After nearly five years since his last album, Eminem returns with his highly anticipated fifth disc “Relapse.”
When “Encore” was released in 2004, many believed it was a wave goodbye to a brilliant music career by Eminem. Hence the title that serves as a metaphor of falling back into his sick, demented (and sober) alter ego: Slim Shady.
The 20-track album mainly consists of Dr. Dre production, which to the ears is a wonderful thing. The California-based Dre proves on “Relapse” that he is still the best producer in the game. For the most part, Marshall Mathers follows his personalized formula for an entertaining disc. After opening “Relapse” with the twisted murder anthem “3 a.m.” Eminem jumps into a brass-heavy track titled “My Mom.”
“Wait a minute, this ain’t dinner this is paint thinner/’you ate it yesterday I ain’t hear no complaints did I?/Now here’s a plate full of pain killers, now just wait ‘till I/crush the valium and put it in your potatoes.'”
If listeners haven’t heard, Eminem had a rough childhood and he isn’t afraid to rhyme about it. A dependency on sleeping pills landed the emcee a tour in a drug rehabilitation center during his time away from the mic.
The album leads through a general Eminem compilation with songs about drugs, sex, murder and-not surprisingly-Christopher Reeves.
“Now everybody’s pissed at me/like it’s my fault his name rhymes with so many different words/jeez.”
The methodical banging beat produced by Dr. Dre on “Must Be the Ganja” carries Eminem as he donates verses that only he could rummage through.
“You know how that go, skull and crossbones/this is poison to boys and girls who do not know/you do not wanna try this at home my little vato/this is neither the time nor the place to get macho.”
Guest appearances consist of two Dre verses and a lazy 50 Cent performance on “Crack a Bottle.”
The new LP isn’t on the same level as “The Marshall Mathers LP,” but it’s much better than “Encore.” Like many great albums, the beauty won’t be fully appreciated until three full cycles of listening is done.
Lyrically, Eminem will go down as one of the greatest of all-time. His triple-rhyme schemes along with a plethora of flows easily place him among the genre’s elite. Although the content of his lyrics might be getting a bit tiresome, Slim Shady still brings cleverness and humility that rarely ever gets brought.