It’s only a matter of time before Eminem mania runs wild once again. The superstar rapper is expected to release a new album this fall and details, such as 2 Chainz’s involvement, have already been trickling out. Slim Shady is about to embark on a brief run of festival shows in Europe, which could be the start of the official hype train for his first project since 2013’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2.
While Em’s stardom guarantees a big release, his most recent work inspires little confidence in him reaching the heights of The Slim Shady LP or The Marshall Mathers LP ever again. While his loyal stans love anything they can get, it’s been over a decade since Em has released material with much replay value for the average Hip Hop fan (yes, that includes MMLP2, even if it was a step in the right direction). But Em has the talent to change that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r638bBOvcu0
The book on Em’s legacy in Hip Hop has already been written. His status as a pop culture icon and as one of the most elite rappers to ever pick up a mic are set in stone. Now, he has the opportunity to add a new chapter to his story. Instead of the last arc being about his decline, the groundbreaking MC can update the narrative by delivering another classic album.
To do that, Em will need to make some changes. Slim Shady has to navigate the difficult balancing act of evolving and staying true to himself. With that in mind, HipHopDX came up with five recommendations for Em to accomplish this goal and reclaim his former greatness.
Show Maturity
It’s time for Eminem to grow up. The Detroit native has basked in immaturity while reveling in cartoonish violence, misogyny and homophobia throughout his career. But he’s 44 years old now. He shouldn’t be the obnoxious antagonist to society anymore.
It’s time to take a page from another legacy artist, JAY-Z, and dig deeper. Em may not have the same impetus that inspired Hov’s 4:44 album, but he’s more than capable of addressing some heavier subject matter. Self-reflection on own his incendiary lyrics and persona could be the perfect formula for a brilliant record.
Put Content Before Wordplay
Eminem has always been a skilled lyricist. His pen game alone puts him among the all-time greats. But in recent years, it seems like his efforts to challenge himself as a rapper have come at the detriment to his songwriting.
Sometimes, the sheer spectacle of it works. “Rap God,” for instance, would fall under this category.
But at its worst, it’s a jumbled mess of rhyming for the sake of rhyming. His last single, “Campaign Speech,” was probably the most egregious example of this artistic development. (We’re still waiting on the vacation pics from Em and Edward Norton’s trip to Ecuador.)
Everyone knows Slim Shady’s got bars. What fans need is compelling content, not just mindless wordplay.
Avoid The Goofy Voices
A trope of Eminem’s music has been his zany voices. While it was part of his charm 15-plus years ago, it’s tired beyond belief in 2017. One of the worst examples in recent memory was his Yoda impression on 2013’s “Rhyme Or Reason.” It was silly to the point of being ridiculous. It would be best if he abandoned all the goofy voices on his ninth studio album. If they must be used, at least have them serve an actual purpose.
Leave The Pop Culture References Behind
Speaking of recurring threads of Eminem’s work, let’s talk about those pop culture references. His music has been littered with so many of them that each album feels like a time capsule. See the mentions of Tom “My bum is on your lips!” Green and “Pam and Tommy” in the video above for prime examples.
As a result, the material can feel dated, sometimes just a few months after it was released. Even worse is when the references are dated to begin with, like name dropping Monica Lewinsky in 2013. As mentioned earlier, Em is a wordsmith. There’s no reason for him to rely on these as much as he does. Step it up and show the rap world that these aren’t a writing crutch.
Get The Band Back Together
The latter half of Eminem’s discography has been highlighted by his decision to work with a wide range of producers. He tends to put in his own work behind the boards too, which hasn’t always produced the best results. For the most part, the production hasn’t clicked despite contributions from heavy hitters like Just Blaze and Rick Rubin. Sonically, Em’s music has been less interesting than ever before.
So why not revisit what worked in the past? The Bass Brothers used to be the architects of his sound but it’s been years since their production appeared on his albums. Get them back in the mix. With Dr. Dre already said to be involved, the major producers from Em’s glory days would be at the helm again. This blast from the past could be nostalgia at its finest.
Get dre back on the beats and ditch the mindless wordplay n em could do it. Mmlp2 and recovery were pure shiat, wow. Relapse, still to this day my favorite em album and one of my favs all time, the horrorcore lyrics with almost all dre tracks, too good.
