Artist: Eminem
Album: Relapse
Year: 2009
Grade: 3 pretzels
Has it actually been five whole years since Eminem released new music? For half of this decade, we’ve become accustomed to having him running amok, serving as pop culture’s official button-pushing court jester. I think there’s a very strong argument for Em being the most important voice in pop music of the past ten years. Even at his most distasteful, Em has revolutionized rap and popular music as we know it. In his decade-long career, he’s pushed every socially accepted standard of taste and personal expression. The fact that he’s managed to be extraordinarily successful in the process is staggering. Whether you like his music or not, whether you agree with his viewpoints or not, you’ve got to admit one thing: there’s no one else like Eminem.
Except, before his supposed hiatus these past five years, Em was in the middle of a speedy creative decline. After his first two albums turned the world upside down, 2002’s The Eminem Show and 2004’s Encore were exactly what Em’s albums shouldn’t be: predictable. Eminem also became socially overexposed around this time, as his pet project, 8 Mile, stormed movie theaters and roped in Oscars for Em’s music. Eminem was no longer the challenging social provocateur; he was a certified pop star and he had to play that part. Of course, Em being Em, he didn’t exactly respond well to this. First, he dropped into the background, trying to help other rappers break into the mainstream, before finally fading off the radar altogether. Think about the last time you heard Eminem talked about in pop culture. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Five years, to be exact. As Em says himself, “I guess it’s time for you to hate me again.”
So, what has Eminem being doing all these years? Well, he’s been through some rough times. A close friend, rapper Proof, was murdered and Em found himself with a serious addiction to prescription pills. For someone who’s stormed about how rough his life has been for all these years (his drug-addict mom, his shitty wife, a rough childhood in Detroit), these are the first struggles we’ve been able to share with Em in real time. Unsurprisingly, the music on Relapse is noticeably darker than his previous work. Eminem has always balanced humor with deadly seriousness on his albums, but never have the scales been tipped this far towards the serious end. Whether it’s the slasher-fantasies of “3am” or the eerie abduction tale of “Same Song & Dance”, Em seems to have a lot of dark shit on his mind these days.
Em’s darkest moments on the album, however, are reserved for his purest tales of personal expression yet. The last quarter of the album is dominated by three terrifying songs documenting his pill addiction: the sober “Deju Vu”, the schlocky, earnest “Beautiful” and the crushing “Underground”. People expecting Em’s usual onslaught of pop culture commentary need not apply. While Em’s wordplay is still brutally sharp and witty, there’s nothing to laugh at here. Not unlike his masterpiece, 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP, these songs succeed because Eminem is the only fucker crazy enough to be this honest in pop music.
But Eminem will always be an astonishingly complicated person, mostly because he always has a scathing joke of a song ready to distract attention away from his real problems. This is where Relapse falters. The album’s lead single, “We Made You”, is a weak attempt to recreate the magic of songs like “My Name Is” and “The Real Slim Shady”. The usual laundry list of celebrity targets works well for a spoof-filled video, but in an album dominated by harrowing subject matter, the humor can’t be this weak if it wants to stand its own. The same goes for the borderline-disabled “Crack A Bottle”, which features one of the worst, most awkward choruses in the history of music. Yes, it’s even worse than “My Humps”.
Relapse is a difficult return for one of the strongest voices in music. On one hand, Eminem is back, darker and crazier than ever. The album is definitely stronger than some of his material pre-hiatus, so I guess his self-imposed exile was worth something. At the same time, Em’s humor has never really been lower. This is an album that makes fun of Christopher Reeve on two different songs. Not only is this not that funny, it’s about five years too late. Coincidence? Hmm. It’s a pity that the weakest songs here are being released to the public to represent the album as a whole. If Em wants to return to his former glory, he’s gonna need to get some better jokes. Society has given him the proverbial carte blanche on subject matter, since they seem to buy his albums no matter what he rhymes about, so I think Em should abuse that for all it’s worth. But, at the very least, he’s back. The world missed you, Eminem.
Except, before his supposed hiatus these past five years, Em was in the middle of a speedy creative decline. After his first two albums turned the world upside down, 2002’s The Eminem Show and 2004’s Encore were exactly what Em’s albums shouldn’t be: predictable. Eminem also became socially overexposed around this time, as his pet project, 8 Mile, stormed movie theaters and roped in Oscars for Em’s music. Eminem was no longer the challenging social provocateur; he was a certified pop star and he had to play that part. Of course, Em being Em, he didn’t exactly respond well to this. First, he dropped into the background, trying to help other rappers break into the mainstream, before finally fading off the radar altogether. Think about the last time you heard Eminem talked about in pop culture. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Five years, to be exact. As Em says himself, “I guess it’s time for you to hate me again.”
So, what has Eminem being doing all these years? Well, he’s been through some rough times. A close friend, rapper Proof, was murdered and Em found himself with a serious addiction to prescription pills. For someone who’s stormed about how rough his life has been for all these years (his drug-addict mom, his shitty wife, a rough childhood in Detroit), these are the first struggles we’ve been able to share with Em in real time. Unsurprisingly, the music on Relapse is noticeably darker than his previous work. Eminem has always balanced humor with deadly seriousness on his albums, but never have the scales been tipped this far towards the serious end. Whether it’s the slasher-fantasies of “3am” or the eerie abduction tale of “Same Song & Dance”, Em seems to have a lot of dark shit on his mind these days.
Em’s darkest moments on the album, however, are reserved for his purest tales of personal expression yet. The last quarter of the album is dominated by three terrifying songs documenting his pill addiction: the sober “Deju Vu”, the schlocky, earnest “Beautiful” and the crushing “Underground”. People expecting Em’s usual onslaught of pop culture commentary need not apply. While Em’s wordplay is still brutally sharp and witty, there’s nothing to laugh at here. Not unlike his masterpiece, 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP, these songs succeed because Eminem is the only fucker crazy enough to be this honest in pop music.
But Eminem will always be an astonishingly complicated person, mostly because he always has a scathing joke of a song ready to distract attention away from his real problems. This is where Relapse falters. The album’s lead single, “We Made You”, is a weak attempt to recreate the magic of songs like “My Name Is” and “The Real Slim Shady”. The usual laundry list of celebrity targets works well for a spoof-filled video, but in an album dominated by harrowing subject matter, the humor can’t be this weak if it wants to stand its own. The same goes for the borderline-disabled “Crack A Bottle”, which features one of the worst, most awkward choruses in the history of music. Yes, it’s even worse than “My Humps”.
Relapse is a difficult return for one of the strongest voices in music. On one hand, Eminem is back, darker and crazier than ever. The album is definitely stronger than some of his material pre-hiatus, so I guess his self-imposed exile was worth something. At the same time, Em’s humor has never really been lower. This is an album that makes fun of Christopher Reeve on two different songs. Not only is this not that funny, it’s about five years too late. Coincidence? Hmm. It’s a pity that the weakest songs here are being released to the public to represent the album as a whole. If Em wants to return to his former glory, he’s gonna need to get some better jokes. Society has given him the proverbial carte blanche on subject matter, since they seem to buy his albums no matter what he rhymes about, so I think Em should abuse that for all it’s worth. But, at the very least, he’s back. The world missed you, Eminem.
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