MattA75's Full Review: The Marshall Mathers Lp [PA] by Eminem
People can say what they want about Eminem, one of the rash of white boy rappers from Detroit who have made good. OK, so his lyrics are full of dark images, violence, homophobic remarks, and topical humor. It doesn't matter. Eminem remains the freshest, most original, and most thought provoking rapper since the days of Public Enemy and N.W.A., arguably the two most important and greatest rap groups/artists ever.
The first single, which is arguably the most infectious rap single ever (with the possible exception of Rappers Delight), The Real Slim Shady, is a song that has enough topical humor to last anyone a lifetime. The song blasts Tom Green, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, boy bands and wannabes of Mr. Marshall Mathers himself.
However, the song that has garnered the most attention and negative press is the closing track Criminal. It is here where Eminem lets go a plethora of anti-gay lines ("My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge, that will stab you in the head whether you're a f*g or a les. Or the homo-sex, hermaph or a trans a vest. Pants or dress, hate f*gs? The answer's yes.") However, one has to wonder how closely some of these people are listening to the spoken intro to the song.
And track 11, Marshall Mathers, takes even more shots at even more people than The Real Slim Shady does. Perhaps the most perfect lines are the ones rapped right like LFO's hit Summer Girls. He also goes on rants against the other various pop groups/singers, past and present, the Insane Clown Posse (also from Detroit, who have based Eminem in songs of their own), and even his own mom's alleged drug addictions, and her $10 million lawsuit against him.
The one negative I see on this record is the track entitled Kim. Now I have an open mind, but this song is just a little too real with recent events. The song has Eminem beating, torturing and killing his own wife. Three weeks ago, Kim Mathers, Eminem's wife, attempted suicide, making this song seem all too real.
Despite that, this album is probably the best rap album released in the last five years (if not longer), and Eminem smoothes freely with a great flow through his intricate lyrics. He makes it seem effortless, despite the fact his rhymes have more to them than most others. This is easily the rap release of the year, and possibly, one of the best ever.
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