Encore (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Eminem > Reviews > Eminem tells critics (and Bush) to "stick it"

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Mature performance commands respect and interest
Disadvantages:	Uncharacteristic and dark

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Long since Eminem burst onto the UK hip hop market has his reputation and music been the focal point of many generation gapping debates. Respected music critics for decades had been slating the peroxide coloured so called bad lad from Detroit, a renegade thug with nothing but detrimental effects for his adorned young fans. His latest huge hit though is shaking up that long held tradition, because Encore is less likely to offend (except perhaps if you're the President) and instead can be seen as an eye opening transformation from rap sensation to political activist.

All the ingredients combined in the album are aimed at the huge gathering of fans Em has amassed and the CD provides the manifesto for his cult following. There are yet more lines of seemingly self obsessed frustration that threaten to water down powerfully educational tracks which are for the most part lyrically stunning. 'Beautiful' isn't a word I would frequently use to describe a track in this market, but Em's teary recollection in 'Mockingbird' is little below perfect. It's almost as if that childish exterior that the media portrayed in his earlier years have been obliterated with some heart felt tracks that could have any human being battling away the tears. Written to his little daughter, it's difficult to comprehend the honesty MM feels necessary to write about and let the whole world know how he "felt like a bum", writing about the depths of his disparity and breakaway from the family. It doesn't sound showbiz but can only gain him more respect from esteemed critics and the wider music audience alike.

Of course, being an Em album it isn't all doom and gloom tales with "Mosh" a highly charged assault on Bush's invasion of Iraq. Again, if close attention is paid to the lyrics and it is judged on merit alone and not on past pre-conceptions, a whole another cross section of music lovers could perhaps relate to this "father who has grown up with a fatherless past" who is all too quick to point out to the world that those who don't know about him, don't ask. It is another achievement showing just how far the rapper's come from spawning off rebellion that had him ostracized by church movements the length and breadth of the Deep South. There's nothing one dimensional about Encore either, the popular (and also catchy) "Ass Like That" might be a little harder to take seriously but is a very humorous and light hearted track played out in the rapper's distinctive un-politically correct trademark.

Be sure to look beyond the tracks that have made the airwaves, because to coin an old phrase, there's real strength in depth. By no means is Encore an innocent take on things; there's little more explicit that Em has written than in Rain Man, a graphic portrayal on homosexuality. Deservedly, it's received good press and is well worth a listen even if you're undecided in opinion on perhaps the current, largest hip-hop figure in the West.

Unexpectedly phenomenal.