In a past interview, Detroit rapper Eminem revealed that there was an “intimidation factor” when it concerned Rick Rubin serving as one of the executive producers on his latest album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2. And during an interview with Zane Lowe of BBC Radio 1, the rapper revealed that he initially had reservations about recruiting the Def Jam Records co-founder.
“I had my reservations just because I felt like I would probably be—I’m a super fan of Rick, so I’d probably be a little nervous and I don’t know what the vibe would be because I would be wanting to impress him,” said Em. “You know what I’m saying? So, it was very much kinda like the feeling that I got early on with Dre…So, I was nervous to meet him and even more nervous to work with.”
Prior to speaking on Rubin, Eminem compared his newly-released album to its predecessor, The Marshall Mathers LP. According to the rapper, some of the topics addressed on his debut are revisited and even reflected on on The Marshall Mathers LP 2.
“Yeah, I mean, some of the themes and topics and things like that are revisited on this album,” said Em. “But at the same time I feel like it’s kind of a 2013 version. All my albums I think for the most part pretty much tell where I’m at on each one at that time period or whatever. So, this is kind of like—there’s a lot of reflecting and things like that back on everything that was happening during that time, you know? And it’s kind of like me reflecting on it and getting to the point where I am now with it.”
Eminem also spoke on coming up with a theme for his eighth studio album early on in the recording process.
“I mean some stuff, yeah. But for the most part I just felt like it might be fun to just revisit that [The Marshall Mathers LP],” he said. “Just the overall vibe of that album. Just because it kinda started to go there early on a little bit in the recording process…The tones of the records kinda were heading towards that way. And once I got—figured out where—what direction it should go in, kinda started gearing everything that way. And a lot of times making an album I don’t always have the direction or concept early on. You know what I’m saying? Sometimes it doesn’t come til like the middle, towards the end of a record. To figure out where I’m actually going with that and that’s just usually the culmination of songs depending on what the vibe is, but sometimes I do songs that are so maybe so left field, one or two of ‘em, that it’s like ‘Oh shit, where am I gonna put these songs and now what am I gonna call it?’”
In an interview at the top of the month, Rick Rubin offered his thoughts on Eminem, referring to the rapper as an artist who is extremely focused on his craft.
“I would say Em is unusual in that he’s a grown-up who is as dedicated and focused on music as…I can’t imagine he was ever more so at any other time because it’s full-on all the time, 24 hours a day. Whether he’s working on a record, not working on a record, he’s writing all the time. Full time,” said Rubin during an interview with Complex.
RELATED: Rick Rubin Explains Creative Process Behind Eminem’s “Berzerk”
Eminem should have stuck with his reservations, canceled on Rick Rubin and called up the IMMORTAL BASS BROTHERS!!!!!!!!!! MMLP 2 was such a disappointment. Right after being letdown I threw on the first MMLP and ‘Kill You’ BANGED IN!!!
Listen to the songs. All of them. List 2x. And you might change your mind. Rap God, Evil Twin and Groundhog Day are lyrical masterpieces.
Or just be ignorant of the rap game and keep hating. It generates more sales for Marshall.
Rhyme or Reason, So Much Better, Legacy, Brainless, So Far…, Love Game…. WICKED WAYS?? Anyone who hates on MMLP2 either started listening to rap in 2008 or just personally hate Eminem. That’s cool. Everyone has an opinion.
MMLP2 >> Yeezus >> VLADR >> MCHG
But, that’s just my opinion..
I’ve listened to each track 4 times and still came off disappointed. It’s like when Fiasco dropped Lasers.
Not an Em “hater” or “started listening to rap in 2008” kind of person. I am a DAY ZERO Eminem fan. His first three albums are FIRE!!!! ‘Encore’ had a few missteps that kept it from being his fourth classic. People love to call it wack but forget he had the political monster ‘Mosh’ on it, ‘Yellow Brick Road’ and ‘Like Toy Soldiers’ ‘Spend Some Time With Me’ and more dope gems.
