Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (Album Review)

On his eighth album, Eminem rewinds back to 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP. We read that Em told Rolling Stone he worked harder than he did at any period in the past decade. Em really took it back to the MMLP, which oh by the way is the third fastest-selling album in history. In our opinion we could tell this was Em’s most heartfelt work in a while. We were blown away right from the start. His rhyme delivery is flawless. The only other person REALLY fuckin’ with Em right now is Kendrick Lamar, who’s featured on the song, “Love Game,” which is actually the opposite of what we were expecting from these two. It’s a more upbeat, sing-a-long type record as opposed to a battle type record. It’s still a really dope song that you’ll be hearing A LOT over the next few months. Not to discredit Em at all, but Kendrick was the star of the show this time round.

A few other guests also took part in Em’s new piece of work. Rihanna, reconnects with Em after their monster (no pun) of a record they had in 2010, “Love The Way You Lie”. This time around for “The Monster,” it’s more upbeat, still another smash. The subject matter is a lot different than “Love The Way You Lie” as well. They introduce us to the monsters living inside of them both.

“I wanted the fame, but not the cover of Newsweek
Oh well, guess beggars can’t be choosey
Wanted to receive attention for my music
Wanted to be left alone in public excuse me”

Nate Ruess of the band, fun. gives his contribution on the song titled, “Headlights,” which touches on Em’s relationship with his mother, someone we became very familiar with on MMLP. This time around we see the softer side of Em as he takes back a lot of the crazy shit he’s said over the years.

“I went in headfirst
Never thinking about who what I said hurt, in what verse
My mom probably got it the worst
The brunt of it, but as stubborn as we are
Did I take it too far?”

So it seems Em and his mom are on the right path, but what about all the kids he “influenced” over the years? He touched on that as well in his song “Asshole,” featuring Skylar Grey.

“Came to the world at a time when it was in need of a villain
An asshole, that role I think I succeed in fulfilling
Don’t think I ever stopped to think I was speaking to children
Everything was happening so fast, it was like I blinked, sold three million”

So if you were worried after Recovery dropped in 2010, this album is here to let you know that Em is still Em. Still crazy, still acting like a 12 year old, still not giving a fuck what you think while still having a soft spot and still able to shred 99% of the emcees doing it today.