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Ladies and Gentlemen, Eminem has returned! Along with Slim Shady. Yeah… the Slim Shady that shot himself at the end of “Encore”. I don’t know how! Oh, and Marshall Mathers is tagging along too! Yes, all three of Mr. Mathers’ alter egos is coming along for the ride on “Relapse”, Eminem’s first studio album in 4 long years.
Why was he gone so long? Anyone’s guess. But I think it has something to do with the murder of his best friend, Proof, his relapse into prescription pills after getting out of rehab, and overdosing and almost dying. I am just spit balling here, but it is a valid reason.
So, after four long years, is the mighty Em able to return to the rap game with the same fire as before? Click read more to see if he did.
The album begins with the skit “Dr. West”. A meeting of Eminem and his rehab doctor. Slowly… we start to find out that his doctor doesn’t really care. He begins to tell Eminem that it’s okay to become loose… and finally reveals himself to be Slim Shady himself. Eminem then wakes up to his alarm clock… and… what’s that on the floor?
A bunch of dead bodies… that’s what’s on the floor. “3 A.M.” is the first song on the album and begins it on a menacing note. The whole song is about Slim Shady’s killing spree and drug addiction. Sneaking into rehabilitation centers, McDonalds, anywhere, and murdering every last soul there. The beat, produced by Dr. Dre, gives a cheesy boost to Eminem’s lyrics and flow and works surprisingly well. The video is even more evil then the song itself, with more fake blood then a bad slasher flick, it takes it to a whole new level.
Then, a beat filled with a horn section, drums, and… a saxophone solo? Yes… we have stumbled upon “My Mom”. The song is about how Eminem got addicted to drugs through his mom. Of course, no nice words are exchanged until the end when he, in the style of “Kill You” and “White America”, says “I’m just playing mom, I love you.” A bit mediocre, but only because the lyrics are a bit boring and the whole “mother” subject is just wearing a tiny bit thin.
No time wasted, we are immediately greeted by the lyrics “I was born with a dick in my brain/yeah, fucked in the head.” Are the lyrics nuts? No, they’re insane… and so is the song. Eminem even said that his goal for the song “Insane” was to make people sick to their stomachs, and he succeeded. With talk about rape, giant balls, dismemberment, and half of a whole verse in the role of a rapist explaining what it’s like, it’s pretty damn disgusting. But it’s also one of the best songs on the album. It’s a break from the usual Em subjects like suicide or drugs, and it’s a good thing. After three albums, we needed a new subject for Eminem to rap about.
On the next song, we are greeted by bagpipes and a female singer. What the fuck, right? Before you jump to a conclusion, the drums come in and Eminem starts talking in a Scottish accent. The song is mostly (as you know about the ADD of rap lyrics, it’s impossible to stay on one subject in a rap song) about his “relationship” with Mariah Carey. “Bagpipes From Baghdad” is a pretty interesting song. The lyrics are Eminem’s first full on attack on Ms. Carey (He somewhat attacked her on the song “Jimmy Crack Corn” with 50 Cent on the album “Eminem Presents: The Re-Up”) and he does not hold back, even going as far as calling her a whore. As with the rest of the album, he inserts talk about prescription drugs into his regular humorishness. The whole third verse is him going back to his immature talk about sex with Siamese Twins and in the end, instead of proving how much he hates Mariah, it just proves that he most likely has ADD. The whole song is all over the place with subjects and you can never fully understand what the fuck he is rapping about. At the end, he takes a final shot at someone, this time being either T-Pain or Kayne West with an auto-tune outro.
The next song, “Hello”, is about Eminem’s absence from the whole rap thing. He re-introduces himself and explains how he has changed. Talking about going crazy after losing one pill, killing hookers, wanting to have sex with random girls, and even says “I don’t mean any homo, I just want to say hello!”. To tell you the truth, it is actually kinda boring. He even talks about how he is going to leave rap forever. It’s just the same old subjects as the other songs from the album or even from his older albums have done before, and the other songs do it better. It would of been better as an intro track as he would of introduced himself at the beginning and it would of just been over with and we could just get to the good songs.
Then we get to the skit “Tonya”, which is a lead into “Same Song And Dance”, in which the first verse is about this Tonya.
“Same Song And Dance” is about how Slim Shady kidnaps Tonya, Lindsy Lohan, and Britney Spears and kills them. The beat is very dancy and feels like it should be playing in a club. It is meant to be scary and it succeeds on that. The beat, even though it is dancy, it is also very eerie. The lyrics are a mix of funny and surprising. He talks about how he has a crush on Britney Spears and loves her so much that he kills her to be with her forever. It is a song that finally breaks the mediocrity of the past few songs. It isn’t the same subject as the other songs and revives the freshness of the record.
Next up is the lead single, “We Made You”. Following tradition, this was the first single as it is the funny, rip on everyone song. As many times I have heard it, it never gets old. It was the first sign that Eminem was back and with as much force as before. It has the fast delivery and odd flow we would expect, the kick ass beat provided by none other then Dr. Dre, and it meshes perfectly. He rips on everyone who is relevant in today’s pop culture and talks about how every famous female is in love with him. It’s exactly the push needed to not bore the listener and makes them want more. As Dr. Dre said in “Encore”, “Make them scratch and itch for it like fresh cut grass”.
