12/11/2022 0 Comments The marshall mathers lp 2“Monster” (with Rihanna) and “Rap God” ponder the possibility of listeners (who are as broken and alienated as Eminem is) somehow finding hope in his angry lyrics. “Stronger That I Was” offers more vulnerability as he laments his broken relationship with Kim Scott, to whom he’s been married to and divorced from twice: “I’d rather die than you not be by my side.” “Legacy” and “Brainless” detail Eminem’s violent abuse at the hands of bullies while growing up, describing how he found escape and solace in writing raps as a teen. “My mom probably got it the worst/The brunt of it/ … Did I take it too far?/ … But regardless I don’t hate you, ’cause Ma/You’re still beautiful to me, ’cause you’re my mom.” Eminem mentions his recognition of her deteriorating mental state, his lament that their ongoing relational estrangement means she’s not involved in her granddaughters’ lives, and that his brother, Nate, was taken from her by Social Services. “Headlights” (where he’s joined by fun.’s Nate Ruess) finds him apologizing to her and telling her how much he loves her. “So, yeah, Dad, let’s walk,” he raps on “Rhyme or Reason,” “Let’s have us a father and son talk/But I bet we probably wouldn’t get one block/Without me knocking your block off/This is all your fault/Maybe that’s why I’m so bananas.”Įqually illuminating and though-provoking is Eminem’s ragged relationship with his alcoholic, mentally ill mother. There is no apology, though, no concession just a considered, virtuoso application of talent.Eminem mentions the fact that his father abandoned their family, the after-effects of which still seem profoundly and tragically present. The jokes, in places offensive, are relentless and ribald. His flows are exceptional (Rap God contains an unbelievable feat of double-time rhyming) and the wordplay dazzling. There is confidence and maturity here introspection and regret are balanced with a clear idea of his place in rap's history. Not necessarily because it's full of hits – though Rap God, Survival, Rhyme or Reason and Love Game all could be – but because Eminem has engaged with his age and others' scepticism, decided he doesn't give a fuck and asserted himself again. Who needs a 41-year-old spitting another revenge fantasy about his mother over plangent piano? With this sequel to his blockbuster third album, however, the rapper has created a work that bears comparison. W hat's the point of Eminem in middle age? He was a peroxide phenomenon in his 20s, an icon of adolescent posturing, the go-to guy for Christina Aguilera insults and casual homophobia, but in 2013, rap is trap and money and molly.
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