Eminem Show, The (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Eminem > Reviews > We Need A Little Controversy...

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money

Advantages:	Entertaining .   Funny .   Creative .
Disadvantages:	The skits are funny enough  -  the first time, anyway .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Guess who's back? Eminem, Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers. Whatever you call him, he's the fastest-selling rap artist ever to hit the music scene. And he's already sold the hell out of May 2002's release, "The Eminem Show."

I got this record just a couple of days after it hit stores, thanks to a pre-order at Amazon.com. Actually, I got a CD-R copy of it - Mom bought the CD, and she graciously allowed me to copy it so that I would not "borrow" (i.e. blatantly steal) her copy. Whatever the case, this album was more than worth the seventeen dollars paid for it because none of the members of this family can stop listening to it. It's addictive. It's creative. It's loud. It's entertaining. It's the best he's put out so far, and many fans such as myself eagerly await what he will come up with next.

Note: Because I put in a pre-order, I got the limited-edition 2-disc version, with the second disc being a DVD bonus featuring video clips, and scenes from the movie Eminem shot recently. It wouldn't quite have been worth it if it weren't for the fact that it cost the same as the regular version, so it's far from the end of the world if you don't get it.

Some of the highlights from this best-selling rap album include:

*Without Me. A sort of dance / club song, and the first single. On this track, Eminem explores his popularity, and why it's so crucial that he stick around even though there are a million other white rappers out there.

"Now this looks like a job for me / So everybody, just follow me / 'Cause we need a little controversy / Cause it feels so empty without me."

*White America. Eminem raps about the state of America, and why he's such a hot commodity. "Let's do the math, if I was black I wouldn't sell half." "White America / I could be one of your kids / White America / Little Eric looks just like this / White America / Erica loves my sh*t / I go on TRL, look how many hugs I get."

*Hailie's Song. Eminem gets tender, and sings a ballad for his daughter. It's touching. No, really. It's a nice song. Eminem shows the world that he's not just an asshole on a mission to offend everybody in the world. But still, I don't listen to this track every time I play the album, so sometimes it's best to just skip it over in search of the other songs.

*Cleaning Out My Closet. A medium-paced rap filled with pain and rage. Eminem lashes out at the mother that sues him and made his life hell when he was growing up. "And Hailie's gettin' so big, you should see her she's beautiful / but you'll never see her, she won't even be at your funeral..." "I'm sorry Mama / I never meant to hurt you / I never meant to make you cry, but tonight I'm cleanin' out my closet." Em bares his soul for the entire world to see. Interesting when you're in the mood for anguished rap, but if you just want to laugh at something I'd skip this one.

*Drips. Obie Trice from D12 and Em team up to rap about sexually transmitted diseases. It's funny in a way, but if you think about it? They actually have a point about the dangers of having unprotected sex with hos...I mean...promiscuous females.

"That's why I ain't got no time / For these games and stupid tricks / Or these b*tches on my dick / That's how dudes be gettin' sick..."

*When The Music Stops. A very sarcastic rap about how terrible it is that music listeners are forced to do the horrible things they hear about on records. (Yeah, right.)

"Marilyn Manson, I dyed my hair blue and grew some titties / Ludacris told me to throw them bows / Now I'm in the hospital / Broken nose and a fractured elbow / Voices in my head, I'm going in shock / I'm reaching for the glock but the music stops."

*Superman. Since Kim's out of the picture, Eminem doesn't feel the need to get attached to another woman.

"But I do know one thing though / B*tches they come and go / Saturday through Sunday, Monday / Monday through Sunday, yo..."

*My Dad's Gone Crazy. Okay. Usually I think putting little kids on record is just annoying. In this case, that's partially true: I don't think getting Hailie to sing the verse "I think my Dad's gone crazy" is all that amusing. The first time however, it was neat to hear because it showed yet another bit of creativity on Marshall's part. Besides which, the raps in between the annoying-kid part are pretty cool.

"Can't you see why I'm so mean / If y'all leave me alone, this wouldn't be my MO / I wouldn't have to go eenie meenie minie moe, catch a homo by his toe / Man I don't know no more / Am I the only f*ckin' one who's normal anymore?"

Okay, you get the idea. I love the variety of slow raps, gangsta raps, touching ballads, and the ever-present character skits in between some of the songs. I really like Eminem's creativity, and the way that he just says whatever the hell's on his mind, without really giving a damn about what anybody has to say about it.

Also on this record: U.S. government slagging; Jermaine Dupri hating; another ICP diss; boasting about the lawsuits not mattering because Em will just settle them and get on with life; guest appearances by Dre (who also produced this record), and of course more entertainment than you can possible describe in one op.

It's funny. Period. DO check it out. Now.

http://www.eminem.com if you want more info.