How Many Good Albums Does Eminem Really Have? The Dirty Secret of Eminem’s Career… Part 3 of 3 By: Nick Zablocki

How Many Good Albums Does Eminem Really Have? The Dirty Secret of Eminem’s Career… Part 3 of 3

By: Nick Zablocki

           

            And, here we are. Surprisingly, at this point in the list, we have 4 good albums and 3 bad albums. I don’t know how we got here. The biggest surprise so far was me giving Relapse a favorable review. That won’t be happening here. Nothing covered in this section is getting a positive review.

Hell: The Sequel. (2011)

            What do we do about this one? Being as this is a joint venture project, we shouldn’t totally hold it against Eminem. On this EP between Royce da 5’9” and Eminem, we saw the revitalization of Bad Meets Evil. A duo that was dickteased to us in 1999, as discussed in Part 1 during The Slim Shady LP section. I liked this project when it came out. But, I was also a huge fucking Stan, so I liked all crap that Eminem released. I also was already convinced before this tape that Royce was actually a better rapper than Eminem. Then he proved me to be right on this project. He washes Eminem on literally every track. It was a defining moment in both their career arcs. Royce has only continued to get better and better as his career goes on, whereas Eminem peaked early and has had a miserable downward spiral ever since. Like I said, this project isn’t making it into our tally for Eminem projects, but it has to be discussed. Eminem’s bars are, unsurprisingly, filled with potty mouth and fart bars. I swear, this dude is low-key a 9 year old trapped in a mid-life crisis. This project does have moments worth revisiting, such as “Above the Law” or “Take from Me,” but it’s because Royce shines, not Eminem. And, since this on-going series is about Em, that’s a bad thing.

The Marshall Mathers LP 2. (2013)

            I should’ve listened to my gut on this one. I knew this album was going to be bad. I avoided it for months cause I knew new Eminem, was just sad. Eventually in spring of 2014 I listened to it. At the time I liked it. I was still a pretty big Stan at the time. But, my initial gut instinct on it was correct. This album is bad. First of all, it should be alarming to everyone that he felt the need to try to recapture the magic of his magnum opus, that’s bad. Second, he dyed his hair blonde for this one again, yikes man, you’re in your 40s. The features are too poppy. The production is choppy, and I don’t know why he felt the need to (poorly) sample classic rock songs, and then cram too many syllables into the pockets.

            Let’s talk about “Rap God.” From a pure technical level, this song is fantastic, it’s impressive as hell. But, it’s hollow, it doesn’t leave me with anything. It doesn’t matter to me. I never wanna hear it again. It’s a good microcosm of what Eminem is. Technically untouchable, for the most part, but, it doesn’t leave me with anything. It never has replay value.

            Some other things that happen on this album that we never needed: 1. a sequel to “Stan.” 2. A dog getting shot. 3. Anything and everything on it.

Good: 4 Bad: 4

Revival. (2017)

            ………………

Good: 4 Bad: 5

Conclusion:

            So that leaves us with 5 bad albums and 4 good albums. But, really the score should be 2 good albums and 7 bad albums. I was being generous by giving Relapse a positive review. And as for Infinite, literally almost no one gives a fuck about that album, so maybe it shouldn’t count in the tally at all. That still leaves us with 2 good albums and 6 bad albums. That’s a bad track record for someone most people would include on their Mt. Rushmore of hip-hop. Is Eminem severely overrated, I think so. The music hasn’t stood the test of time. Technical ability, album sales, these things aren’t the only thing required to be the best rapper of all time. There needs to be something more, and Eminem doesn’t have it. His last truly great album came out in 2000. That’s over 17 years of slowly descending into mediocrity. It’s sad really.