Eminem is back and has something to say (what else is new)
Written: Jun 09 '02
Product Rating:
Pros: Personal lyrics, good beats, Emimem grows up (a little)
Cons: Repetitive subjects, Dr. Dre, bonus DVD
The Bottom Line: This is a great album, with only a couple of filler songs, it's bound to be one of the biggest selling CD's this year (get your copy today) :)
ez013182's Full Review: The Eminem Show [PA] [Limited] by Eminem
Well here I am, doing something that even I would not expect…I’m reviewing an Eminem CD. This means that I actually bought his album (the day it came out) and listened to it the whole way through. Me, a pop loving gay Latin male who actually likes Eminem lol. I have Eminem’s last album and I have not listened to that (just 4 songs), so the fact that I got through this album and liked it still amazes me lol (sorry, I just wanted to emphasize how weird I think it is).
So Eminem is back with his latest album titled The Eminem Show. And even though I did not listen to his other album, I can tell that he has grown artistically because for once, people are saying how personal his lyrics are. However, when Eminem has 15 songs (plus 5 skits), it usually means that there are a lot of repetitive topics that get kind of boring towards the end. The songs that shine here, though, make this album well worth while.
The album starts off with the song White America. This song will scare a lot of people when they realize that he’s rapping the truth. He raps about how adults hate him but when you look around, it’s not the adults who are keeping him on top, it’s the kids. He says that because he’s white, more of today’s youth can relate to what he says because he looks like them:
So now I’m catching the flack from these activists when they ragging
Acting like I’m the first rapper to smack a b!tch or say f*ggot
Sh!t, just look at me like I’m your closest pal
The posterchild, the motherfu*king spokesman now for White America!
The lyrics are powerful, blunt, and to the point. The whole song just made me think about the controversy he causes and why it’s such a big deal. This is a perfect way to start off the album.
There is one song on the album that literally made me sit back in amazement after it was done. Cleaning Out My Closet is the first real personal song on the album. It is a song directed to his mother and mentions things about his ex-wife. He raps about how he would go back and suffer being with Kim, just so his daughter (Hailie) would be happy. The final verse is one of the most powerful and hateful things I’ve read. Please read it, it’s about how he feels about all the stuff his mother put him through:
See what hurts me the most is you won’t admit you was wrong
B!tch, do ya song. Keep telling yourself that you was a mom
But how dare you try to take what you didn’t help me to get
You selfish b!tch, I hope you fu*king burn in hell for his sh!t
Remember when Ronnie died and you said you wished it was me
Well, guess what, I am dead. Dead to you as can be
This is my favorite lyric from the whole album because it just expresses how much hate there is towards his mother and you can actually feel it when he says it. I can’t explain it…it just totally caught me by surprise that there was actually a valid reason for his despising his mother. Square Dance and Soldier are basically Eminem saying that he can say what he wants because he loves “p*ssing people off” and he feels he has a responsibility to let the world know what he feels. This wouldn’t be too bad if he didn’t use this same topic in a few other songs. These songs are pretty interesting though, not too bad.
Sayin’ Goodbye To Hollywood is another very personal song. He sings about his relationship with Kim and his daughter. He is tired of all the publicity surrounding him and he says that if he knew it would be this way, he never would have rapped. All he wanted was to give his daughter a better life than he had. It’s not as powerful as the other personal songs, but it’s a good look at how Eminem feels about his fame. I was kind of looking forward to Drips because the girls here at Epinions said it was disgusting and I wanted to know what the fuss was about. Basically, the song is such a stupid piece of crap. First, idiot rapper Obie Trice raps about how he had unprotected sex with some woman and got an STD. Then the Eminem part apparently tells us that the woman is also with Eminem or something. The beat is boring and the song just really seems like a step back for Eminem…he was doing so well too.