I hope Em follows none of the “advice” on here.
Yea no use going back to to jeff boss . we moving forward as a genre . campaign speech was like infinite revisited. what more do critics want?
Just my opinion, but I thought Relapse was his best album from front to back. SSLP, MMLP & Eminem Show have classic songs, but as a cohesive body of work, Relapse is better, no other Eminem album knocks like that…
Get a new producer, stop mentioning Christopher Reeve, stop stopping the beat to fit more words, stop rhyming words just to rhyme( like the lines about Ann Coulter)…
I agree, fuck that bitch. But….
“And fuck Ann Coulter with a Klan poster
With a lamp post, door handle shutter
A damn bolt cutter, a sandal, a can opener, a candle rubber
Piano, a flannel, sucker, some hand soap, butter
A banjo and manhole cover”…..
Just saying random words that rhyme…
Nah man fuck Ann Coulter. Some shit that needed to be said. I want more politics. We need some politically relevant shit like TES more than ever.
Eminem has no classic albums. Classic tracks no doubt. He has at least a good number of them. But a full cohesive album? Nah. Relapse was the best attempt though.
SSLP, MMLP, TES, classics.
to Gabriel…in what world? This dude is the most overrated rapper of all time. Those albums are nowhere near classics. Can you imagine if those were Nas, or 2pac or Biggie’s top three albums? Well Marshall is absurdly named in the same breath as those guys….Yea go figure…
I agree, 3 amazing albums
Oooohh I know he could make whiny and garbage records dissing commercial artists when he is one giant commercial commercial himself.
You gotta be kiddiing me. Some no name bum kid “writer” with a University Of online “degree” trying to tell the lyricist of all time how to a classic album. You really got some nerve, kiddo. Who in the FUCK do you think you are?! Who gave you a WordPress login to such click bait? You should be embarrassed and ashamed of yourself. Talk about a fucking rookie.
Eminem is the best rapper slive3he doesn’t need anyone’s advise
Man who da fuk thinks can gave em recomendations?
Foh, em please keep yo shit the same
If u wanted him to just make another recovery album u could have just said so. U could have spared us he article.
Are you shitting me everything that makes Eminem your saying he needs to change. His music has never declined and to say it’s been less interesting than ever before get the fuck out of here with that shit. Justin Ivey you need to go get your ears professionally clean. U wouldnt know good music if it was skull fucking you in every hole on your face.
You guys really hit the nail on the head with this quote “it seems like his efforts to challenge himself as a rapper have come at the detriment to his songwriting.” Absolute fact. He won’t allow himself just to rhyme & flow.. It’s as if he has OCD & he can’t rhyme unless he’s challenging himself.. And like you said, that’s become a detriment to not only his songwriting, but also his flow & being easy to listen to. He’s proved everything that he can as an emcee.. He doesn’t need to prove anything anymore.. Just put out good songs..
Great example of this is the difference between ‘Stan’ and ‘Bad Guy’ One (Stan) sounds like an actual conversation, the other (Bad Guy) sounds forced and uncomfortable.
He should just have a Drake feature, period. You’re welcome.
You’re basically saying for Eminem to drop a classic album, he has to not be Eminem. Let’s keep it a buck, this dude has NEVER dropped a classic album. No Illmatic, no Cuban Linx, no All Eyez On Me….and yet he’s ranked next to stars with multiple classics. What he’s always been is a just a Rawkus lyrical miracle rapper with a big budget.
Ummm the Eminem show
This is some bullshit article…the stop the “funny voices” made me lol Em knows what hes doing that’s why he is Em!
I assume that the ppl saying that he is asking Em to change his defining characteristics are ppl who hopped on the Em train with Recovery. I’ve been a fan since 2002 and I agree with everything the author said.
Then you’re not a true fan. I still have infinite. I’ve bought everyCd and known i should get my money’s worth everytime. Eminem best albums are MMLP, slim shady lp, recovery and MMLP 2. all these albums had crazy Eminem and deep songs and MMLP was highly slept on
Lol right, I’m not a true fan, I just know all the words to basically everything he did prior to Relapse, except maybe a few freestyles and the badder songs on Encore, just because I was a little late to the party because I was 12 years old at the time. Whatever you say, big guy.
Eminem been garbage forever.
