Intro
Artist Eminem
Album Kamikaze
Listen:
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Spotify
Tidal
Album Background(done by /u/Nonstopas)
A hip-hop icon who started off as an underground battle rapper in Detroit, Marshall "Eminem" Mathers has developed a career full of contradictions, wild swings, and some of the most noteworthy raps in the history of the genre. Eminem, for a while was the hip-hop anti-hero. Hated and loved by many for his violent, dark and humorous lyrics and a "I don't give a fuck" mentality. Eminem has broken countless barriers, shifted and impacted the culture in many ways. Eminem can arguably be considered as the face of mainstream hip hop and pop rap. In 2017 after a 4 year hiatus, Eminem released his long anticipated 9th studio album, Revival. However the official tracklist pretty much killed all the possible anticipation, with it's lack of rap features and songs filled with pop singers. Everything that the people hated the most about his recent output was out in the open and discussed about. It didn't take long enough for people to form an opinion about the album, and even though there's a saying "don't judge a book by it's cover" Revival was as bad as people thought it would be. The album received the most negative reviews out of any Eminem's studio albums ever. It was arguably considered as the worst album he has ever released in his entire career. Revival was followed by the Chloraseptic Remix featuring 2 Chainz who was originally featured on the song and a different verse from Eminem and PHresher, which was a step in the right direction, it also left hardcore fans and admirers waiting for more. His future features: Caterpillar and Majesty did not disappoint. That leads us to the surprise drop of Kamikaze, 9 months after Revival. In some way, this album's roll out has marked an era, where Eminem is at one of the most active points in his career since his post-Encore hiatus. We had a few features and 2 albums, all in the span of 12 months, however is the album better than it's predecessor?
Album Review(by /u/Nonstopas)
Kamikaze is Eminem putting all his cards on the table and going all in. He doesn't care about the outcome. He is risking his fame, legacy, reputation and "life" in the same vein as a Kamikaze pilot. Over the years we had a glimpse of what Eminem can do with good production and when he has story to tell or a clear subject matter. It was never a doubt that he can still release a good song, however it was doubted if Eminem can ever release a consistent project after a long streak of hit or miss/mediocre albums. With that being said, "Kamikaze" doesn't feel like an album. It feels more like a mixtape than anything else. Beginning with the the tracklist, which is much shorter than what we had in the past years or even his entire career. And there is almost no consistent theme in the album, apart from the disses, insults and his replies to the Revival hate.
In 2018, there is nothing really much left to say. Marshal Matthers has went trough every peak and valley there is. He went from being an underground battle rapper to becoming the worlds biggest hiphop superstar that manage to out-sell any of his competition to this day. Eminem had people threatening his life. He had politicians voting to ban and censor his music. He went on a trial for a gun possession. He had beefs with not 1, not 2, but with 3 presidents (Bush, Clinton, Trump) He reached the highest peak there is. But the fall was long and painful. He lost his best friend, he lost his skills as an MC, he battled addictions, overdosed, but no matter that he still managed to rise again and re-learn how to rap and also to release 6 more projects since 2009. He has discussed almost every single topic there is, there are almost no questions left to ask, except for the most popular one. Does he still got it?
In terms of lyrical content this album is full of heavy hitting-bars that might slip by your ears unnoticed, when first listening to the project. It is almost impossible to fully digest what is being said in just one listen. This lyrical style has been almost perfected by Eminem over the years, which got a fair share of hate, especially when it comes to serial-killer bars and corny punchlines, that have been recurrent in every single album that Em has ever released. We can agree that the continent of his raps has been dumbed down in favour of more internal rhyme schemes and a play on sounds, which in this day and age of hip-hop music is not really popular or as exciting anymore. Eminem is still doing a great job as far as hip hop purists go. He rarely uses one flow in a song anymore, he rather keeps switching his flows based on the subject matter, even sometimes his flows are linked to a specific mention or shout out, for example in The Ringer Eminem uses Gucci Gang's flow as a parody version of the song and also to explain how he does not like the rap that is being put out these days. From a 46 year old rap legends stand point all of these claims and hate towards the new generation makes sense, however it does feel more biased rather than acceptable. Eminem favors lyricism over melody, yes that is true, however does it really have to be the only way to possible survive in this era? By being the "RAP GOD/RAP HERO" for people who want lyrical myrical rap? I would say that one of the biggest problems that Eminem has is his failure to adapt to the current times, and even if he tried to go over a Metro Boomin beat, it would still feel as if it's the same as anything else he put out. Eminem does what Eminem did the best and that is Rapping. It is clear that there aren't many people out there on the same level as Em is when it comes to putting out a great rap, however the genre has transcended itself far enough for it to be considered as bad by the current generation of rap listeners.
