approximately no ability to impact listeners emotionally.
At the same time, these subjects give his songs a grit and intensity that many other bestselling emcees lacked around the turn of the century. In retrospect, some of the controversy surrounding the artist may have been warranted - the man has a serious lyrical penchant for holding women captive, particularly in his trunk. That sense of realism is what makes Mathers’ music at that time even more disturbing. Dre playing the occasional comic relief) in a family drama that served as a metaphor for Mathers’ own self-examination. These women became a recurring cast of characters (with Dr. It’s fitting that one of the skits on The Slim Shady LP is called “Soap” - Em’s songs mythologized not only himself, but his mother, his ex-wife Kim, and even his daughter Hailie. His greatest strength was probably autobiography. At the height of his career - roughly between 19 - Mathers was all these things at once. Which Mathers would you like? There’s the crass, below-the-belt comedian, the homicidal misogynist psychopath, the talented battle-emcee, the spokesperson for Rust Belt America, and the sensitive rapper-storyteller. Mathers doesn’t easily lend himself to dissection - like all good pop-culture icons, he wears many masks but, unlike David Bowie or Prince, he passes between them in rapid succession. All of Em’s releases since have been marred in some way: Even its only worthy successor, The Eminem Show, strayed just a bit too far into pop sentimentality. It represents the definite creative apex of his career. Concordantly, the best thing about MMLPII (besides the technicality of “Rap God,” and the left hook of “Bad Guy) is that it prompted me to revisit the original Marshall Mathers LP.Ĭlearly Mathers himself has been looking back at that album, as well.
The best thing about Prometheus was that it reminded me of how brilliant the original Alien is. At this point, I propose the music-loving community respectfully consider The Marshall Mathers LP II to be hip-hop’s version of the film Prometheus - both are decent efforts that, had they not been made by such esteemed artists (Eminem and Ridley Scott, respectively), and not been sequels to masterpieces, probably would have garnered more critical acclaim.
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