This article deliberately combines both highly speculated titles for Eminem’s next album. An album that Marshall Mathers recently announced on NYC Hot’97 radio.
After a few years of hiatus, the return of Slim Shady seems imminent, which is an event in itself.
After rumors of his early retirement dating back to 2005, despite strong denial from the artist himself, many listeners, fans, and perhaps even close friends wondered if Eminem had decided to work more in the production field or if he simply buried his bad temper for good.
But perhaps Eminem’s return is not written musically in the same terms as expected. Maybe Eminem intends to create a whole new style. If he doesn’t, he might resurrect Slim Shady from his grave, who knows?
At the moment I write these lines, they are nothing more than empty assumptions. All we can do is wait and see.
Eminem is truly a phenomenon in rap history. His detractors claim that he used his skin color to more easily rise to the top.
In fact: among all the white rap artists (forgive me, I really hate to talk about the color of an artist’s skin, but this element is necessary, if I want to prove my point), Eminem is the only one with mainstream appeal across the board. world in the world of hip-hop.
Actually, Eminem is one of the most talked about contemporary rap artists.
Many people tried to imitate his style, but they all failed before achieving anything consistent.
So why did Eminem, also known to the public as Marshall Mathers, have such an impact on hip hop?
The first reason is undeniably Eminem’s brilliance. The further I studied his music over the years, the more his intelligence in handling compound syllables, his subtle sense of humor, his ability to use his own weaknesses to his best advantage, his honesty in describing real life situations. through, he impressed me.
Some people have always objected that Eminem owes everything to Dr. Dre. If it’s true that brilliance isn’t everything in the cutthroat world of the music industry, Eminem’s early work is the full expression of musical genius.
A song like Biterphobia is a subtle musical composition, both lyrically and instrumentally. It was released in 1994. It could hardly be argued that the young Marshall Mathers had the means to pay a ghostwriter at a time when he was struggling to survive, meaning the young man was a true (unknown) lyrical genius. Other songs on the Slim Shady EP have just as much writing brilliance; one has to admit that the first Eminem excels at storytelling.
Secondhand, whether his detractors like it or not, Eminem is believable as a white man in a black man’s world.
As he said in an earlier interview dating back to 1999, Marshall Mathers used to live across the black side of 8 Mile, because his mother couldn’t pay the rent on the white side.
Totally immersed in hip hop culture ever since his uncle Ronnie introduced him on Ice T’s Breaking CD, Eminem also grew up in the harsh world of 8 Mile, where he had to fight to make his dream come true, despite the stress. race that prevailed at the beginning. 90’s
Furthermore, and despite the climate of hatred and suspicion between the black and white communities, Marshall Mathers built some real friendships with his black peers. D 12 is not a group that was born out of professional interest as is often the case in the music industry, but was the result of brothers (RIP Proof is the main founder of the group) who shared the same passion for the environment.
Thirdly, one must also remember that Eminem does not fit the usual artistic stereotype.
His down-to-earth attitude, his self-hatred, his honesty in exposing unpleasant facts and situations, his modest origins, his accessibility in terms of sharing the details of his life story soon made Eminem a very likable person in the eyes of the public. hip hop fans.
Eminem soon became the poster child for someone people could relate to. His acclaim is totally justified in this sense, since he managed to break the distance between artist and listener, creating an unprecedented closeness and complicity with the fan.
Perhaps Eminem is also the prototype of a walking contradiction: his generosity in exposing so many details of his life story soon became the boomerang that would hit him hard in terms of the freedom he longed for. Bullies of all kinds would soon make her private life a living nightmare.
Since he was catapulted to the top until now, Eminem has offered his listeners a prolific work with very varied artistic collaborations.
His second album, Marshall Mathers LP, probably beats any other of his albums, because it’s a subtle combination of poetry, creativity, social commentary, impact, and an invaluable sense of humor, at least in my eyes. Also, Marshall Mathers is an artist who managed to create a specific atmosphere thanks to his subtle mastery of the English language.
A song like Stan has the depth of Rimbaud’s poem Le Dormeur Du Val. Like the French poet, Eminem paints a picture that grows darker and more dramatic as time goes on.
Later, the song 8 Mile Road, for example, is based on similar [i] sounds that imply a constant struggle. A similar structure can also be found on Yellow Brick Road, a subtle construction of syllabic words that will linger as an attentive ear to the monotonous sound of a train on the rails.
Very few songs beat Drug Ballad, a beautiful instrumental and word combination that allows the listener to step into the forbidden world of a drug addict, making him feel the sensation of drowning in alcohol. The instrumentals really make you feel the hellish spiral the addict is trapped in with no way to escape.
Encore is probably the worst of their albums. Despite some well-written songs like Mosh, he indicated some artistic fatigue and some of his tracks need updating. The commercial dimension of some songs on Encore really disappointed me.
By stating this for a while, I raised some controversy. But I really don’t care.
I am not here to praise Eminem in any way. As a music journalist, I am here to offer an honest and objective perception of the artist from a professional point of view. I owe my readers the truth.
Eminem’s strength also lies in the fact that he manages to use the darkest situations in life that he went through to transform them into artistic creativity.
Since 2005, Eminem has been through very painful events. The death of his best friend Proof is probably one of the worst sorrows a human being can go through. I am confident that Eminem’s willingness to honor the memory of his friend will allow him to draw from his heart the most beautiful and creative lyrical treasures.
Then the world will be truly yours because the crowd of listeners will riot and crown their microphone king to a standing ovation.
