Eminem's New Album, "The Death Of Slim Shady", Is Filled With Ups And Downs But Overall It's One Of His Better Projects In Recent Memory
Eminem's twelfth studio album, The Death of Slim Shady, is like a rollercoaster ride through his chaotic mind, with plenty of highs, lows, and "WTF?" moments.
Eminem tries to off his notorious alter-ego, Slim Shady, in a conceptual piece that demands you listen from start to finish. The cover art with Slim Shady zipped up in a body bag sets the stage for a dramatic showdown between the rapper and his past.
When it comes to Eminem's writing, lyrics, and his flow, the guy still has it. His rapid-fire delivery and wordplay are on point, especially in tracks like "Guilty Conscience 2" and
"Tobey."
He's also still one of the funnier lyricists around. (Example: on "Lucifer", "they say I don’t know struggle, bitch the elevator in my mansion is broke")
The back-and-forth with his alter-ego makes for some intense listening. And that's exactly what this album is- a "concept" album. So you need to take that into account when listeing to the entire thing.
Tracks like "Temporary" (a record which once again features longtime Eminem collaborator Skylay Grey, who has amazing chemistry with him)
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and the album's standout track, "Somebody Save Me", show a softer side of Eminem, reflecting on his relationship with his daughter, Hailie. These moments offer a break from the madness and show there's more to him than shock value.
Jelly Roll posted a pretty heartfelt "thank-you" and backstory on how the song came to be on his Instagram this weekend -
The beats are decent, strongest at times thanks to long-time collaborator and mentor Dr. Dre. (Dre is officially credited with "Lucifer", "Road Rage"). "Tobey" and "Habits" have that classic Eminem vibe, keeping you hooked from start to finish. But besides those, there's nothing really groundbreaking instrumetally here.
On The Death of Slim Shady, Marshall takes aim at modern societal norms, cancel culture, and political correctness with his trademark biting wit. Tracks like "Antichrist"
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and "Road Rage" dive headfirst into these hot topics, stirring the pot as only he can.
But it's not all roses. Eminem's shock value game is getting old. Jabs at Caitlyn Jenner, Christopher Reeve, and Candace Ownes (?) as well as other various marginalized groups feel outdated and unnecessary. It's like he’s trying too hard to be the edgy kid in class. Killing off Slim Shady is a cool idea, but the execution is all over the place. The album jumps between introspective moments and cheap shots, making it feel disjointed. Two of Eminem's best songs I've heard in a decade, and the two most sentimental tracks on the album. "Temporary" and "Somebody Save Me" clash with the overall vibe. These two songs both stand alone as some of the best work of his career, but feel out of place lumped in with the rest of the chaos going on in this album.
Eminem’s rants about "woke culture" and the "PC police" are getting repetitive. Nobdoy hates these groups more than me, and even for me, it feels like he’s stuck in a loop, rehashing old grievances without adding anything new or insightful.
I talked to my friend Tony, who has been obsessed with Eminem for 20 years about his thoughts on the album, and he actually made some good points to consider. It's a conceptual album correct? Sure, Eminem makes A LOT of the same old references to stuff like Christopher Reeves which seems corny "but then as you listen more you start to believe the whole album is a story about him vs. Slim Shady. So he’s not rapping about Reeves so much because he thinks it's cool to still rap about him so many times, but because that’s what the Slim Shady character raps about."
The Death of Slim Shady is a mixed bag. Eminem’s lyrical genius and emotional depth shine through, but they’re often overshadowed by predictable and offensive content that feels more like a relic of the past. He’s still a powerhouse in hip-hop, but this album shows that his biggest challenge is balancing his provocative alter-ego with the more reflective artist he’s become.
Is The Death Of Slim Shady a masterpiece like The Marshall Mathers LP? No, but it's far from a disaster like Encore.
Whether this is the final nail in Slim Shady’s coffin or just another chapter in Eminem’s catalog, The Death of Slim Shady proves he’s still got the chops to stir things up. And even at 51, Eminem is still better than rappers today that are half his age.
Rating = 3 Dante's 🤌🤌🤌
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p.s. - this is a wild theory that's picking up steam on twitter and reddit. honestly kind of makes more sense than front to back