Track By Track Review
The Ringer
The intro track is one of the fiercest tracks Eminem has released in his career. In this song, Eminem debunks the myth that he is unaware of the criticism and reception that he received online, also the fact that he is unreachable by any stones thrown at him. He addresses many rappers personally, explaining his take on the current hip hop culture which he doesn't seem to be a fan of, and how he hates the critics who "don't understand" his music. Marshall states that the industry hates him because he has been on top for so long.
I'm fed up with bein' humble
And rumor is I'm hungry, I'm sure you heard bumblings
I heard you wanna rumble like an empty stomach
I heard your mumblin' but it's jumbled in mumbo-jumbo
The era that I'm from will pummel you, that's what it's comin' to
What the fuck you're gonna do when you run into it?
I'm gonna crumble you and I'll take a number two
And dump on you, if you ain't Joyner
If you ain't Kendrick or Cole or Sean then you're a goner
I'm 'bout to bring it to anyone in this bitch who want it
Eminem also mentions Charlamagne again in the same song, which was overlooked by some people, in the line:
"Aw, man! That BET cypher was weak, it was garbage
The Thing ain't even orange—oh my God, that's a reach!"
Shout to all my colorblind people
Each and everyone of y'all, if you call a fire engine green
Aquamarine, or you think water is pink
"Dawg, that's a date." "Looks like an olive to me."
"Look, there's an apple!" "No, it's not, it's a peach!"
This is a diss aimed at radio personality Charlamagne tha God who criticized Em's 2017 BET Cypher. On his podcast The Brilliant Idiots with Andrew Schultz, Charlamagne argued that: you know why Eminem didn't have no beat? cos he couldn't say that shit over no beat because it wasn't even rhyming…it wasn't even put together well it was like, there was some reaches in there One of the other criticisms leveled at Em's lyrics were that they sometimes bordered on the trivial and weren't exactly accurate. For example, on the cypher Em rapped:
Racism's the only thing he's fantastic for
'Cause that's how he gets his fuckin' rocks off and he's orange Yeah, sick tan
Charlamagne criticized this line on his end of year podcast with Joe Budden claiming: it's such a fuckin' reach. First of all, The Thing ain't even orange. I'm a comic book fan. The thing in the comic books ain't even orange it's like a yellowish, beige color. Eminem is very much aware, and he's out there, listening to what the people have to say about him.
Greatest
Second track is a display of Eminem's ability of multi-syllable rhyming, fast punching flow and wordplay, while at the same time going at the mumble rappers and their styles, which is an ongoing theme throughout the album. Eminem responds to Die Antwoord's anger that Eminem mispronounced their name after the song Untouchable from the album Revival was released. This song is also notable for the fact that it's a play on Kendrick Lamar's HUMBLE:
Revival didn't go viral!
Denaun and Royce tell me that I should take the high road
Lucky You
The third song is featuring Joyner Lucas, produced by Boi-1da and IllaDaProducer. This is the first collaboration between these two artist, who compliment each other with their similar lyrical styles. This song can be notable for the fact that Em's and Joyner's verses are completely the opposite, in the same vein as "I'm Not Racist" which Eminem pointed out as being a big fan of. Eminem states his accomplishments, records and achievement but at the same time responding to the the critics and haters who are saying Em has fell off, while Joyner is addressing the fact that he wants trophies and want's to make it but never had the chance to do so. The whole sequence of tongue twisting rap is one of my favorite parts of the album:
But I think it's inevitable
They know what button to press or what lever to pull
To get me to snap though
And if I pay it attention I'm probably makin' it bigger
But you've been takin' ya dicks in the fuckin' back,
On the brink, any minute got me thinkin' of finishin'
Everything with acetaminophen and reapin' the benefits
I'm asleep at the wheel again
As I peak into thinkin' about an evil intent
Of another beat I'ma kill again
'Cause even if I gotta end up eatin' a pill again
Even ketamine or methamphetamine with the minithin
It better be at least 70 or 300 milligram
And I might as well 'cause I'ma end up bein' a villain again
Levels to this shit, I got an elevator
You could never say to me I'm not a fuckin' record breaker
I sound like a broken record every time I break a record
Nobody could ever take away the legacy I made, I never cater
Motherfucker, now I got a right to be this way
I got spite inside my DNA
But I wrote 'til the wheels fall off, I'm workin' tirelessly, ayy
It's the moment y'all been waitin' for
Like California wishin' rain would pour
In that drought, y'all been prayin' for
My downfall from the 8 Mile to the Southpaw
Still the same Marshall, that outlaw
That they say as a writer might've fell off
I'm back on that bull like the cowboys
From album reviewers, such as Fantano, Eminem has received many negative reviews and reception, especially about calling out Tyler with gay-slurs, which was actually just him quoting Tyler himself, as we all know Tyler loves using the word Fag as freely as Em does. Also and calling out critics and the media was a big part of his disses. However, those "critics/reviewers" that Eminem calls out in his disses have a history of racial bias not just against white rappers; for example Charlemagne and Lord Jamar, harassment by proxy, claiming to be authorities on the culture while not being artists themselves (Charlemagne and Lord Jamar again) or in the case of Joe Budden claiming to be superior rappers when compared to others without backing up their claims, which in Joe's case happened again with CyHi. He also calls out new rappers for disrespecting OG's, not settling beefs on their own and/or ripping off styles without giving credit. Basically, it's important because he's calling out a dangerous trend of 'posing' and mimicry that's been rife in the community, which not only stifles industrial creativity but also drains authenticity from the art, which is huge part of any rap aesthetic.
