Eminem "The Marshall Mathers LP" (2000)
"The Slim Shady LP" (not the most original when it comes to naming
albums) moved Em from underground rapper to international celebrity.
The fame and fortune didn't seem to bring happiness with it, as this
album is more angry and seems to be working harder to offend (though I
guess possibly he was just realising that this approach sold records so
leaned into it).
Eminem hunkered down in the studio with Dr Dre and production team the Bass Brothers to work on the follow-up.
To my mind the album is much more sonically interesting than its
predecessor, with songs like "Stan", "the Way I am" and "Marhsall
Mathers" being invested with a bit more musicality.
Mathers brings back his Slim Shady persona for "Criminal" and "The Real Slim Shady".
The former with it's slightly stuttered groove feels like it could have
been on "Slim Shady LP". He seems to relish in the fact that so many
people/institutions hated him after his first album, name-checking and
lashing out at various targets even as he runs his mouth with the usual
combination of misogyny, homophobia and general crassness, baiting his
critics and inviting their ire.
It's not all wink-to-the-camera trolling though, "Kim"
is actually horror movie stuff. It's Mathers playing out a scenario
of confronting and murdering his wife but his passionate vocal delivery
with voice cracking as he yells accusations at her, breaks down and then
turns to violence makes it feel genuine. It's disturbing, like the
musical equivalent of a snuff film. It almost feels like it could be
from a hidden recording of a real domestic dispute. I guess that's why
people love/hate Eminem, whether it's his anger, his violence, or his
twisted humour, it feels real.
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