LadyLuvJess
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Eminem Album Preview:
Has Success Spoiled Shady? Eminem has built his career rapping about his hard-knock life, displaying such hellacious humor and skills that even the leeriest of skeptics and top-flank MCs — from Nas to Jay-Z to 50 Cent — have had to pay homage. No MC has sold more records and a small few have reached his level of lyrical ingenuity and acuteness. So now that he's caked up, saluted for his efforts on the mic, behind the boards (he just finished producing an album's worth of Tupac songs) and in the boardroom (Shady Records is moving units, G), Eminem is taking an Encore. But the question now is, Will all the praise catch up with him? Will he slip into the spot where so many have fallen before: the comfort zone? On Encore, he weaves in and out of it, sometimes laughing aloud at jokes only he might get; at other points, he's impassioned, opening up about recent events that struck chords in his heart and conscience. By now, the whole world has caught wind of Em's formula when dropping an album. He'll put out the gleefully ig-nant first single, referencing several pop icons to get everyone's attention — stir the pot, if you will — then drop the hard-hitting second offering just to show you how dope he is. That's why no one flinched — give or take a King of Pop here or a Source magazine owner there — when "Just Lose It" came out and Em rapped with an extra I-can-do-whatever-I-want-and-you'll-love-it air. Nobody in their right mind thought that the song would be the best track on Encore, and they were right: "Mosh," the second single (with its controversial animated video) was nothing short of a spectacle. But how does the rest of Encore — which drops this Friday — stack up? Like his other albums, Encore shows different sides of Mathers, with the Motor City madman revisiting his issues with his family — society and even the Man of Steel. Even a person with the kookiest sense of humor may find it difficult to crack a smile at the references to the late Christopher Reeve in "Rain Man." "I killed Superman, I killed Super ... man," he raps with an almost robotic flow after lamenting about people who find his lyrics offensive. "I say you're all just all too goddamn sensitive," he continues. "It's censorship and it's downright blasphemous ... I won't stand for this, and Christopher Reeve won't stand for this, neither." The second verse finds Em switching up his flow and cadence, acting as a Southerner questioning hetero- and homosexuality and morals. Em then gives a big wink at the end of the track, saying, "I just did a whole song and I didn't say sh--." On "Ass Like That," Em switches up his cadences again, this time managing to sound like Triumph the Insult Comic Dog in his verses. On the chorus, he practically chants the words, "The way you shake it, I can't believe it/ I ain't never seen an ass like that," before launching into a juvenile description of his body's reaction. He goes on to praise certain celebrities' booties, with comments about Jessica Simpson and Gwen Stefani as well as a certain pair of famous sisters. "Mary-Kate and Ashley used to be so wholesome," he says. "Now they're getting older, they're starting to grow bum-bums." Encore does have some sobering moments, where Em raps with resounding clarity and insight. "Like Toy Soldiers" uses a sample of Martika's "Toy Soldiers" and breaks down, in detail, his recent beefs with The Inc. and The Source magazine. As the drumline beats, Em begins rhyming — but not with the take-no-prisoners approach that we heard on mixtape freestyles like "Hail Mary," where he (with 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes in tow) attacked Ja Rule: "You ain't no killa, you a pu---," he rapped. "That ecstasy done got you all emotional and mushy/ Bitches wearing rags in photos, Ja's words being quoted/ In The Source, stealin' 'Pac's sh-- like he just wrote it." But here, Eminem is reflective and remorseful as he tells why the battles started and why he wishes they hadn't occurred. "Even though the battle was won, I feel like we lost it/ I spent so much energy on it, honestly, I'm exhausted ... This ain't what I'm in hip-hop for, it's not why I got in it." Shady goes on to admit he's cognizant of the fact that when a war on wax gets ugly — with barbs even thrown at a particular party's kids — things could get physical. "It was never my object for someone to get killed/ Why would I want to destroy something I helped build?" However, the relationship he built with the mother of his daughter, Kim Mathers, seems to be totally in shambles on "Puke." The record actually starts with the sound of Em vomiting in the toilet bowl. "You make me f---ing sick to my stomach/ Every time that I think of you, I puke," he sings in a whiney voice over some slow G-funk mixed with his own thunderous Detroit claps and drum-thumps. He comes off like a rock and roll singer, putting his acclaimed flow in park for four minutes to rant and rave about the woman he calls a "slut" and wishes could stick a needle in her eye. Love, however cannot be mistaken on "Mockingbird." That song plays out almost like Em reading a letter to his daughter and niece as he tries to explain his strife with his wife and missing time with them while he handles his celebrity duties. The piano plays as he conversates in a fleet, bouncing flow. "Two little beautiful girls looking puzzled, in a daze/ Daddy's always on the move, momma's always on the news/ I tried to keep you sheltered from it, but somehow it seems/ Like the more I try to do it, the more it backfires on me." Once again, Em tried to give his album a standard Tuesday release date (November 16), but was thwarted due to bootlegging. Encore has already made its way onto the 'Net and into bootleggers' hands, and thus has been moved up to November 12. Although the album's title track, which features Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, has been released on vinyl to DJs, there hasn't been an official choice for a single and video to follow up "Mosh." — Shaheem Reid --לקוח מתוך האתר של MTV. קצת ארוך, אז בקיצור- זאת ביקורת על האלבום.--