NEXT
And you have put out how many hits? I think it’s about time you moved out of your mamas basement son.
Complex Stfu Eminem Is Gunna Have A Classic Regardless What He Does Time Yall Get Off The Mumble Rap Era And Respect GOATS
Lol naw, he’s the best lyricist but that doesn’t always result in classic material, in fact lately with him its been quite the opposite. The songs he did on Shady XV were mostly trash with a few exceptions, same with the SouthPaw soundtrack and “Campaign Speech” was just like the author said, a bunch of dope wordplay that didn’t really make sense when it was all put together.
So basically don’t be Eminem. This article is ridiculous man. He just needs to be himself and do what comes natural. Motherfuckers expecting Em to completely change what brought him to the top. I’m so glad Em don’t read this shit or give a fuck what people have to say you. Just do you fam!
the most contradictory ignorant piece i ever read…first of all Em has been doin mature trax like Jay did on 4:44(your comparison) since infinite e.g. rock bottom..i am…say goodebye to hollywood…mosh…toy soldiers..beautiful e.t.c…and then u say he musnt spit outdatrd shit like monica lewinsky or like jay talked about oj and halle berry eric bennet …and then u say he shld go back to basics with the bass bros all in the same article..the reason he is not workin with them is coz he doesnt want to sound outdated…… and then owwwww stfu
Stans can barely speak proper English.
No wonder they like Em so much.
i didnt know u heard to speak proper english to have an opinion on eminem or anything hiphop?! is there a nice english fart that goes with shitty ass comment u just posted??? gtfoh asshole
^^^ Another Em dickrider who struggles with English lmfao
your mama is the real Em dick rider here…and in the literal sense too
You
Eminem dickriders are hilarious. They love that white boy so much they say you don’t have any hit records (neither do you, what’s your point?) or they make mom jokes lmao. They’re pathetic as fuck.
I would agree if it was 2010. It’s too late now, he’s washed up.
i saw him live in glasgow about 12 hours ago and can assure you he is not washed up. far from it.
Naw. He’s washed up. From my perspective he hasn’t made a decent album since the eminem show. I don’t know how you can listen to a 50 year old talk about sexually assaulting women and dogs but more power to you.
I think MMLP2 is one of his best albums
Lmaoo sike
LOL. What a lame article. Relapse, Recovery and MMLP2 all have songs with good, deep content. Just that you guys tend to pick out the ones that are tongue and cheek and make it a generic statement that Em needs to give better content. WTF!! All his albums have included a proper mix of tongue-and-cheek content and the really hard hitting ones. Also, Em is one of the few artists who experiments A LOT lyrically. And I don’t want that to change. And surely Eminem doesn’t give a flying fuck about what you guys think. LOL. He can diss anybody and everybody with the sickest of rhymes. So, why waste time on an article like this. LOOL!!!
This writer needs to be canned or at the very least go back and write an article that makes since. Too many contradictions. Next!
No matter what garbage he puts out it sells. He’s eminem ffs
LOL If he doesn’t use the pop-culture references then I don’t think he has anything else to talk about
The article is stupid asf. Yea we would like Eminem to speak more about da world and his personal life on this next album but you’ve practically discredited everything else’s he’s done since relapse and every album has been fire in its own wayyy. In every album, i can name at least 4 songs that have deep content. Y’all are just bashing him not realizing what Eminem realizes, which is that he has to appeal to both sides of his audience. The audience the likes the deep em, three crazy em, oyr me who likes both.
Lol if you listen to the first song on MMLP2 it completely debunks 95 percent of this article.
he just needs to flow better
What? You “recommend” Eminem to get to his greatness??. Fu*k off stupid website, he is greater than the greatest and you can keep the recommendation to yourself and GTFO of Eminem’s way.
Am I really the only person who actually LIKES Em’s beats? I always loved his style of producing, even though some of his beats have the Alchemist-like drums – they simply do not hit hard. He has still made a shit load of amazing beats and I’m sure he will keep doing so. MMLP 2 had some really good songs, but I definitely prefer the old Em -flow. As much as I love his music, the man sounds off-beat at times. He used to be able to perfectly ride a beat, but yeah – lyrically he is untouchable. I just hope the rest of his upcoming album doesn’t sound like ‘Campaign Speech’.