Paul (skit)
Fourth song is a the Paul (Skit) which is a homage to all the times Eminem's albums had a Paul skit, SSLP, MMLP,TES Encore, Devil's Night and Relapse. Paul here responds to the idea of the album Kamikaze, where he lashes off to people who didn't like Revival. Paul's point is that it is indeed a slippery slope, because a lot of people won't like Kamikaze regardless how good or bad it is, therefore there should be another Kamikaze 2 album which responds to all the Kamikaze 1 haters. My problem with Paul is that he has been a part of Em's decision process so long, that Em probably doesn't even select most of his beats or features, it is all done by Paul. Paul could be the reason why a lot of Em's albums lacked good beats and good features.
Normal
Fifth song is a love ballad, much like Love The Way You Lie, Spend Some Time, Tragic Endings or Revenge. However I appreciate this song a lot more than any of those, because It does not sound the same poppy – rappity rap song that he has been doing for almost a decade now. Quite a few hiphop reviewers agreed that this is Em on some "Drake type of shit|, and it kind of works. There's not much to discuss about this song, since it is setup as a story where Eminem want's a Normal relationship like everyone else.
I just want you to be normal
Why can't you bitches be normal?
Always gotta be so extra
Like a fuckin' terrestrial
Guess it comes with the territory
My ex girl, she just declared war
Therefore, I better prepare for it
I guess bein' weird's normal?"
Em Calls Paul
Sixth song is Eminem's response to Paul skit that was the track four. Eminem here says that "No, I don't plan to reply to everybody who fuckin' says something(…) Like, you don't understand I'm rhyming the entire fuckin' sentence you fuckin' moron It's my fault 'cause you're fuckin' stupid. But I swear to God this motherfucker lives in Michigan and I think I figured out his address. And I'm on my way to his fuckin' house right now" The rhyme in question is from the song Believe, which uses a rhyme scheme where Em is rhyming the whole sentence. Em's take on this is that the guy was too stupid to get it. My take on this is that Em dedicates too much time on his rhyming and putting as much complicated shit together, that he doesn't understand what the fans actually want. Which is effortless MMLP-esque bars and flows.
Stepping Stone
Track seven is the emotional D12 homage track Stepping Stone It's the latest track in the series of apologising to anyone that he has done wrong for, from his mother on "Headlights", to wife on "Bad Husband". Everyone knows that the reason why D12 got so huge is the same as why G-Unit was huge. They were the supporting acts behind the main player who managed to blow up. D12's two albums debuted and number one, with millions of copies sold which in no way would ever happen if Eminem wasn't there.
I'ma wash away my sins
I'ma rinse away this dirt
I forgot to make amends
To all the friends I may have hurt
I better stop and say my grace
From it I pray that I don't fall
'Cause on the way back down I may
End up runnin' back into them all
I never meant to use you all as my stepping stones
Eminem apologises to D12 for using them as a mean to progress further in his career and that he could have done a lot more by boosting their solo careers, with features and acts they otherwise wouldn't have managed to get. This song also marks the official end of D12. The fans knew all along that there will never be another full length D12 project, however this was for everyone who had any hopes up.
