Eminem announces Marshall Mathers LP part 2

[Fei Long]

Being original does not equal being good.

I say most of Eminem's album have some original or weird stuff on them, but most of it is still bad music no matter how you put it.

Slim Shady LP is the only Eminem album where it's as close as it gets to serious Hip-Hop.

[ShaDynasty]

I disagree. The wordplay on that album is unlike any I've heard before or since. I also like how genuine he is in songs like "It's Ok" where he details his struggles, really relatable stuff.

The production has its bland moments, but joints like "Open Mic" are spot on; that bassline is excellent!

His major label LPs are dope, don't get me wrong. But those albums haven't grown on me well as I've aged, most likely due to his persona. I need to be in a specific mood to bump em.

He had much more genuine warts and all stuff after that. Theres no comparison with rock bottom, deja vu, beautiful etc.

Technically infinite is well made but it doesn't feel real imo.

[ShaDynasty]

Being original does not equal being good.

I say most of Eminem's album have some original or weird stuff on them, but most of it is still bad music no matter how you put it.

Slim Shady LP is the only Eminem album where it's as close as it gets to serious Hip-Hop.

What do you mean by serious hip hop?

Sorry if i keep talking in this thread but this guy was a big hero to me as a teenager. I think thats why i was judging the singles so harshly but realistically hes no better or worse than any rapper thats been around for over 10 years.

Its like however big a fan of Kool G Rap you are, hes NEVER going to top those first 3 albums. Its inconcievable because its not just how good the music is, its what it meant at the time, culturally and on a personal level.

[tekunique]

i know its just the way it is for commercially successful artists to get hated on whether they're real MCs or not but Em gets it worse cuz he's white.

[']

[Mantra]

Yeah no hate on Em i liked infinite, marshall mathers lp, then he lost me with all that singing and homo shit.

[Squidgy McGubbins]

DL'ing this for a friend who's still a big fan.

Don't even know if I'll bother listening to it for myself or just burn it to a CD then clear the HD space.

[ALCATRAZ]

no thanks

[check two]

^^
you're out of jail now?

[RADIOACTIVE MAN]

he lost me with all that singing and homo shit.

Lmfao

[oDoUoSoKo]

???^ wtf lol i love eminem for his legacy but nothing at all has interested me in his music since encore.

[claaa7]

on the topic of "Infinite", yeah Em rhymed really well on that and he had some cool concepts and decent beats (especially the title track comes to mind).. however it was released in 1996 and it didn't really bring too much new to the table, remember in the mid-'90s there were MAD super lyrical emcees that only got to release a few 12":s or one LP but despite how ill they were there were sooooo much dope hip-hop coming out that if you didn't have Connections, super charisma, beats that were something out of the ordinary, etc, you would get lost in the mix...

a good example of this is the rappers Big Kwam and Big Twan, these guys were fucking incredible with the wordplay and had good beats but neither have released a 12" since like 1998.... real shame too, i have all their 12" singles, and have been trying to Contact Big Kwam to see if i could get an interview with him. search for him on YouTube, and check tracks like "Verbalize (DJ Spinna Remix)" and the original version of "Don't Give A Fuck...".

so i'm not suprised "Infinite" didn't make much noise, he was dope on there but he sounded like 100 other lyrical emcees at the time.. when he came out as Slim Shady and had sharpened his skills even more, found a gimmick, and were backed up by Dr. Dre, Mel-Man and F.T.B., now that's a totally different story!

[Guarded By Martyrs]

"Legacy" is my favourite track on this.

[claaa7]

i've been listening to "MMLP2" once straight through, and once again but only a few in full, the rest just skimming through... i wrote a long ass track-by-track breakdown for the entire thing, then when i was about to post it dissappeared :/

here's some thoughts instead.... this is Eminem's worst album yet, but it isn't without some merit. Eminem can still rhyme his ass off, but the problem is that he often ain't got shit to say and following "Recovery", the majority of beats on here are just wack, radio fliirtation bullshit. "Rap God" is a great example where Em absolutely kills it vocally, but the track is dead as fucking Death because of a horrendous club beat that sounds like some amateur got a hold of a raggedy Casio and hooked it up to his computer. there's a lot more weak beats than good ones, let allone great ones!