We then stumble upon my one of the songs tied for my personal favorite off of the album, “Medicine Ball”. The beat is bumping and sounds like something you would blast while driving down the street, and the second best beat on the whole album. The lyrics are a mix of the hilarity seen in “We Made You”, but with all the other subjects Eminem manages to stuff into the album, but it doesn’t feel recycled, as do the other songs. His flow on this song makes the subjects feel fresh and not like you have heard them a million times already. The second half of the third verse where Eminem acts like Christopher Reeves is classic and most likely a moment in Em history we will remember for years to come.
We then have the manditory “Paul” skit. He decides he doesn’t have Em’s back on this one. SPOILER!
The next song is “Stay Wide Awake”. Right at the beginning, you can tell it isn’t going to be a happy song. Even though the beat is pretty awesome and it is a darker song, it is interesting… for about two minutes. Once again, the same old subjects are re-used and even though they are used in a different way, it gets old fast. It makes you think “What the fuck man? Isn’t there something else you can rap about?” It makes you wish he would bring up his mother again.
We then get to “Old Times Sake”, which includes Eminem’s old friend, Dr. Dre. It starts with a little intro and really begins with Dr. Dre… singing? Yes, you read it right. He is SINGING. This song is, once again, about drugs and violence, but it is more standable as it is a lighter song and it is all meant in a comedic way. It isn’t fully standable, but since he isn’t all serious about it, you can just push it to the side. Usually when Dr. Dre is in one of Em’s songs, he takes the song to a new level, but the only problem is he is barely in it. He sings a bit, raps a tiny bit at the beginning of verse three, and then raps only about 12 lines in the middle of verse three. Dr. Dre would be the saving grace of this song if only he was in here more. Now, it isn’t really bad, it is just forgettable. It would be better to listen to this first then listen to the rest of the songs, because by the time you get to this song, you are just bored by the same subject coming up over and over and can’t fully appreciate the song.
“Must Be The Ganja” is the next song. Guess what it’s about. I am even getting bored writing about this subject over and over. Just another song about drugs. The beat is boring, the lyrics are boring, it’s just boring. Seriously. There is nothing else to say.
We get to a skit about him OD’ing and get into the song “Deja Vu”.
“Deja Vu” is different. It does talk drug use, but in a bad way. Not just about him using the drugs, but about the after-effects and how it effects the ones around him. It is a sadder song and it is the freshest use of the drug subject since the first time it is mentioned on the album. The beat is just loud enough to give off the whole intenseness of it but, but quiet enough to let Eminem’s lyrics to get through. It really makes you listen and just feel bad for him. It also shows that he realizes that he messed up and he has to face the consequences. It is one of the most real songs on the album and is yet another break from mediocrity.
We then get to the longest song on the album, “Beautiful”. This is the only song on the album with a beat produced by Eminem, and not Dr. Dre. It is THE saddest song on the album and it is about how he is realizing that he may be done with rap. He keeps his head up on the way out and says that others shouldn’t judge him before walking in his shoes. The beat is tight with drums, synth, drones, and even guitar solos. It even samples a Queen + Paul Rodgers song. The lyrics are very down to earth and talk about how he just has gone through so much shit lately. This is a, no pun intended, beautiful song as it is pretty much the only one where he doesn’t try to prove his craziness, he just tries to connect with his fans. It’s really something special.
Then comes “Crack A Bottle”, or as it could also be called, “Encore Part 2″. A colab song between Eminem, Dr. Dre, and 50 Cent. It is not really a song to raise the mood after “Beautiful”, but it doesn’t keep the mood. It is a great colab between all three of these talented rappers, and even though it isn’t as strong as “Encore” was, it is close. The lyrics are funny and serious at the same time and all three of the rappers showcase their different flows in a very easy to notice way. It almost seems like they wouldn’t fit together, but it just flows. Eminem’s high-pitched flow, Dr. Dre’s hardcore flow, 50 Cent’s laid back flow, it just works. One of the best songs on the album.
We have a Steve Berman skit, and then the final song.
“Underground/Ken Kaniff” is the final song, and the second song tied for my personal favorite song. It is such an intense song and Eminem’s flow and delivery is so drastic, it almost gives you goosebumps. You can tell he means business. The beat adds onto that with the dramatic mix of guitar, drums, strings, and a choir. How Eminem raps is almost the polar opposite of “3 A.M.”, the first song on the album, as “3 A.M.” is a serious song with comedic delivery, and this is somewhat of a comedic song with a serious delivery. Maybe it was done to show an evolution, but whatever it was, it was a good choice. It is the prefect way to close out his return.
Overall: 3/5. Yes, “Relapse” has some good songs, and it does make up for the overall mediocrity of “Encore”, but overall, it is quite mediocre in itself. It is a great comeback, and I will say that, but Eminem just raps about the same damn thing way too much and wears it very thin. By the end of the album, you already forgot three quarters of it and the only thing that will stick with you are the final songs.