4/5
Ready To Die
The Eminem show is back, this is the encore, and it's far from over...even if it is for Slim. Shady has already given us the sequel to his classic 'The Marshall Mathers LP', and since then he's been on a tear. The American 'Revival' in 2017. The Beastie Boys like 'Kamikaze' a year later. And most recently 'Music To Be Murdered By' in 2020. But nothing is quite like this now with the 'Coup de Grâce' of 'The Death Of Slim Shady', burying the blonde in a body bag. Now you see him, now you don't like the 'Houdini' hallmark single and video with magician David Blaine that brings Batman and Robin back again, as the real Slim Shady just loses it with Dr. Dre one more time. Even if he won't be standing up for long. Ziiiiiiip!
The Aftermath and Interscope record is one hell of an alter-ego satire piece that takes it to Ja Rule, Will Smith and Superman again. Not to mention Kanye West and Diddy, as Paul Rosenberg is fixing to have a fit again. Offended? You should be. And sure, he still doesn't give a f###! But don't worry, Eminem is about to cancel himself. Or at least the same Slim Shady who declared 'My Name Is'. But who killed him? Well, the 'Unsolved Mystery' that you saw at the NFL Draft in his hometown of Detroit is about to be ripped right open. Because the game is so empty without him. Especially as Em mostly goes it alone, or at least with his Id, like on the 'Guilty Conscience 2' sequel, akin to a 'T.I. vs. T.I.P.', minus the good doctor.
D-12's very own Bizarre gets as such with the 'Antichrist'. Whereas, on the opposite side, Sly Pyper peppers 'Lucifer'. White Gold makes platinum 'Habits' (and a 'Bad One') with the diamond rapper, and JID 'Fuel's' Marshall like the 'Road Rage' of Dem Jointz and Sly Pyper again, who makes this album his Obie Trice like coming out party. Real rap name. No gimmicks. But whether it be the 'Head Honcho' of Ez Mil, the return of Skylar Grey (despite a playful jab), or the Jelly Roll jiggling closer, it's the Spider-Man feature that you'll really point to like the artwork as the next collaborative classic, let alone the second single. 'Tobey', featuring BabyTron and Big Sean, will hook you with the lines, "Tobey Maguire got bit by a spider, but see, me, it was a goat." Tron, Sean, Slim. Whoever penned that just wrote their way to the Hall of Fame. As if Eminem, Marshall Mathers and the real Slim Shady wasn't already there.
Just when you thought it was all over, the comeback is complete, like 'Beverly Hills Cop 4' for 'Axel F'...with even more F words. You can hear it on the minute and change 'Renaissance' intro of some of the realest ish he ever wrote, like, "Now let's travel inside the mind of a hater/'Cause I don't see no fans, all I see's a bunch of complainers/"Kendrick's album was cool, but it didn't have any bangers/Wayne's album or Ye's, couldn't tell you which one was lamer/Joyner's album was corny, Shady's new s### is way worse/Everything is either too tame or there's too much anger/I didn't like the beat, so I hated Might Delete Later"/You nerdy pr###s would find somethin' wrong with 36 Chambers." Now, cancel him all you want for giving you what he already has for the decades you've listened to him, but who really changed? In this entertainment, you're supposed to join, are you not with this rap gladiator too (I'm sorry 'II' in Roman numerals like the Ridley Scott sequel that can actually do it for all the pretentious pr###s)?
Punching down and all around, the bad 'Habits' sample the 'Safe Space' of South Park, while the 'Brand New Dance' hits the squares with lines like "Superman, Batman, Spider-Man/Slipped, fell, landed in a garbage can/S###, hell, damn it, I can hardly stand/But I get it crackin' like no one in the party can/Give me a beat, I'll show you all a brand-new dance/All I need is a stretcher and an ambulance." And you still marvel at it. Ring the siren like the alarms, because bad meets 'Evil' again with love to Royce. The outstanding opening bursts with brutality, but there's beauty in the end, like some of Mathers finest moments (see 'Beautiful' and 'Hailie's Song'). 'Somebody Save Me' admits, "Another pill as I start to spiral/Message to my daughters/I don't even deserve the father title/Hailie, I'm so sorry/I know I wasn't there for your first guitar recital/Didn't walk you down the aisle/Missed the birth of your first child/Your first podcast, lookin' down, sweetie/I'm so proud of how you turned out/Sorry that I chose drugs and put 'em above you/Sorry that I didn't love you enough to."
Hailie's new song of 'Temporary' featuring Grey hits you with, "Yeah, so Hailie Jade, I wrote you this song/To help you cope with life now that I'm gone/How should I start? Just wanna say/Look after Alaina, Stevie, and Uncle Nate/And, sweetie, be strong, I know I was your rock/And I still am, saying goodbye is just not/Ever easy, but why you crying?/Just stop/Hailie, baby, dry your eye, this is not/Forever." Is Eminem dying? Don't worry, it's just Shady. But this second ode to his daughter in swan song form is Marshall at his most magnificent. Despite what shade critics try to throw, they couldn't hit harder than the honest lines Eminem cleans out like his closet. So that's that. And even with the maverick bonus tracks, like 'Kyrie & Luka' with 2 Chainz and DJ Premier, and 'Like My S###', no cuts are deeper than this. Slim Shady may be over, but this coup is the grace. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Playlist Picks: 'Houdini', 'Guilty Conscience 2', 'Temporary (Feat. Skylar Grey)'.
Spin This: Eminem - 'The Slim Shady LP'.
No comments:
Post a Comment