Review: Eminem

Eminem Marshall Mathers LP 2 (Aftermath Entertainment)

I haven't a fucking clue how to open this review, so I shan't. Here's a (Facebook) dialogue of mine and Joe Sherwood's time with the Marshall Mathers LP 2:

Gilbey: My iTunes play count for MMLP2 currently stands at 18 and I still don't have the foggiest clue whether I love it or not. Thinking about it, its a hell of a lot better than Recovery although that isn't too hard I guess... yeah I love it.
Sherwood: tbf recovery was a pile of crap. this however... its much better than anything I thought a man of ems vintage could produce
Gilbey: I think his vintage has actually worked to his advantage on this is I'm honest. Most of the beats that he and Rubin worked on are testament to many of the tracks on the first LP, that's probably why I like Brainless so much... that beat is raw.
Sherwood: yeah man, having heard the beat for rap god i wasn't exactly expecting much, but on the whole i have to say the production is above average for late-period em.
Sherwood: speaking of rap god... what do you think of it
Gilbey: Well let's just put it this way, when he was on Radio 1 with Zane Lowe on Monday and revealed that he freestyled the whole track, I think I creamed... his flow is just absolutely untouchable. That shit about Ray J and Fabolous? My gosh that had me in bits.
Sherwood: if it was indeed a freestyle, then i guess em truly is the goat. shame he had to do it all over a wack beat
Sherwood: and the homophobia aint gonna win him any points in these hyperaware times

Gilbey: Talking of which, that Craig Jenkins Pitchfork review really pissed me off... I think he slated his controversial lyrics more than they reviewed the actual musical content. I'll admit that his politically incorrect slurs go too far sometimes but come ON man, it doesn't make him a bad rapper...

Sherwood: well em is operating within a genre which is heavily reliant on lyrics
Sherwood: but yeah you still cant knock his technical ability

Gilbey: Despite that, 90% of his lyrics are absolutely stellar, you can appreciate that after just listening to the first 30 seconds or so of Rap God. "...they said I rap like a robot so call be Rapbot. But for me to rap like a computer must be in my genes/jeans, I've got a laptop in my back pocket." JEEEEEEEZ

Sherwood: especially if theyre straight off the top of his dome

Gilbey: I actually read somewhere - I think it was in Complex's interview with Rick Rubin - that he writes lyrics all day every day to keep his mind exercised, and that he discards about 98% of the raps he writes. Surely that's gotta make him one of the most committed in the game?

Sherwood: probably, its just that said commitment is no substitute for quality lyrics, something hes lacked of late

Gilbey: Fair point, I thought his references to I'm Back and The Real Slim Shady in So Far... were pretty damn cool though, ngl. Anyway enough of the lyrics, what about the features?

Sherwood: fuck rihanna, all im saying
Sherwood: kendrick had a good turn on love game tho, some quality punchline rapping

Gilbey: To add to that, fuck Nate Ruess.

Sherwood: tru say

Gilbey: Kendrick's verse is so hard. Its been nice to see him feature on a lot of tracks in 2013 actually, he seems to have a very different street-smart persona when rapping on his own tracks to his comical, almost angry, approach on tracks like Nosetalgia and Control

Sherwood: its great having em and kendrick on the same track. like, one of mainstream hip-hops biggest artists collaborating with one of mainstream hip-hops most promising stars

Gilbey: I posted on Twitter a while ago that Kendrick's got the potential to become the greatest rapper alive and I'd definitely still stand by that. YOU WANNA SEE A DEAD BODY?

Sherwood: on a slightly related note, dig the kendrick sample on 18+ new mixtape
Sherwood: back on topic doe
Sherwood: is mmlp2 something of a swansong? a new beginning? or just another record?

Gilbey: That's an interesting one actually. I certainly wouldn't say its a swansong because he's still easily got another couple of albums in him, from what I've seen in interviews and documentaries he treats rap like a way of life so he'll want to hold onto it for as long as he can. A new beginning however... I'm really not sure, its difficult to say considering its a sequel to a 13 year old album. We'll just have to wait and see I guess

Sherwood: so, another record? id say so, albeit better than all of his recent stuff

Gilbey: Yeah I'd say its his best piece since The Eminem Show 11 years ago, loved that shit. One last thing, Em won a Global Icon Award at the MTV EMAs for MMLP2... deserved?

Sherwood: hmmm, probably. em IS a global icon, and mmlp2 is a pretty decent album of his, so alls good in my book