"Who woulda thought; standin in this mirror bleachin my hair
with some peroxide, reachin for a t-shirt to wear
that I would catapult to the forefront of rap like this?"

'The Eminem Show' serves as something of a self-autopsy - dissecting and digging deep within - resulting in an over-the-top no-holds-barred attack at both the world around him, as well as those slightly closer in situation. He hates his mother, we know that. He hates the media, we know that. But this just reinforces that knowledge, in exceptionally literate fashion. There's no denying that the tale gets old toward the end of the discs 19 tracks - but for a fleeting, fantastic few minutes, it's alike nothing else done in the last few years. Brilliant. Beautiful. And damn crude with it.

An honest representation of both his thoughts and feelings, 'White America' talks candidly of the American society and it's thought toward certain ethnic minorities - whether it be his tirade toward those that only gave him a chance due to his skin colour ("Let's do the math - if I was black, I woulda sold half"), or those that try so effortlessly to derail his career ("So now I'm catchin the flack from these activists when they raggin, Actin like I'm the first rapper to smack a bitch or say faggot"), or simply those that won't get off his back ("All I hear is: lyrics, lyrics, constant controversy, sponsors working round the clock to try to stop my concerts early") - it's exactly what you expect of Detroit's own Mr Controversial.

The one undeniable thing as regards any Eminem album, is the lyrics. Honesty, fuelled through expletives, isn't something a youngster should hear. Throwing around swear word upon swear word would generally become tiring, were it not for the strengths of the lyrics around them - something which helps 'The Eminem Show' to prosper through it's controversy. 'Soldier', another of the albums strong moments, aims random nastiness at anyone and everyone - " Pull it, squeeze it, 'til its empty, tempt me, push me, pussies. I need a good reason to give this trigger a good squeeze". Looking past Eminem's new found maturity in songs like 'Sing For The Moment' and 'White America', it becomes apparent that half the hate thrown about is simply done because he can.

As an individual, I've no time for Eminem. He's a crude, self righteous young man that seems to bring himself to the centre of problems on an all to regular basis. As an artist however, I respect the guy. Lyrically, he sometimes goes a little too far, but when he doesn't, he's good. Musically, there's no denying how catchy certain songs in his back catalogue are - and as an album, 'The Eminem Show' is just about he at his strongest. With his imminent retirement (see 'Curtain Call: The Hits'), the world will never see another white boy rapper on the levels of Marshall Mathers III - and whilst many will be all the better for it, many won't.