The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

Eminem holds down mom’s spaghetti after new album, ‘Marshall Mathers LP 2,’ release

By Eric Rotteveel
Staff Writer

The newest album from Eminem, the highly-anticipated “Marshall Mathers LP2”, was released Nov. 5, 2013.

The album comes as a sequel to the critically-acclaimed and Grammy winner 2001 album “The Marshall Mathers LP”, which included legendary songs such as “Stan,” “The Way I Am,” and “The Real Slim Shady.” With the success of the original LP, high expectations were placed on the 41-year-old rapper to recapture the brilliance 13 years later.

The album started out with a bang after the release of the metal-rap single “Berzerk”, in which Eminem brought back the 80’s rap style of the Beastie Boys, and paid tribute to old-school hip-hop. The initial reaction to the song was mixed, but many listeners came to appreciate the wit and boldness of the track the more times they had listened to it.

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“At the beginning I wasn’t into the song,” said 9th grader and Eminem fan Eddie Parry. “However, after I listened to it a few times the chorus began to be catchy and I learned to like it.”

After the release of “Berzerk,” “Rap God,” hit the airwaves and perhaps may be the most impressive track on the album. Eminem declared his immortal status and brought back the alter-ego “Slim Shady” in a six-minute whirlwind that included 97 words in a 15 second span. The rapper undoubtedly lived up to the declaration with his jaw-dropping lyrical mastery and technical perfection that made up for a rather boring tune and lack of a chorus.

“The song was long, but it wasn’t repetitive, and I thought every verse was good,” freshman Tommy Edwards said.

In his last single to be released prior to the full album, Eminem once again teamed up with pop star Rihanna in the chart-topping hit “The Monster.” The duo did more than renewed the magic of the 2010 hit “Love the Way You Lie” with a catchy tune that has dominated iTunes and has already been well overplayed on the radio. In this song, Eminem refers to fame as ‘the monster’ and explains how he is still not comfortable dealing with it after all of these years.

The last single released before the Nov. 5 release date called “Survival,” which was the lead song on the new video game Call of Duty: Ghosts, was also at the top of the charts. As a whole, the singles that were released before the full album were successful and all sold well. The rest of the album, however, was more of a mixed bag.

The biggest disappointment on the album was Eminem’s team up with the surging Kendrick Lamar in “Love Game.” In a Nov. 6, 2013 article by Craig Jenkins on pitchfork.com, the song was described as “Eminem dragging his biggest competitor Kendrick into one of the worst songs of his young career.” It was also a surprise to many fans that Lamar was the only rapper to be featured in the entire album.

Two of the most interesting songs on the album to listen to are “Bad Guy” and “Headlights.” “Bad Guy” is a sequel to the song “Stan,” only this time, it is Stan’s brother writing to Eminem. “Headlights” is an emotional song of Eminem apologizing to his mom and forgiving her for their troubled past and his tough childhood. It features Fun singer Nate Ruess who performs the chorus.

Overall, the album is a display of the shear lyrical talent of Eminem. However, it appears he has lost his edge and the ‘wow’ factor he used to present. Although he is a much different rapper today, and the original Marshall Mathers LP is a difficult standard to live up to, the name itself begs for comparison.

“Despite his lyrical and vocal dexterity, Eminem falls short in recreating the spirit of the first Marshall Mathers LP; the absurdity that, by his own admission, made him White America’s favorite public enemy is no longer convincing,” said Rawiya Kameir in the Nov. 5, 2013 article on thedailybeast.com. “Really, expecting the 41-year-old Eminem to channel his late 20’s self was an impossibly ambitious demand.”

Despite the tough comparison, in no way is Eminem’s new album a flop. In fact, it is on pace to be the second best-selling album of the year. Also, the songs “Berzerk,””Rap God,”“Survival” and “The Monster” have all cracked the billboard top 20.

There is no denying the talent that Eminem displays on this album, and it features everything that fans love about him.

“Everything he’s done best is here, from nourish murder fantasies with devilish twists to big-chorus pop songs with moments of great humor, anger, fear, self-reflection and verbal virtuosity impossible to untangle in just a few listens,” said Chris Talbott in a Nov. 16, 2013 article on kitsapsun.com.

It seems that even though his best days are behind him, Eminem is still one of the best artists out there. Now, can people expect a “Marshall Mathers LP3” in 2026? Well, it might be a stretch to say he’ll still be rapping by then, but as of now, he shows no sign of slowing down.

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Eminem holds down mom’s spaghetti after new album, ‘Marshall Mathers LP 2,’ release