Not Alike
Track eight is a Bad Meets Evil track. The beat of the track instantly felt like a rip of off Look Alive, a hit song by Blockboy JB featuring Drake, produced by Tay Keith. The reason might be the signature drum pattern by Tay Keith, or maybe it was indeed meant to be similar to Look Alive. The song is featuring Royce Da 5"9 which is the second time we have a chance to hear Bad Meets Evil duet together this year, and they do show us that this duo can outrap anyone. At this point in their careers both Marshal and Royce have a perfect chemistry. They sound great together on pretty much any track, and Royce does indeed bring out the best out of Slim. This track is notable because of the following verse:
This little cock-sucker, he must be feelin' himself
He wants to keep up his tough demeanor
So he does a feature, decides to team up with Nina
But next time you don't gotta use Tech N9ne
If you wanna come at me with a sub, Machine Gun
And I'm talkin' to you
But you already know who the fuck you are, Kelly
I don't use sublims and sure as fuck don't sneak-diss
But keep commenting on my daughter Hailie
I keep on telling motherfuckers
But just in case you forgot really and need Ja memories
Jarred like strawberry or pineapple, apricot jelly
I respond rarely, but this time Shady 'bout to sound off
Like a fuckin' cocked semi-Glock demi-god
Let me put a fuckin' silencer on this little
Non-threatening blond fairy cornball takin' shots at me
You're not ready, fool, break yourself like Rocksteady Crew
Obviously, I'm not gettin' through
We can get it poppin' like Redenbach, lettin' off like Remy Ma
Heavy artillery, Godzilla, harsh with a hard shell
With a motherfucking heart bigger than Bizarre's belly
Only time you'll ever say I lost
You'll be talkin' 'bout Fetty Wap, better call Diddy
Just to try to get me off, and you better hope I don't call Trick Trick
Bitch, this shit don't fly in our city
Punk, you don't disrespect OGs, R.I.P. Prodigy
The whole song started the beef between Machine Gun Kelly and Eminem. MGK responded to Not Alike by releasing Rap Devil, which got a response from Eminem with the song Killshot. Even though the beef is quite important in this timeline I wont review or talk about it since it does deserve a completely separate post, of which we already had plenty of. One funny thing about this is that both this track and the response track was produced by Ronny J. Kamikaze Track nine, is Kamikaze. The song is pretty much the one that focuses on Revivals negative reception the most. Revival is sort of compared to Fack, a infamous song of off Eminem's Curtain Call:Greatest Hits album which is considered one of if not THE worst song he has ever released. Eminem is stating that he will crash into the industry like a Kamikaze killing himself and everyone with him, because he is tired of everyone who don't write their raps acting like they do. Em also addresses the commonly discussed theme on why he is the most selling rapper ever:
But if the only reason I blowed is 'cause I'm white though
Why don't every other white rapper sell what I sold?
Kamikaze pilot, I wrote my suicide note
Here come the guys in white coats tryin' to stop me
'Fore I jump behind the controls and try to fly into foes
'Cause I'm takin' y'all with me when I go cyclone
I don't think this typhoon's lettin' up any time soon, here I go
Second part of the song is also quite interesting and reminds me of Bad Guy outro. The verse was mistaken for a Drake diss, which was cleared up by Paul himself after it aired to the public, that this is not a Drake diss.
You got some views, but you're still below me
Mine are higher, so when you compare our views, you get overlooked
And I don't say the hook unless I wrote the hook
And now I'm just freestylin' in the vocal booth
And you know I've always spoke the truth
Fall
Track number is regarded as by far the best track on the album with The Ringer being a close contender, which also gained a lot of negative media reception for it's lyrical content. Produced by Mike Will MadeIt, featuring Justin Vernon of Bon Iver vocals. Justin's vocals is one of the reason why this song sounds so great, sadly Justin was not happy with the homophobic slurs used in the song, he wanted to be off of it. Lucky for use he still remains on the song, and we even got a cool video out of it, which features Slim Shady being reabsorbed by Eminem, after he is tired of running. The song itself is a giant FUCK YOU to the critics and haters, especially Joe Budden, whom called Untouchable from Revival trash and the worst song he has ever heard. This sparked a lot of conversations between the media, on how Joe is un-loyal to Eminem, and then we got a bit more drama coming out of it, on why Slaughterhouse failed and so on. However, the main reason why this song was discussed wasn't Joe, it was Tyler.
Maybe I just don't know when to turn around and walk away
But all the hate, I call it "Walk on Water" gate
I've had as much as I can tolerate
I'm sick and tired of waitin', I done lost my patience
I can take all of you motherfuckers on at once
You wanted Shady? You got him!