‘Relapse’ could have been dope had Em not used that silly Arabian voice he invented on the lame tracks from ‘Encore’. ‘Recovery’ was a cool listen, but very POP-esque. And now, the bold choice to name this new album MMLP 2 and yet it’s a revisit rather than a sequel is just silly. Not to mention, Rick Rubin’s beats are ASS on that album. The Bass Brothers gave Eminem HIS SOUND that EVERYONE LOVED in the first place. I would love to blame MMLP 2 just on the beats, but the truth is Em’s new delivery kind of sucks. He’s out to show how technical he is, which is odd since we’ve always known him for it.
And please miss me with an “He’s 40, what do you expect?” excuse. Nas is 40 something as well and still raps like he knows what’s up and can connect with the listener. Em has lost that ability. Remember ‘Sing For The Moment’?
I couldnt agree more.. boom!
MMLP2 is good still on top of his A GAME..
But in terms of how Em connects with the listener.. that is gone.. its changed.
Its just wack but Stans will make ever excuse for this lackluster album. Yeezus >>>> MMLP2 which says alot in itself
Stan, I could not agree more with you. I will use your comments when someone asks what I thought of MMLP2.
The Justice League could have done wonders for his album.
like steal 5 year old jeezy songs and add a future hook and call it a rick ross single? LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmSMwErPs7Q
Eminem is irrelevant.
Eminem is Kidz Bop Hip Hop
Lil Wayne is never gonna be irrelevant.
Lil Wayne is hip hop for adults.
Support adult hip hop! Listen to Lil Wayne and Drake! Not this white fag with a gay looking chiN!
My highlight is reading comments from trolls like these.
So f*cking funny, never can take this seriously
YMCMBoyyyyy Says Lil Wayne is Hip Hop For Adults…but how would you know when your just a YMCMB BOY….Boy get some grown man shit in your life and pick up MMLP2. Black children have some fucked up complex…nobody cares about you. not wayne, not drake,not birdman you know why? your not in the demographic of Hip hop retail cuz you all do is download bootlegs..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvRGVUsln6E
Eminem Net Worth: $140 Million and falling because MMLP II flopped.
Lil Wayne Net Worth: $590 Million plus he’ll inherit his daddy Birdbman’s $170 so that’s $780 million Lil Wayne will be worth.
Wrong. MMLP2 didn’t flop and Wayne’s only worth $100 million.
MMLP2 didn’t go platinum, and tha carter 4 sold more than eminem 1st week.
Yes, it did. And Eminem already outdid C4’s 1st week sales.
MMLP2 sold more in its 1st week than what INAHB2 sold in total.
That’s because Eminem kept buying copies of recovery, something which wayne did not do. Also, IANAHB2 was an outtakes album while MMLP2 was a major release for eminem.
Wrong. Eminem’s fans bought Recovery, not Eminem. And, no. INAHB2 was a major release for Wayne, no such thing as an outtakes album.
Lil Wayne has more hits singles, more number one albums than Eminem. Eminem is jealous he didn’t make Tha Carter III. He’s kicking himself for not thinking of the genius rhymes Weezy’s came up with. Eminem sold 220 million records worldwide which pales in comparison to the 660 million Weezy’s sold worldwide. Weezy also ain’t an ugly ass white boi.
You’re wrong about everything. You got it backwards.
Would like to point out that while Lil Wayne is the most successful hip hop artist out there today everyone in his camp is gold too. Did Eminem ever discover anyone as great as Drake? Or Tyga? Or Nicki Minaj?
NO
He had all those faggots from D12 but they’re playing at bars now lmao only a matter of time before Em joins them.
Eminem hasn’t had a platinum album since 2004. His last two barely managed to go gold. All of Weezy’s albums are two times platinum AT FUCKING LEAST
This is a joke right every single album Em has released has been platinum. Lil Wayne is a joke of a rapper that no one likes. He had a decent fan following when he first came up but they all agree he blows now.