Justin – over a decade? What the hell are you talking about? Relapse was the ultimate Eminem album for hip-hop heads. The only people it alienated are the mainstream fans like you. Recovery has an insane amount of replay value and it probably his most well-written project he’s released. You are unfit to write this article sir.
I’d argue he never had a ‘classic’ album. He doesn’t have one album I can play front to back without skipping a few songs. Sold points on this though. I haven’t bought an Em album in over 10 years as I grew up but his content didn’t.
My complaint is that he tries too hard. Tries too hard to shock. Tries too hard to rhyme as fast as possible. Tries too hard with his goofy ass voices. Tries too hard to to make a pop single.
Just make some hip hop. You’re going to go platinum regardless.
Kys
Eminem is GARBAGE and he has had some trash albums that no other rapper would have been able to recover from. The majority of hip hop media, including his website, is controlled by white people.
Eminem has been immature throughout his entire career, however he also has some of the most mature and realest songs in hip hop. I don’t mean deep cuts, I mean pop singles going #1 with a real message and real bars. That’s the beauty of Em. As long as there aren’t too many vomit or shit sounds I’m good. He’s a victim of his ridiculous early success, so much so that good albums look wack despite being better than 95% of everything else.
Fuck that just mumble about money, being at the club, all the stuff you have, women’s shoes and fashion, and dye your hair pink. 2017 hip hop starter kit. That’s how I did it
Well, if 4:44 is now the bar for classic status, anybody can create a “classic” album.
While 4:44 is not a classic it’s definitely great. Haters gonna hate I guess.
I didn’t say it was bad, I just don’t think its “great” but hey I guess that makes me a hater.
Remember Recovery? That album was chock full of mature songs, almost everyone hates it.
not me I lov3 that album
Get Dre on all the beats. Done
Em is dope, top 5 worth in any hip hop conversation…fuck outta here wit that “the greatest” shit especially while talking to a person of color who’s been listening to rap before The Slim Shady LP.
I couldn’t agree with this article more. I’d love it if he dropped a magnum opus out of nowhere that took a much different approach than what he’s done in the past decade. No radio songs featuring Rihanna, come with an underground aesthetic and dope wordplay, but make sure the songs stick to the same topic. Get some Alchemist and Dre production, and also get the Bass Brothers back in the mix, maybe even someone way underground like Madlib, and keep the features within the Shady Records collective, no 2 Chainz or other weak gangster rappers. Just my opinion, if he sticks to the MMLP2 and Recovery formulas, I might end up passing on it altogether.
Eye roll bruh, you lame af for that 1.
campaign speech was bars! mindless is what these “mumbler rappers” do. Yes, none of the bars were meant to be emotionally relative, i believe its purpose was to raise brows at how limitless his wit can show to be.
Em’s can rap his ass and has bars all day, but his music is corny and his beats are terrible. Dude is POP star and his roots may come from real hip hip or Underground but his albums are commercial. I go to hip hop shows all the time and during the intermission I never hear Em being played, real heads don’t rock with him. I bought his second album off the strength of the stuff I was hearing in the streets and the battles. When I put that shit on I was so pissed, Dre made that dude a Pop start with kid subject matter and corny beats. On the bright side he’s rich but he has no classic songs or anything.
Yhis article speaks to exactlyyyyy what i want from ems nrw album..any silly bars gets skipped immediately
Em lost a battle to Mariah Carey. He should be kicked out of hip hop for that.
your an idiot for this comment.
Sorry. Can’t be a great with no reputable wins since 96. Loss to rhymefest is acceptable. Loss to Royce (took out em and d-12) unacceptable. Loss to Mariah after years of picking on pop stars, unacceptable.
Dude, really? Ja Rule, Canibus, Benzino, Moby, Gucci Man (the Warnning) and Mariah, Benzino again, Jermain Dupree (tho Dre’s Line was better) “You gotta jump and swing up to hit me in the knees”. Which is pretty much anyone who went at Em after 96. The only one to actually diss Em and get away with it is DMX. Tho his diss was a hit song too and was pretty freaking good. Please stop leaving comments that dumb down society.
Wow. You think Ja Rule, Canibus, Benzino, Moby, and Jermaine Dupree are reputable wins. Really? Lol. I don’t know anyone that listens to those people. No real hip hop fan cares about Moby.