the second problem is all the hook, nobody want to hear you sing Eminem!! - you're not a good singer by a long shot and your voice is just annyoing. the song where he sings from front-to-back is hilariously wack.... what the fuck is this??!!! One Direction wannabe?! whatever happened to straight up rhyming for a full song, or rap a hook, or why not scratch a hook.

so there's a lot of cons on here, but what could you expect from an Eminem album in 2013? he's still insane on a micropone but like on "Rap God", no matter how terrific you're tongue twisting is, it's still a weak song with a beat like that. Luckily there's a few good productions here - mainly the ones good ol' Rick Rubin produced. i'm real glad Em decided to make the legendary Def Jam co-founder and super producer executive of the Project as well as lacing 4 tracks himself.

i've Heard a lot of negative comments about the lead single "Bezerk"... pesonally i think it's a real banger, and i feel a lot of the true old school heads are gonna love it. It's a very respectful homage to Rick Rubin and the original Def Jam roster of Beastie Boys, Run DMC and LL. You got the simple but banging banging 808 kicks, a plethora of scratches, and Rick even brings in the cowbells haha... "Bezerk" is Def Jam '85 meets Aftermath 2013... the hook is so-so but beter than most places on the album, and i love how a dope joint like this really does wonder in the club as well - a rare record that goes home both with the Kool Moe Dee fans and the Young Girls of the day.

the joint with Kendrick Lamar is another seriously cool track, a very off-key weird track that takes and blends infleuences from all kinds of genres. Kendrick Lamar is one of my favorite younger emcees out now and to hear him and Em going at it over a crazy Rick Rubin beat that incorporates elements from both boom bap and country Music, that's just something else.

"Bad Guy Pts. 1 & 2", every Eminem album has Always opened with a very strong track, and so is the case here again on "MMLP2". "Bad Guy" sees Em rhyming as tight as on "Recovery" to an equally ill beat that's a joint production by the criminally underrated M-Phazes and S1 who does a fantastic job on the musical arrangements... in the middle of the song, the Music stops and make room for a short skit Before we seuges into "Bad Guys Pt. 2", which is more of an up-tempo track, this time produced by StreetRunner who keeps the musical main idea though definitely makes it its own entity. Totally the song runs for 7-8 minutes, and it might just be the best song on the LP.

"Rhyme Or Reason" - Another sick Rubin/Em collaboration.. it seems constantly that Rubin brings out the best verses out of Em here, he ain't fooling around talking shit out his ass and the sing-song hooks are either fewer or less annoying. some ill quotables on this one too.

"The Monster" - This song is schizoprenic to say the least, it's like it's two different songs mashed into one.. and it even list two producers, one of them being Freaquency (Ghostface Killah, Wordsworth, Wais P, EMC, Ras Kass, Royce 5'9"). the first part of the song has a ill hip-hop beat that sounds much more like something that Frequency would do, then all of a sudden there is this bland rock & pop bridge and hook that just plain sucks and to top it all off it even has Rhianna singing over it.. totally ruins it... luckily it goes back to the first part again.. if we could get a version with just the 1st beat/vocals this would be a true banger.


Overall: "MMLP2" doesn't deserve its title; "Marshal Mathers LP" is the best album Eminem ever released and beside the title and main artist nothing here resembles it the least. just like on "Recovery" there's a lot of wack beats and half-assed producers on here, and it's clear he's aiming at the charts - why a person with that much cash on hand doesn't just give us a non-Commercial album is beyond me, but whatever. also there is not a SINGLE Dr. Dre beat anywhere on this album at all, which is a god damn shame.... luckily at least Rick Rubin got 4 beats, though i would have prefered him producing the majority of the LP, im Always hyped whenever i see Rubin on a hip-hop record and with Jay-Z, Kanye and now Em i hope he will keep getting work on these type of records.

One thing that's so cool with Rubin is that he's a true musical guru with his roots in hip-hop but from there he has built other styles and worked closely with musicians from every conceivable genre. all these influences are refelected in his beats, which makes every single one of his tracks heree really dope... it's those 4 + "Bad Guy" and half of "Monster" that are good on "MMLP2"... the rest is just plain SHIT!!!

2/5 (barely)

[IrOnMaN]

^Ouch!