Eminem is the highest selling artist in Rap. OF ALL TIME. that’s a fact….. and he’s one of the highest selling artists in any musical genre. stfu. Wayne had one good album, which in comparison to Eminems albums, isn’t even worth comparing LOL
@YMCMBoyyyyy You sound pretty dumb without knowing the facts! Here is Wikipedia facts about Eminem: Eminem is the best-selling hip-hop artist of all-time[1] and the best-selling artist of the 2000s[2] with US album sales at over 32.2 million during the decade.[3] In total Eminem has sold 43 million albums in the United States as a solo artist.[4] His worldwide albums sales stand at more than 100 million.[5] He has earned forty-two platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[A] In this discography, music videos and collaborations are included as well.
Lil Wayne Facts: His album sales in the United States stand at over 15 million copies as of July 2013,[5] and his digital track sales stand at over 37 million digital copies.
Eminem doesn’t even like hip hop. He tried to be a country singer at first since that’s all that fucking comes out of Detroit but failed at that but thanks to good management they turned him into a white rapper because White America (TM) needed a corporate extention into the hip hop world.
Lil Wayne is true to himself and is a real ass nigga, not some ugly white boy.
Obvious troll is obvious.
Lil Wayne’s lyrics mean more to people than Eminem. All Eminem preach is hate. NOT HOW TO LOVE
Wrong. All Wayne talks about is pussy, weed, and money. Eminem talks about real-life situations that means a lot to people.
Those lyrics inspire others to get laid and become good fathers and mothers. Eminem actually admitted he killed Kim. How come he isn’t in jail?
No, it didn’t. And Kim is just a song based on a fake story, he didn’t really kill her.
LIL WAYNE IS SO MEANINGFUL
“When it Waynes, it pours”
Yeah. SO inspirational.
Lil Wayne can’t even sing, worse voice and sing like a frog. I always skipped the no love song from recovery albums because i can’t stand his ugly stupid worse irritating voice no human can listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rGsaDNI3Nk
ja rule killed this whitey, stop already!
nah dude… seriously ?
Ja Rule was raped by Eminem. Ja Rule career is over because Eminem killed him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T8E09aAOIc
eminem thew his career away
At what point and in what way?
What most people don’t know is that ymcmb offered him a contract in 2007. He was about to accept it when Dr Dre threatened to kill him if he left aftermath.
dentalboy trolls again. What a fucking surprise.
ALl im doing is stating facts.
What facts? There is no facts in your comment, just troll BS.
It actually went further : he accepted the deal, Dre killed him and built a fake-robot-Eminem who immediately resigned to Aftermath.
That’s why since then he is commercial and wack.
Haters and stupid people, this is for you.
dentalbitch, we know that’s you lying again.
i have no life
PROS
Wordplay/Flow——-syllables construction for the bars hes spit—outstanding
Mixing—-I appreciate the mixing involved….the blending/scratching/voice overs was dope…..especially on “so far…”
Every song is saved with his 3rd verse..
K-Dot had no problem staying with Em, concept and all
CONS
Title itself——another name (i.e Middle-Aged Slim Shady 2013) would have been a better title. Im guessing many fans (myself included) expected to hear a where Mr. Mathers head/mind is at in 2013..been a millionaire/icon/celebrityoff drugsdeath of proof/other D12 membersowning a label.the rap game itself.etcin a more serious way..MMLP I heard a man, not the outrageous character, dealing with a suddenly crazy life.thisis.nota.sequel.of that same man..
(SMH) The bars——–no matter how you cut it—–hes saying a lot of corny shit in between those syllables if it wasn’t so frequent I could allow it
The production——-no one in the world can convince me that this album has a hip-hop sound..no Dre, Bass Brothers (WTF!!!..woulda took even a G-Unit producers)..I can not say I nodded my head to any beat in a week..more so than not it was his flow..too many guitars/not enough bassWAY TO MUCH SINGINGjust a huge let-down all around production wise
The songs——–every chorus was HORRIBLE I mean holy shit thats bad…eveyone of them..and while some songs to me felt like this should be on MMLP 2 bcuz of the bars (Legacy, Rap God, LoveGame, Evil Twin only ones to me that really do to me)..that only 4..the other 12 songs are pretty forgettable and I doubt anyone would list them in their top 20 songs.