No what I’m saying is nobody went at him. Those who did, like the ones I mentioned he destroyed. Nobody else messed with him cuz they knew. You know who else agrees?? Snoop, Game, Dre, Jay, Kanye, Drake, Big Sean, Royce, Crooked I, Joe Budden, and I could go on and on.. By the way if you don’t believe me youtube it, you’ll find videos of all these guys saying what I’m saying.
Your facts all wrong,dmx never dissed em if you referring to party up I thought it was about em years ago when I didn’t know shit about hip hop it’s actually about kurupt,that Dre line you mention is about ja rule,and please quote what the fuck did em say about Gucci on the warning?not trying to make you look dumb just correcting you and I’ll be damned suprised if you can prove me wrong on any of these
I want the controversy. Just not the pop references. Bring back the Bass Brothers for a couple tracks.
Slim, Dog… all you gotta do is rap like you did near the end of ‘The Bad Guy” track when you channeled old school Em flow. THATS WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR> that crazy in tune with the fucking instro em. not the em that sounds like a midwest chopper. trust me. more flow, less run ons. more quality bars. quality over quantity Em. you KNOW this already
Couldnt have said it better; the end verse on bad guy is the perfect point of reference
Everyone says Dre lives in the studio and is recording 24-7 yet somehow we dont hear any of it. Eminem needs to use Dre like he did on Relapse only without the ridiculous lyrics. Beat for beat Relapse is amongst the greatest collections of beats ever but he ruined it with his weird voices; get 15 dr dre beats and rap his ass off like he was on his first 3 albums and remind everyone why you are who you are! And ftr I think a 2 chains collab would be dope- again to hear him on a Dre beat would be something brand new
Funny how ppl say he’s not lit , funny that cos MMLP2 had 4 top 20 tracks in it , a record only surpassed by the Beatles …
Funny how ppl don’t appreciate that hip hop has to be progressive and pioneered by someone , clearly not the armchair “pioneers” with their critical bars…..
This next coming album you’ll see a lot of why he was pushing the medium , you’ll see the result of the experiments he was running …
You lot just won’t give in will You? He is Retiring / in retirement he has had enough of the game, it’s the people around him that want / are producing another album, rap is for young people / kids with attitude. The Eminem gravy train is over….
Eminem doesn’t have to sound grown up and make an album like 4:44. 4:44 was boring I don’t wanna here jay z apologizing to his wife. Eminem’s music pumps u up and let’s an old guy like me feel young again
So in other words, strip away everything that makes Eminem stand out from other artists, water down his music with boring forgettable rhymes about being a grown up and take away the witty, sometimes immature razor sharp witty word play that’s made Em the rap god that he is? Nooooo HHDX, just because something works for Jay-Z doesn’t mean it’d work for Em. If someone asked, would you rather hear Hov rap mostly by himself on hip hop beats about grown up shit or get Roc back together and rap with Beans, Free, Memph and Yay on Just Blaze beats… I’d opt for the latter. 4:44 was good, don’t get me wrong but in the music world, when you become immortal, you don’t need to grow up or change or adapt or pander for anyone, you do you. That said… Em could make another classic easy. All he has to do is stop giving a fuck (go back to square one where he wasn’t apologizing to his mom and doing stupid shit like saying Lil Wayne would destroy him) and stop featuring RnB singers like Rihanna on every fucking track. No one buys an Eminem album to hear paint by numbers RnB radio rap… they want gritty shit that many other MCs are too scared to spit. I do agree about getting the band back together tho. D12, Royce, Fifty and Dre should be prominent. They have chemistry and that shit sounds good.
Anything involving 2 Chainz is not set to be a classic
Recovery was a smash album with 4 number one hits and a show of maturity on every record, WTF are you talking about?!?!
