konspirator01's Full Review: The Eminem Show [PA] [Limited] by Eminem
I've always liked Eminem because he is innovative and very talented. What I don't like though is how a lot of Eminem fans aren't really hip-hop fans. A lot of them are MTV-watching white teenage girls who think he's cute and try to pretend that they are "rebels" too. It's pretty ironic how Eminem disses on popular culture and yet that is what happens to be the foundation of Eminem's popularity. It gets you wondering what the influence of the "real" Steve Berman (Eminem's fictitious promoter who severely criticizes his work) is. Is he telling Eminem to make "radio songs" like Without Me and having Eminem obey? I'll admit it; when I heard the lead single on the radio for the first time, I really liked it. It got me pumped about the album and I still like the song now. However, it seems to me that it's really a "The Real Slim Shady" in disguise, a catchy and controversial song made just for the radio and with the sole intention of helping sell the record when it comes out. I had a problem with his insults against Moby. I don't care if he disses N*Sync or Christina Aguilera, but I actually respect Moby a lot and the attack was unprovoked as far as I know (in fact, Moby was one of the people who defended Eminem's right to produce his controversial music). I thought it was pretty funny then, when I went to buy The Eminem Show at Tower Records and saw it in the #2 slot of Tower's Top 25 best-selling CDs with Moby's 18 in the #1 slot. The main promotional gimmick with this CD, though, is the release of 2 million copies of The Eminem Show that contain a special limited edition DVD. According to Eminem, it was a way to reward his biggest fans, people who would buy his album within the first few days of its release. Well, I'm a sucker for collectibles and "limited edition" stuff, so I sure bought into it. Well, now with this shiny CD is in my hands, we can start the show. Curtains Up!
The CD starts out strong with the good track White America which tells of Eminem's rising influence and defends against the controversy of his lyrics. The song is set to an instrumental with guitars and a heavy drum beat that results in a dark sound. The chant "White America!" in every other line of the chorus hints at Eminem's large following that "feel like me / who share the same views and the same exact beliefs, it's like a f***in' army marchin in back of me" Like most of the songs on this album, Eminem produced this song, showing us that he is willing to experiment past his MCing realm. It shows that Eminem is an artist who is constantly looking to improve and learn new things (i.e. grow and mature artistically), rather than an artist who's in it purely for the money. Of course, Dr. Dre helps out on several tracks and even shows up to rap on Say What U Say, where he spits out a vicious Jermaine Dupri diss in response to Dupri saying in an interview that as a producer he was of the same caliber if not higher of Dr. Dre and Timbaland. The Doc supplies the beat for the second song Business which is a good example of Eminem's lyrical talent. Heck, he even has some rhymes using the word "orange".
The Eminem Show is aptly named because it is possibly Eminem's most personal album. He has always been a honest and in-your-face rapper, but on several songs in this album, he shines brighter than before by revealing the real Eminem for the world to see. All the controversy of the past years surrounding him has transformed his life to a stage. He says, "Sometimes, I don't know when my private life ends and my public one begins." So now, he's basically saying what the heck, if they want to hear about my life, I'll show them my life. Listening to Eminem's music, you really start to feel like you know him as a person. This is especially rare among rappers, who too often in reality are different people from the rap personas they exude. 2Pac was a rapper that I felt like I knew well by listening to his music because his lyrics were personal and gritty. Eminem is sort of like that, and though he mentions 2Pac often in his songs, he achieves his end with a style different from 2Pac. Cleaning Out My Closet is a masterful piece that addresses the multi-sided relationship between him and his mother. He is not a singer, but he sings the chorus to this song along with some others. It seems odd at first and it might be labeled as a flaw, but I think Eminem wants to utilize singing to add a dimension of feeling that can not achieved as easily by a rap hook. Not to diss rap, but wouldn't you agree that in general, singing is more soulful than rapping? Maybe he should've got someone else to do the singing, but I don't think it would help make his album be as personal as he wanted it to be. Hailie's Song is a song that has Eminem singing about half the time. You can laugh when you hear it, but Eminem is serious in his dedication to Hailie. He breaks the ice by confessing that he can't sing in the beginning and end of the song, but he also means to direct the listener's attention to his words rather than his singing ability.
I think that his past two albums had more gory content than this one. Remember how he would rap about killing all people in explicit detail? Well, The Eminem Show wouldn't be an Eminem album if it didn't have a big shock factor. Don't fret, the offensively foul Drips comes to save the day. I mean, just look at the name of the song. We're not talking about a leaky faucet here... Sensitive listeners (but isn't a sensitive Eminem fan an oxymoron?) will be skipping this one. Superman is also an offensive song, but I think that this one is in addition a bad song. First of all, the Superman metaphor is disgustingly overused from Lil Mo's "Superwoman" to Five For Fighting's "Superman" (is it a conspiracy to promote Superman products or Smallville?) Eminem's Superman is a we-don't-love-these-hoes song; we really don't need any more of those. Another thing I didn't like about this album was that a lot of the songs had little intros in the beginning. Sometimes they work well, but sometimes they don't; it's not that big of a deal, though. The skits are kept to a minimum, which is always a good thing.
Some closing remarks about the album:
This was a good album by Eminem that shows that he is a consistent artist that regularly puts out quality work instead of having a classic debut and then falling off. I think he still has room for improvement because this is not the perfect album. I look forward to a fourth album showing Eminem as an improved producer and writer of fresh lyrics. The subject matter of this album is basically along the same lines as his previous album The Marshall Mathers LP. I don't really blame him for wanting to really drive his messages home, because seriously, some people still don't get it. Eminem is one of the best lyricists in today's rap game; don't go around denying the fact that he's an artist and a talented one at that. Oh yeah, one last thing, Eminem sneaks in some lyrical jabs at Canibus; it will definitely be interesting to see Canibus's response.
Here are some stats on the album:
-Running time: 77:30 (good enough of an album to listen in one sitting though)
-20 tracks, 5 of them skits
-has songs featuring Obie Trice, D-12, Dr. Dre, Nate Dogg (doing a hook, of course), and here's a surprise, his daughter Hailie (she cutely helps out on a chorus, though I hope she wasn't around when Eminem recorded the verses)
-lyrics included
The bonus DVD is a nice touch and definitely makes the 12 or 13 dollars you shell out worth it. It contains:
-interviews where Eminem talks about this album and his music in general
-live concert footage
-"Just Don't Give a F***" video
-"Eminem All Access Europe" DVD Trailer
-the trailer for 8 Mile, the movie due out this fall starring Eminem himself, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, and Mekhi Phifer
-an amusing episode from the Slim Shady Show
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