Scary Movies (1999)Įminem has always made an artform out of killing people and his absurdist pledge to “Throw you down a flight of stairs / Then I’ll throw you back up them” is undeniably hilarious.
Em also shares his mission statement as an artist, rapping: “Give ’em hell for as long as I’m breathing”. Cleanin’ Out My Closet (2002)Ī bit like watching a white trash family drama unravel on the Jerry Springer show, this intensely autobiographical song works because Eminem isn’t afraid to operate from a place of weakness. When Eminem claimed rap would be empty without him around, it was hard to disagree. With a mischievous beat that sounds as if it was crafted by Dr Dre rhythmically squeezing a bunch of clowns’ noses, this is a continuation of the silly pop theatrics of The Real Slim Shady and My Name Is. The fact he bluntly erases his predecessor (“I saw Vanilla Ice and ripped out his blonde dreads”) also feels significant, with the Detroit native reshaping the idea of the ascendant white rapper. With jokes about the alleged OJ murders and Lauryn Hill’s mythical hatred of white men, this is Eminem starting to realise his power as a cultural provocateur. Few artists can find light in such a dark setting and this song, released just a few months before the Columbine massacre, presciently hints at American schools dangerously abandoning their outcasts.Įminem in concert in 2001. Turning his childhood traumas into whimsical entertainment, Eminem transitions from being bullied into being the bully, and his nutty turn of phrase and dark recollections of a Detroit high school where even the principal joins in with the beatings are frequently hilarious. It’s a window into a simpler, trashier time, where sniffing glue while playing with a Rubik’s Cube was somehow considered an attractive personality trait. The funky thrusts of bass replicate the energy of a horny, if incredibly tacky, spring-break party in the nu-metal era. On Drug Ballad, Eminem is high as a kite, resiliently throwing jabs from beyond the clouds and refusing to come back down.
Tyler, the Creator said this had “the best flow ever”. The songwriting may be the byproduct of a recluse spending his days writing raps amid Jeffrey Dahmer YouTube documentary binges, but Eminem mostly succeeds in trying to replicate the unhinged tone of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and that’s impressive. With synths that appear to scream out in pain, this is one of Dr Dre’s weirdest concoctions. It was also fun to hear Nate Dogg sounding so emo and getting a chance to croon about something other than being a horny stoner. This shot of cathartic rage is still wildly inspiring, even if its appearance on every video game trailer sponsored by Mountain Dew might have diluted its impact a little. But the playful nocturnal funk of It’s OK, which is littered with enthusiastic ad-libs from best friend Proof, results in the record’s most inspired rapping, as an introspective Em uncharacteristically discusses finding God. Much of Eminem’s forgotten 1996 debut, Infinite, is spent trying to imitate the multi-syllabic flow of Kool G Rap over beats that sound like cheap rip-offs from Nas’s Illmatic. This is that rare museum exhibit that doesn’t bore you to tears, with Em giving his fans a nostalgic serotonin boost after a duo of truly awful albums: Recovery, and The Marshall Mathers LP 2. On this overlooked B-side, Eminem tears through the thunderous boom-bap of Black Moon’s classic street-corner drama, I Got Cha Opin.
But after years of disappointing albums plagued with turgid stadium pop, it was just exciting to hear Eminem sound so fired up again – he makes for a very convincing Victor Meldrew. Mocking the supposed cliches of mumble rap, Em is essentially an angry old man shouting at a (Sound)cloud. Just like Jay-Z’s similarly misguided DOA (Death of Autotune), The Ringer is a track from a veteran unhappy with the direction rap is headed.
#MOST POPULAR EMINEM SONGS SERIAL#
Critics hated the creepy accent, which sounds like the bastard child of Borat and the Simpsons’ Groundskeeper Willie, but by embodying such a ludicrous pastiche of a serial killer, Em enjoyed a much-needed dose of escapism at a time where his private life was starting to unravel. Although Marshall Mathers has repeatedly trashed 2009’s Relapse in interviews, the record, which is a nightmarish ode to horrorcore rap, has aged well – particularly this dread-inducing tale of a stalker who lynches Lindsay Lohan.
0 kommentar(er)