Shit was still wack tho
Em don’t have to do anything jay has done. He’s already light years ahead of him there’s no sense in following him lol
4:44 was the most boring album I’ve ever listened to keeping in mind that I’ve been listening to rap for more than 15 years now! Yeah maybe the lyrics were ok but where the fuck was the production?! Beats are as important as the lyrics and no one can deny that… regarding Em he’s definitely one of the best that ever touched the mic and with some dope beats, his next album will be a guaranteed classic (not worried about the lyrics as we all know he can deliver when it comes to that) however it doesn’t seem to be promising with rumors of the first single featuring Pink! Hope it’s not true cuz we need another not afraid/lose yourself just as an appetizer.. won’t jump into conclusions now so let’s wait and see…
Its been over a decade since he released music with replay value?? What a crock of fucking shit. He dropped Recovery 2010 #1 5X Platinum Album and shit was replayed until it wouldnt no more. On radio too. Plus he gave everyone that Lil Wayne feature we begged to see. Then within 12 months he dropped another #1 with Royce… Hell : The sequel. The first time since DMX went platinum twice in a year. DX some fuck boys. Both Classic albums.
So for Eminem to go back to being as good as he was, he needs to abandon what he was good at? That’s what he’s been doing and his music is trash bags. Say what you really wanna say…you want the only relevant white rapper in Hiphop history to rap about how bad black people have it…you want him to kneel for the national anthem. You want him to create a boring album that panders to the whinebags…Jay just did that and it was one of his wackest albums ever released.
Great article! Nailed it
This article makes me a little mad. Saying em needs anyone is crazy. He doesn’t even need dre anymore. Dre’s last album had 1 good song and the rest was over produced. The yoda verse was original and not many other rappers could even come up with something like that.
No one can give Eminem advice. He gives u advice. Let the man do his thang
The writer of this article shouldn’t be writing about em if he says mmlp2 has no replay value. Get off jayz’s dick bra
Do you have advice for Tom Brady since you know better than one of the best of all time?
Hey Justin Ivey maybe you should tell wu-tang to grow up and make albums like jayz
This article was written out of ignorance obviously.
You didn’t listen to his last few projects much and thats fine but you really shouldnt be writing about something you have so little information on. And for all the things you think he should avoid thats all opinion based and kinda a weak opinion at that. Most of your examples were even counter productive to your claims. I will admit campaign speech wasnt a song and it wasnt intended to be tbh. He has let rapping get in the way of song writing recently and there is a reason for that. Its to counter the current trends of content void music that run the radios and clubs like Uzi and Yachty.
Sit your whiny black ass down and wait for the project. Then go into it without expectations and ridiculous standards for what you believe someone who is a certain age should be doing(because we can do what we want so fuck off) and listen enjoy and replay so you make sure you got all that because we both know you didnt in the first play through. Oh and about MMLP2 you better go back and listen to Groundhogs day 7x. Shit is prolly the best hip hop track dropped in 2013
This gotta be a fuckin joke lmfao.
Seems like the writer of this article came back to agree with their own text.
100% agreeing with an article that contradicts itself is dumber than this article itself. Do you want Eminem to revisit what has worked in the past or grow up and make a old man rap album like 4:44? Personally I dont wanna see em in a suit and tie that’s just not Eminem.
give props to the classic school of hip hop of the 80s and early 90s.
bring on KRS-1, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, MC Lyte, Latifah, MC Ren, Ice Cube, Ice-T.
No, what he should do is get back to what made him: the streets. Go back to that grimy hip hop. He has the perfect producer in Daringer, producer of the duo Westside Gunn and Conway. He got the beats Em needs. Make one side with his usual subjects and then make a lyrical side
Except the man is 44 years old, and people will throw that in his face without hesitation it he gets too street. Fact is at some point he needs to show evolution and maturity as an artist, so he can’t rely too much on street material
All those that think that the MMLP2 sucked are a mystery to me. That album has almost everything suggested in this article except production from Dr Dre and The Bass Bros. It was filled with good songs and had that maturity you are asking for throughout on tracks like Bad Guy, Rhyme or Reason, Legacy, Headlights, and Stronger than I was(which is horrible IMO but the lyrics have a more positive message on his outlook of a break up) then the bonus disk had Beautiful Pain which is a great song with slot of meaning that can be interpreted in many and related to in many situations. On top that his delivery was amazing on every track except 2 or 3 of them. He didn’t really use the accents people hate except on a few lines in which was making some sort of joke. People saying he doesn’t make songs yet the album is filled with them each track has a concept.
Then there is the fact that once you start reading the lyrics you will notice how complex/clever some of the lyrics are actually playing on each other from line to line or sometimes a line 3 bars ago it’s like a crossword of lyrics.
