Life is Rap, Rap is Life by Jamie Press Shady’s back. Having dropped his brand new album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, anticipation had been building ever since the release of his best album ever, Recovery, in 2010. With it being called MMLP2 you could say that expectations were huge. Really huge. For many, The Marshall Mathers LP is Eminem’s greatest album ever made. It certainly is the most successful as well. So with expectations so high, could it be possible for Em to go above and beyond the album that made his career? No. Is that a bad thing? No. Does it mean this is a terrible album? On the contrary, it’s great. But is it better than the original? No. It’s the same thing that happened with The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan blew our minds with The Dark Knight, we were spoilt rotten with that film. So, naturally, expectations for the sequel were unbelievably huge. Was Rises better than Knight? No way. Not even close. It’s a good film but no where near the standard of Dark Knight. MMLP 2 is the same. It’s a fantastic album but it just doesn’t nudge MMLP from where people consider it. But, that’s not to say that the album doesn’t produce some great tracks. There a lot on the album. Coming in at 1 hour 18 minutes long, Em returns to the alter ego that many have grown to love. After bringing us into his personal life with Recovery, here he brings us back to the so called “good old days” as many people I’ve heard put it. Whether it’s bringing down the house with Rihanna on another classic beat with “The Monster”, claiming his rightful place as god of rap in “Rap God” or whether it’s apologising to his mother for their bitter feud on “Headlights”, Em treats us to another great album. The thing about Em is that he knows who is a great singer too. Throughout the album his tough, emotional, raw lyrics and beats are backed by incredible voices on the hooks from the likes of Rihanna, Skylar Gray and Nate Reuss. Each singer is on top form and they compliment nicely with Eminem’s voice. Skylar Gray in particular is amazing. Putting Eminem aside for a minute, I listened to some of her solo stuff the other day and I was taken aback by her amazing talent. She blew me away back when she was featured on Fort Minor’s amazing “Where’d You Go?” song and she topped that performance with her classical lyrics on Dr. Dre’s “I Need a Doctor” song. Her solo song, “Back from the Dead” is stunning. And she’s back with Eminem again on the hard-hitting “Survival” track and the hilarious “A**hole” track. Rihanna too has a great voice. Her chorus on “Love The Way You Lie” is probably one of the greatest, most memorable lines ever and she takes it away again with her lines on “The Monster”. The strongest track of them all, and my personal favourite, is “Headlights”. It’s remarkably emotional and moving. In “Headlights” Eminem apologises to his mother, Debbie, for their long, bitter feud. He explains his side of the story with honesty and even expresses sympathy with her. He regrets not letting her witness her granddaughters grow and for attacking her on the ever popular “Cleaning Out My Closet”. I hope you enjoyed that song while you did because Eminem proclaims to not ever play that track at live concerts ever again. It’s brutally honest and it’s something we never really imagined Eminem saying but it proves that no matter what happens, family is family and just like people who had problems with relatives connected with Closet, they’ll connect even stronger with Headlights. It’s definetly one of Eminem’s best songs ever and definitely one of rap’s best songs as well. So if I say that it’s not as good as MMLP, does that mean there’s a weakness to it? Yes. There is a small one. The single “Berserk” - which pays homage to Eminem’s inspirational idols The Beastie Boys - is …. different. I won’t say it’s terrible, it’s just completely different from everything else Eminem has ever done. Whilst I respect it’s respectful tone, I can’t help but feel that “Berserk” is out of place on this album. I love the hook. The hook is great, it’s catchy, written well and fits nicely with the beat. However, I can’t say the same for the rest of the song. Whilst Eminem’s lyrics are well written, it just doesn’t fit well to the beat at all. It feels messy and out of sync. Before the album was released, “Berserk was released as a single. First time I listened to it, I felt everything I just wrote but as a huge Eminem mark, I tried my best to love it. I wanted to like it. I don’t want to dislike anything Eminem does. But I couldn’t do it. I have to be truthful. Like I said, I don’t completely hate it - but I don’t completely like it. That was the only weakness for me, everything else is great but it doesn’t feel as important or as revolutionary as MMLP did with the likes of “Stan”, “The Real Slim Shady”, “The Way I Am”. Those kind of songs are so widely remembered. If I was to pick some of the songs I think I’ll remember this album for most, I could only pick 3. “Survival”, “Headlights” and “The Monster”. Everything else is great but not classical. * * * * / 5
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 21:23:04 +0000
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