Recovery
09:00PM ET June 20, 2010
Contributor: Hip Hop Blog Staff
A Rocky Williform Company
Rating:
2004's Encore seemed to reveal how Eminem had become pigeonholed by his 'Slim Shady' persona, a talented artist who didn't seem to realize he was rapidly becoming a caricature of his former self. That album was his first real artistic misstep, and the subsequent killing of his close friend, Proof and Em's descent into prescription pill addiction forced him into exile for five years before he resurfaced on the spotty-but-commercially-successful Relapse in 2009. The album did what it was supposed to, namely reinvigorate Marshall Mathers' career; but it wasn't as inspiring or consistent as his early-2000s masterworks.
Em's latest, Recovery looks to both sustain and expand on the resurrection of Relapse. Unfortunately, Em's shtick has worn thin and his ability to craft a stirring album seems to have completely abandoned him. As he's gotten older, and ever since his self-imposed exile, Em has not been able to skewer pop culture with the same knowing eye. He targets are either out-of-touch and lame (David Cook) or tacky and sad (Michael J. Fox.) The teenagers that loved his un-PC, devilishly-witty barbs in 1999-2000 are now a lot older--and so is Em. He tries to retread what made him the biggest star in rap ten years ago, but hearing psycho-raps about women ("Space Bound") come from a guy in his mid-30s is a little sad where it was once gripping. "Seduction" sounds like a tossed-off 50 Cent track; specifically, 2008 50 Cent--not 2004 50 Cent.
But Marshall Mathers is still capable of powerful introspection, and he hits the mark on "Going Through Changes," an epic deconstruction of his own psyche backed by a great Black Sabbath sample and "Talkin' 2 Myself" is Em laying bare all of his many insecurities. But high points are few and far between where they once were standard for the Detroit-born MC. Eminem may still have hits in him, and his albums may still sell, but he won't ever be able to truly recapture the attention and imagination of hip-hop fans and pop culture at large until he truly gets back to taking musical risks and retiring some of his tired, cliched routine. He's better than this.
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2004's Encore seemed to reveal how Eminem had become pigeonholed by his 'Slim Shady' persona, a talented artist who didn't seem to realize he was rapidly becoming a caricature of his former self. That album was his first real artistic misstep, and the subsequent killing of his close friend, Proof and Em's descent into prescription pill addiction forced him into exile for five years before he resurfaced on the spotty-but-commercially-successful Relapse in 2009. The album did what it was supposed to, namely reinvigorate Marshall Mathers' career; but it wasn't as inspiring or consistent as his early-2000s masterworks.