Em accepts the fact that he can't give up on the rap game and retire, no matter how much hate he receives, and that hate actually fuels him and he lost any patience and control over himself, that's why he calls out everyone, like the old Slim Shady days.
Somebody tell Budden before I snap, he better fasten it
Or have his body bag get zipped
The closest thing he's had to hits is smackin' bitches (Pump it up!)
And don't make me have to give it back to Akademiks
Say this shit is trash again, I'll have you twisted
Like you had it when you thought you had me slippin' at the telly
Even when I'm gettin' brain, you'll never catch me with a thot
These lines confirm that Em was indeed referring to Budden on Chloraseptic Remix. Also notice that Budden is a homophone of "button", which continues into the clothing related wordplay with "Snap", "fasten" and "zip."
My attack is vicious, Jack the Ripper, back in business
Tyler create nothin', I see why you called yourself a [faggot], bitch
It's not just 'cause you lack attention
It's because you worship D12's balls, you're sack-religious
If you're gonna critique me
You better at least be as good or better
Get Earl the Hooded Sweater
Whatever his name is to help you put together
Some words, more than just two letters
The fans waited for this moment like that feature
When I stole the show (ha), sorry if I took forever
The following bars were very discussed among people especially on this sub. There are a few reasons why Eminem decided to diss Tyler The Creator. In the beginning Tyler addressed Eminem as being an inspiration to him, how much he loved Relapse and the song Wide Awake. Eminem later on took Tyler and Earl on a tour together, where they hanged out and everything was fine. In 2013 Eminem shouts Tyler out on the song Wicked Ways "I'm a combination of Skylar Grey, Tyler the Creator, and Violent J" Upon the release of Revival, Tyler tweeted that Walk on Water is complete trash, and that he hates Revival. Therefore backstabbing the guy who took him under his wing in the early days. On the Kamikaze interview Eminem apologised for the line and said that it is something he kept coming back to, and he felt that he went too far, and that he insulted not only Tyler, but the whole community.
Nice Guy
Eleventh track of the album is the return to pop-rap, however this time it sounds a lot better from what we had on Revival. The song features an up and coming R&B Artist Jessie Reyez, who laid the vocals to the hook and two verses. The story of the song is another song about relationship and how Eminem gets caught in them, being the nice guy he is and always suffering from the loved one.
Good Guy
Twelfth track is a continuation of the track Nice Guy, featuring the same artist. This track is about how confusing relationships can be turned into good ones. These two tracks are the weakest point of the project and I feel like they are completely unnecesarry and I have no idea why they were included in an album like this. The Track Normal and later discussed track Venom belong on it a lot more than these two. Regardless of that it's a glimpse of what could happen when a contemproray R&B artist teams up with Eminem, and the song would probably fit more on Revival or even MMLP2, with the song Bad Guy.
Conlusion
Regardless the fact that Kamikaze is a step in the right direction, Eminem still falls short of achieving anything remotely close to his best works like SSLP, MMLP and TES. It is stated in his songs, numerous of times that he is being compared to no one else but his old self, and that is true to an extent. In recent years we have had examples of artist who are long way into their careers drop incredible quality albums. Artists such as Jay Z, Nas, Rick Ross, Lupe Fiasco, several Wu-Tang Clan members and even Em's best friend, Royce Da 5"9. Eminem fails to understand what the people actually want from, however there is no one concrete answer to this either. He fails to satisfy the new generation of hip-hop fans, or fans who are of a different decent and this is one of the biggest reasons why Em is both one of the most loved and hated rappers in this current age. There aren't a lot of legends who's legacy and their best efforts are disregarded because of their latest releases, but Eminem is one of them. In the end, Eminem isn't really fighting himself. He is fighting the new generation of hiphop, and he is losing the fight by falling to adapt to the new sounds and melodies. His rhyming/flowing/methaphoric skills will forever be regarded top-notch, and as an MC, Eminem will also hold a spot with the best rappers who ever lived. At this point no one is arguing if Eminem can rap, he can do it better than anyone, however the ability to release a consistent and musically great album might be lost, as he is nowhere near as hungry as he was when The Marshall Mathers LP came out in the 2000s, but he still has some fire left inside him.
Thank you for reading my review.
What are your thoughts on the album?
Has your opinion changed after a few months since it's release?
Is this the Eminem we should expect on his next album?
Do you really think MGK had a good shot at Em?
Is Kamikaze a show off that Eminem can still do good music?