We then come to Eminem’s first single from the album. Without Me is a song on the album I consider pop and catchy pop at that. I already know most of the song because it’s fun to sing along to. It’s kind of like “The Real Slim Shady Part 2” because he does the same thing. His disses are retarded though, he could have done so much better. My favorite lyric is:
But sometimes the sh!t it seems
Everybody just wants to discuss me
So this must mean I’m disgusting
But it’s just me, I’m just obscene
The chorus is also a favorite of mine because in the video he’s acting like such a fool. Basically, I like to sing the chorus at work and dance around all silly-like. Sing For The Moment is like “White America” but from a more serious perspective. He raps about not knowing why so many kids love him and his fellow rappers. The chorus is different and really helps emphasize the verses (it’s some guy singing in a weird voice…kinda freaky actually lol).
Superman is one of my favorite songs on the album. The production is awesome and the vocal arrangements in the choruses and bridges are perfect. The song is about him being a single man and wanting to stay that way. He doesn’t want to be held down in a relationship so he’ll get with girls, but he won’t commit. He raps about hating it when women try to act like they know him when they really know nothing about him. The song is one of the best songs on the album, it’s very original and it’s Eminem being calm and not yelling his lyrics.
This song is followed by the other major highlight on the album. Hailie’s Song features Eminem SINGING! He says “Yo I can’t sing, but I feel like singing.” He does it for his daughter. He only sings for half the song, but the fact that he does it and sings about how much Hailie means to him makes this song one of his best songs ever. His singing voice is less than spectacular (it’s pretty bad), but it’s actually kind of sweet. This song is very personal, he sings that even though he seems like this tough guy, he keeps a lot of stuff bottled up that hurts him inside. He raps about all the stuff he went through with Kim for Hailie. The song is pretty much flawless since he really makes you look at him in a very different way.
When The Music Stops is nonsense crap that features D-12 (I hate D-12). The song is about nothing really, it has a good beat, but I don’t get the point of the song. Say What You Say features Dr. Dre and it’s basically a bragging song that really bugged me. The song is pretty bad filler…I was literally counting the seconds for it to finish. Till I Collapse features Nate Dogg and it’s Eminem rapping about how he is going to say what’s on his mind forever. It should have been left out because we all know how he feels about this and to add another song about it is just pathetic. The production is interesting though because he uses a beat and crowd clapping (like in “We Will Rock You” (I think that’s what it’s called)).
The album finally ends and it just so happens to end on a high note. My Dad’s Gone Crazy features Hailie (Eminem’s daughter) in a VERY cute way. He raps about a bunch of different things that don’t really make too much sense and in the chorus Hailie Jade sings her little part, “I think my daddy’s gone craaaazy”. Her part stays in my head so much so that I find myself saying it sometimes lol. It’s a pretty original song. The song ends with Hailie saying, “Ha ha ha, you’re funny daddy.” :)
Overall Grade: A-
This is a very good album…you don’t even have to be an Eminem fan to like it. I don’t enjoy him too much, but this is undeniably a very talented artist and he put out one of the best albums so far this year. Sure he is Mr. Controversy, but why let that get in the way? Just sit back and listen to what he has to say, you might even learn something :)
Bonus DVD
Don’t bother searching high and low for this special edition album with the bonus DVD, it sucks. I could barely stand to watch it. Basically, all of the respect I attained from Eminem’s album was lost when I saw the DVD. They showed a behind-the-scenes look at one of his concerts and part of the concert. He sang “Brain Damage”, “I Don’t Give A Fu*k” and some other song with a bunch of guys on stage making complete fools of themselves. There was a live concert version of “The Way I Am” and “The Real Slim Shady” but both sucked. There is also a trailer for his movie and it looks crappy in my opinion. The DVD is basically a gimmick to get people excited and buy the album…it worked (made me end up buying it). Only hard-core Eminem fans will probably enjoy the footage. I thought it was the biggest waste of my time, personally. Anywho, watch it if you want, I, however, will not be popping that DVD into my DVD player anytime this century.
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