Has Success Spoiled Shady? Eminem has built his career rapping about his hard-knock life, displaying such hellacious humor and skills that even the leeriest of skeptics and top-flank MCs — from Nas to Jay-Z to 50 Cent — have had to pay homage. No MC has sold more records and a small few have reached his level of lyrical ingenuity and acuteness. So now that he's caked up, saluted for his efforts on the mic, behind the boards (he just finished producing an album's worth of Tupac songs) and in the boardroom (Shady Records is moving units, G), Eminem is taking an Encore. But the question now is, Will all the praise catch up with him? Will he slip into the spot where so many have fallen before: the comfort zone? On Encore, he weaves in and out of it, sometimes laughing aloud at jokes only he might get; at other points, he's impassioned, opening up about recent events that struck chords in his heart and conscience. By now, the whole world has caught wind of Em's formula when dropping an album. He'll put out the gleefully ig-nant first single, referencing several pop icons to get everyone's attention — stir the pot, if you will — then drop the hard-hitting second offering just to show you how dope he is. That's why no one flinched — give or take a King of Pop here or a Source magazine owner there — when "Just Lose It" came out and Em rapped with an extra I-can-do-whatever-I-want-and-you'll-love-it air. Nobody in their right mind thought that the song would be the best track on Encore, and they were right: "Mosh," the second single (with its controversial animated video) was nothing short of a spectacle. But how does the rest of Encore — which drops this Friday — stack up? Like his other albums, Encore shows different sides of Mathers, with the Motor City madman revisiting his issues with his family — society and even the Man of Steel. Even a person with the kookiest sense of humor may find it difficult to crack a smile at the references to the late Christopher Reeve in "Rain Man." "I killed Superman, I killed Super ... man," he raps with an almost robotic flow after lamenting about people who find his lyrics offensive. "I say you're all just all too goddamn sensitive," he continues. "It's censorship and it's downright blasphemous ... I won't stand for this, and Christopher Reeve won't stand for this, neither." The second verse finds Em switching up his flow and cadence, acting as a Southerner questioning hetero- and homosexuality and morals. Em then gives a big wink at the end of the track, saying, "I just did a whole song and I didn't say sh--." On "Ass Like That," Em switches up his cadences again, this time managing to sound like Triumph the Insult Comic Dog in his verses. On the chorus, he practically chants the words, "The way you shake it, I can't believe it/ I ain't never seen an ass like that," before launching into a juvenile description of his body's reaction. He goes on to praise certain celebrities' booties, with comments about Jessica Simpson and Gwen Stefani as well as a certain pair of famous sisters. "Mary-Kate and Ashley used to be so wholesome," he says. "Now they're getting older, they're starting to grow bum-bums." Encore does have some sobering moments, where Em raps with resounding clarity and insight. "Like Toy Soldiers" uses a sample of Martika's "Toy Soldiers" and breaks down, in detail, his recent beefs with The Inc. and The Source magazine. As the drumline beats, Em begins rhyming — but not with the take-no-prisoners approach that we heard on mixtape freestyles like "Hail Mary," where he (with 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes in tow) attacked Ja Rule: "You ain't no killa, you a pu---," he rapped. "That ecstasy done got you all emotional and mushy/ Bitches wearing rags in photos, Ja's words being quoted/ In The Source, stealin' 'Pac's sh-- like he just wrote it." But here, Eminem is reflective and remorseful as he tells why the battles started and why he wishes they hadn't occurred. "Even though the battle was won, I feel like we lost it/ I spent so much energy on it, honestly, I'm exhausted ... This ain't what I'm in hip-hop for, it's not why I got in it." Shady goes on to admit he's cognizant of the fact that when a war on wax gets ugly — with barbs even thrown at a particular party's kids — things could get physical. "It was never my object for someone to get killed/ Why would I want to destroy something I helped build?" However, the relationship he built with the mother of his daughter, Kim Mathers, seems to be totally in shambles on "Puke." The record actually starts with the sound of Em vomiting in the toilet bowl. "You make me f---ing sick to my stomach/ Every time that I think of you, I puke," he sings in a whiney voice over some slow G-funk mixed with his own thunderous Detroit claps and drum-thumps. He comes off like a rock and roll singer, putting his acclaimed flow in park for four minutes to rant and rave about the woman he calls a "slut" and wishes could stick a needle in her eye. Love, however cannot be mistaken on "Mockingbird." That song plays out almost like Em reading a letter to his daughter and niece as he tries to explain his strife with his wife and missing time with them while he handles his celebrity duties. The piano plays as he conversates in a fleet, bouncing flow. "Two little beautiful girls looking puzzled, in a daze/ Daddy's always on the move, momma's always on the news/ I tried to keep you sheltered from it, but somehow it seems/ Like the more I try to do it, the more it backfires on me." Once again, Em tried to give his album a standard Tuesday release date (November 16), but was thwarted due to bootlegging. Encore has already made its way onto the 'Net and into bootleggers' hands, and thus has been moved up to November 12. Although the album's title track, which features Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, has been released on vinyl to DJs, there hasn't been an official choice for a single and video to follow up "Mosh." — Shaheem Reid --לקוח מתוך האתר של MTV. קצת ארוך, אז בקיצור- זאת ביקורת על האלבום.--
