{"id":157,"date":"2021-05-24T20:07:09","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T20:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aesir.visualmodo.com\/prebuilt-website\/music\/?p=157"},"modified":"2021-05-24T20:07:48","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T20:07:48","slug":"eminem-revival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aesir.visualmodo.com\/prebuilt-website\/music\/2021\/05\/24\/eminem-revival\/","title":{"rendered":"Eminem Revival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few texts in hip-hop are as bizarre as\u00a0Eminem<\/a>\u2019s debut LP,\u00a0Infinite<\/em>. Released on a local Detroit label in 1996, it was either ignored or dismissed by those who rejected his whiteness and his borrowed aesthetic. Were it released in 2017, it might be celebrated for its scholarship of the form\u2019s early classics, a la\u00a0Joey Bada$$<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Roc Marciano<\/a>. Instead, he was written off as a swagger jacker who sounded too much like\u00a0Nas<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0AZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The criticism burned, and from that fire he formed his alter ego, Slim Shady. A manifestation of Marshall Mathers\u2019 inner turmoil, the persona served as a vehicle for his darkest, most violent thoughts and helped him step out from the shadow of his forebears to channel the darkest parts of himself. On 1998\u2019s\u00a0The Slim Shady EP<\/em>, he found his unique and disturbing voice. It caught the ear of Jimmy Iovine and\u00a0Dr. Dre<\/a>, who spent the next five years molding him into one of the biggest pop stars in the world.<\/p>\n

In those early years, for all the controversy his lyrics caused, Slim Shady helped Mathers focus his energy, a cathartic outlet that was both messy and intensely fascinating. But after more than two decades, he\u2019s older, well-fed, and in possession of pretty much every accolade there is to acquire. The Slim Shady suit no longer fits; once the outsider, he\u2019s now the establishment. If Slim Shady fed on hate, what does he do now that he\u2019s beloved? What motivates a healthy, sober, 45-year-old father with enough money for several lifetimes?<\/p>\n

And if the beats knocked, it would probably be tolerable, too. But legendary executive producers Dr. Dre and\u00a0Rick Rubin<\/a>\u00a0managed to stuff a bloated tracklist with uninspired production and instantly forgettable pop hooks. Even\u00a0Beyonc\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0couldn\u2019t save \u201cWalk on Water<\/a>,\u201d a stale piano ballad that undercuts Eminem\u2019s attempt to explore the weight of his self-doubt. The\u00a0Alicia-Keys<\/a>-featuring \u201cLike Home\u201d is equally limp and toothless, defanging Eminem\u2019s attempt to battle Donald Trump. He sees himself as a crusader against his influence, champion of the bullied, a\u00a0notebook full of disses at the ready<\/a>. It\u2019s not his fault that all Trump has to do to beat him is ignore him, but it is his fault that the beat makes it so easy to do so. Rubin\u2019s contributions are particularly embarrassing; his re-hash of hits from the Rush\/Def Jam days (\u201cHeat,\u201d \u201cRemind Me\u201d) suggest he\u2019s completely out of ideas.<\/p>\n

But while the long tracklist and equally protracted verses make for an exhausting listen, there are rewards for those that endure. The eponymous interlude features a short verse from the late\u00a0Alice and the Glass Lake<\/a>\u00a0that sounds like a sketch for something potentially great. And on an album full of poorly matched beats and verses, the delicately morose guitar melody and heavy fuzz of\u00a0the Cranberries<\/a>\u201cZombie\u201d suits his flow on \u201cIn Your Head\u201d perfectly\u2014even if the hook was pretty much cut and pasted from the original.<\/p>\n

Eminem\u2019s consistent run of mediocrity over the last 15 years has not tempered his album sales, and it\u2019s\u00a0unlikely<\/a>\u00a0to start now\u2014he remains one of the most bankable acts in pop. But sales and fame have never been his primary motivation. He\u2019s always wanted to be the best, and ever since he conquered the music world in the early aughts, it\u2019s as if he has no idea where to go. As he raps with precision on \u201cBelieve\u201d:<\/p>\n

Man, in my younger days
\nThat dream was so much fun to chase
\nIt\u2019s like I run in place
\nWhile this shit dangled in front of my face
\nBut how do you keep up the pace
\nAnd the hunger pangs once you\u2019ve won the race?
\nWhen that fuel exhaust is coolin\u2019 off
\n\u2019Cause you don’t got nothin\u2019 left to prove at all
\n\u2019Cause you done already hit \u2019em with the coup de gr\u00e2ce<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These fears are relatable\u2014what artist hasn\u2019t struggled to find motivation?\u2014if not necessarily interesting. But\u00a0Revival<\/em>\u00a0is ultimately plagued by the same pitfalls as\u00a0Infinite<\/em>, which found him shadowboxing against ghosts, unable to land any punches. This time he\u2019s competing with a version of himself that no longer exists. And though it\u2019s easy to empathize with his creeping self-doubt, it\u2019s tougher to swallow in the context of an album that ultimately proves that those doubts are correct.<\/p>\n