Maybe Em named it MMLP2 to prove a point… No matter how old he gets, he’s still gonna sell like crazy, doesn’t matter if he “lives up to expectations of the last MMLP” or not.
You “judged a book by its cover” and assumed it would be like the MMLP1, especially with all that he’s gone through since, and how much he has matured.
Simply the album sux and now we can put to rest Em being one of the GOATS. His body of work barely gets him in my top 25 to many horrible to below average albums. Sorry Stanley Williams
Wrong.
This is so so so true. I’m glad you didn’t just completely diss the album and Eminem, you stated an honest opinion of the album which I believe is true. Apart from Bad Guy, all hooks are terrible, his once timeless, flawless flow is much weaker. His voice is off putting, I would have even preferred his shouty “Hell the Sequel” or “Recovery” voice more. Rick Rubin absolutely ruined the album – towards the end, the songs he produced himself (Love Game, So Far), sounded like a complete Country album… It was terrible. Fair enough, you can joke around and laugh at some of the jokey stuff he said, but thats only funny if you also have a hard-hitting perfect song, such as he has shown in the past with White America, Business, Till I Collapse, Criminal, Who Knew, Just Dont Give A Fuck, etc.
TL;DR: I was let down a lot buy the album, production was awful, possibly time to throw in the towel.
this shit was garbage, Born SInner = AOTY!!!!!!!!!!!
http://i1241.photobucket.com/albums/gg504/bradleykidner/tumblr_lt4mnxprjt1r0v9w8o1_500.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOoj3N5o8hY
http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/b_kGPh5Hnwg/mqdefault.jpg
http://legitmix.com/EPCWA/artist/16409/Section/mix/13569
Deleted MMLP 2 a while back. His albums have little replay value TBH
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5L1WtHwJF0
He’s not looking good lately. Or sounding good.
i nearly bought slims album i was gonna give the pop songs a pass but then i heard stronger than i was and spent the cash on a real hip hop album instead
Em music is garbage. He is a Pop Artist. He will always outsell any other black rapper, period. The good ole boy system works like a charm. A nursery rhyme rapper! Kiddy crap! Music is trash! Just plain trash.
You said it we didn’t lmao
Thank you.
Thank you.. and he got it rigged where no other white rappers will out sell him.I personally do not feel white boys that rap they will never ever be able to out style or have the grace that us brothers have.
BruthaDee and the idiotic OP making up lies again.
What BruthaDee and the OP are saying are facts. White rappers will always outsell black rappers. If Wayne were to rap about thrift shops, it would bomb hard. If Wayne were to rap “Monster” with Rihanna, it would bomb hard. When Eminem or Macklemore does it, its a success because they are white.
No, they’re not. Nothing they say are facts, just idiotic lies. White rappers do not always outsell black rappers and being white doesn’t mean you’re always gonna sell. If that were true, then how come Yelawolf and Kreayshawn bombed? Why isn’t Mac Miller or MGK selling platinum albums? Also, Wayne could rap about anything and it’d sell because people are stupid.
Wayne,Kayne, and Jay Z albums are more garbage than em’s worse albums.
til I saw the draft four $7383, I didn’t believe …that…my neighbour truley making money in their spare time on there computar.. there mums best friend haz done this for under twentey months and resently paid the depts on there house and purchased a great new Subaru Impreza. find more info… http://www.Fb39.Com
Since then his musical tastes have been questionable and his skills have declined. Yeezus further proved this downward trend. By the way, this video is FUCKING AWFUL.
Jay Z, K Wwst,and and Lil Wayne are garbage, overrated, worse rappers of all time. They sold million of records and won many awards although their albums are crap,stupid and thrash because they are black. Lil Wayne is worse singer of all time. Even Willing hung who was American Idol worse contestants of all time is 100 percent better than him. Also he had most irritating voices and annoying and can’t even sing. Kayne West is creative, but most of his songs are stupid. Jay Z is over hype and never deserved to be one of the top 10 rapper of all time.