The only thing I hope for on the next album is that the majority of the production is done by Dr Dre, Eminem(he produced almost all of The Eminem Show), and the Bass Bros. With maybe 3 tracks by other producers but It would best if they just didnt. Cause it always feels more cohesive and fluent when albums are mostly produced by only 1 or 2 producers.
Not sure about the author’s taste. “The Eminem Show” might have lacked the stunning impact of MM 1…but it is his best work.
1. Get some beats that aren’t shit. This has been Em’s #1 problem since The Eminem Show.
Forget the new album. Give me Relapse 2
Em will always be respected but what’s missing with him is that deep CONNECTION to the hardcore hip hop heads. And it all boils down to the type of music he chooses to make. Thing is, Em is a superstar, unlike most true hip hop artists. So he’s always making a sound that he thinks will please all audiences but he has fully neglected the hip hop side of it, particularly with his last few projects. I think he went a little too pop with Recovery and with MMLP 2. Too many poppy, sing songy hooks with pop rock tinged beats that the old heads don’t wanna hear. That’s the reason his stuff gets passed on a lot. If he gets back to making a straight hip hop album with no gimmicks and no cheesy hooks (One or two songs of that is enough, really), then he can win over some people. Now with that said, I’ve seen a lot of people that think Em is the GOAT, anyway. He seems to make a lot of younger people’s top 10, top 5, and then you got those younger kids that listen to mumble rap, but will place Em on their list in an attempt to appear like they know hip hop. Another thing Em needs to do as the author said, is not overdo it on wordplay and punchlines. He’d be more effective with it if he placed them better. But he’s been overdoing it. Just let it flow out. Touch on the content more, and emphasize that over just rapping for the sake of rapping. There’s a time and place for that too. But it would be nice to see some content.
The main problem has always been Eminem’s delivery. Ever since “The Eminem Show”, his tone of voice hasn’t been as dope as his Slim Shady delivery. That voice was when he was at his best because he was also on boom bap beats that dictated his best flows ever. And he used to be the king of adlibs, that’s a big key element missing that separated him from other emcees. Y’all need to check his work on Rawkus Records, a whole album of that rap style would flip the industry upside-down. He most definitely needs to get back with The Bass Brothers, they’re the best ones to know what musical backdrop he needs, not Dre this time around unless he’s sampling again. To be honest, I don’t care what he raps about so long as it’s done in his original delivery & flows. For that to be done, he needs those sampled loops wit hard ass drums again. Too many of y’all use record sales as excuses for why he’s still “good” & that’s weak. It’s a shame that some of y’all grew up at a time when the music of Hip Hop was becoming completely corporate-influenced because y’all would value mic skills a whole lot moor & be able to recognize when an emcee has significantly lowered his standards. Eminem was an iLL ass emcee & still can be. It just seems like he’s not inspired to go that route, especially since every else that’s still relevant in Hip Hop from his generation are all scared to do so.
I agree with some points (that he needs boom bap beats), but I won’t agree that he has lowered his standards as a lyricist. His wordplay and rhyme schemes are WAY better than anything he has ever done before. The stuff that he does on his tracks is incredible. Listen to “Right For Me”, “Underground”, “On Fire”, “Baby”, “Wicked Ways”, basically anything from “Marshall Mather LP2” and “Shady XV”. Lyrically, I prefer what he does now than what he used to do before. At the same time, his delivery was better earlier and his flow too. I’d say the formula should be: todays lyricism + old flows/delivery/beats.
I’m not too fond of the deep stuff tbh. I find it barely entertaining and boring most of the time, but I understand that he won’t make it a classic with only battle raps, so I’d throw some deep stuff in there too.
But he doesn’t have any classic yet. which of his albums are classics.
Marshal Mathers isnt a classic? Cmon man.
True, they may be pop hits, but not Hip-Hop classics.
Heeeaaaad, in your heeeeaaaad! Zombi zo ombi zo ombi !… DOnt know about classics but this track “In Your Head” is genius… i’ve listened to it all day
Justine furgerabourrit! Em won’t risk alienating his core white teen audience. The Eminem Show to me was the last well balanced album from him Ive heard. Its curtains for him (pun intended)
let Eminem Produce majority of the album along side with Jeff Bass & Luis Resto
Drop Rick Rubin, and bring back Dr Dre producing the singles
drop pop singers and bring more rappers to feature
He should make double album.