Music Review: "The Marshall Mathers LP" by Eminem
To do the second music review of this blog, I asked my friend Gbay to give me an album, and he chose The Marshall Mathers LP, rapper Eminem's third studio album, released on May 23, 2000. Eminem is my all-time favourite musician, and The Marshall Mathers LP often gets called Eminem's best album. The point of this review will be to test if the claims of it being his best album are true and if it still holds up nowadays.
Cover Art
I will use the alternate cover art since it is the cover art used on Spotify, which I use to listen to music. Although possibly not as iconic as the main cover art, it is simpler and uses colours that rest easier on the eyes, instantly making me like it more. The point of The Marshall Mathers LP is its focus on Marshall "Eminem" Mathers as a person instead of simply a rapper. To enhance this idea, the cover art depicts Eminem in front of his childhood home. This can be interpreted in a few different ways, with my personal thoughts being it shows Eminem "guarding" the home.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Track Listing
Public Service Announcement 2000
Public Service Announcement 2000 features the uncredited Jeff Bass of the Bass Brothers, a duo that used to produce a lot of songs for Eminem. The Marshall Mathers LP begins with this skit, which is a sequel to a similar public service announcement skit delivered on the previous Eminem album, The Slim Shady LP. It sums up the attitude I love about Eminem, which is his absolute lack of a care for what anybody thinks of him and his music. Here, Eminem mocks critics who purchase his music simply to talk bad about it by telling him they have "kissed his ass" through Jeff Bass, although I believe it can also be Eminem mocking his fans and telling them in a tongue-in-cheek way that they got scammed. At the end, Eminem references his tumultuous legal issues with various people from childhood bully D'Angelo Bailey to his own mother Debbie Mathers, and the end also perfectly continues into the next track, Kill You. All in all, this skit perfectly summarises The Marshall Mathers LP and Eminem as a whole.
Overall Rating: None, as it is a skit/interlude
Kill You
Kill You is Eminem's diatribe against those who try to restrain and muzzle him, emphasising he will take his vengeance out on you even if you are a woman. Some of these people who he mentions going after him include his mother, Debbie Mathers; his ex-wife, Kim Mathers Scott; people who fear influence on school shooters; sensitive holier-than-thou figures; and critics in general. One stand-out moment in the song was Eminem fictionally raping his own mother, which was done alongside the mention of the Rolling Stone magazine to mock critics who cannot fathom how Eminem was revelling in such pop appeal despite his grotesque lyrics. Various literary techniques used here which were enjoyable included the call-and-response (the chorus), alliteration and onomatopoeia ("I invented violence, you vile venomous volatile vicious // Vain Vicodin, vrin, vrin, vrin"), assonance ("Blood, guts, guns, cuts // Knives, lives, wives, nuns, sluts"), and polyptoton ("You ain't got the balls to beef // We ain't gon' never stop beefin', I don't squash the beef"), with the last point also referencing rappers such as 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. engaging in rap feuds ("beefs") so intense, they spill real blood. The song's outro has Eminem playfully making it clear none of this is serious and all of it is just humorous lyricism.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Stan
Stan features Dido, a British singer whose song Thank You is sampled for this track's intro and chorus. Stan is considered by many to be Eminem's best song due to Eminem's amazing ability to write a story and the track's impact on pop culture to the point it is credited with coining the word "stan," meaning an obsessive member of a fanbase. Eminem intended for the song to be a message to fans who had written disturbing letters to Eminem and taking the lyrics of The Slim Shady LP's songs seriously. The epistolary track follows a fictional crazed Eminem fan named Stanley "Stan" Mitchell who grows more and more unhinged after each letter he writes to Eminem does not get responded to immediately due to Eminem being a busy superstar receiving thousands of other articles of fan mail.
At first, Stan writes a letter to Slim Shady (Eminem's fictional alter ego, showing Stan cannot differentiate between fact and fiction), mentioning previous letters he wrote which had all of Stan's contact information (showing his desperation) and sloppy handwriting (again showing Stan's mental decline). Stan continues the song's first verse by trying to connect to Eminem through asking about his daughter's well-being, as fatherhood is a topic men such as Eminem get very passionate about. Stan mentions he will soon have a child with his unmarried girlfriend, showing Stan's low economic status, as he cannot afford a wedding. Stan tells Eminem if the child is a girl, he will name her "Bonnie" (Eminem's beloved daughter Hailie Jade takes the role of "Bonnie" in The Slim Shady LP song '97 Bonnie & Clyde, with Stan's desire to name his own daughter after Eminem's daughter in an Eminem song showing his unhealthy obsession with Eminem). Stan's stalker mentality is demonstrated further when he mentions Ronald "Ronnie" Polkingharn, Eminem's maternal uncle who killed himself and was not mentioned by Eminem in any other song before, with Stan trying to relate to Eminem by mentioning his own friend who killed himself due to girl problems. Stan tactlessly changes the subject by once again telling Eminem he is his biggest fan, demonstrating this by mentioning 3hree6ix5ive, Any Man, and 5-Star Generals, obscure tracks Eminem did before going mainstream.
In the second verse, Stan starts growing bitter towards Eminem. He mentions an incident where Stan and his six-year old brother, a fellow Eminem fan named Matthew, waited hours in the freezing cold at a concert to get an autograph for Eminem just for Eminem to seemingly ignore him, when Eminem was actually trying to get away from the paparazzi. The psychotic Stan refers to attending an Eminem concert at Denver, Colorado as "meeting" him (an interesting detail is that this was based off an incident where a gay fan of Eminem tried to hug and kiss Eminem after begging him to let him go backstage at a Denver concert. Also, whenever Eminem performs Stan live, he replaces the mention of Denver with the name of whatever city he performs in) and says he can relate to Eminem by having a deadbeat father, failing to realise many men have deadbeat fathers rather than just Eminem and Stan. Stan says Eminem's music resonates with him emotionally, not knowing many other fans feel the same. Stan continues on by telling Eminem he got Eminem's name tattooed on his chest, showing how he is willing to permanently defile his body with another man's name. Stan even says he cuts himself to be like Eminem, even though Eminem's lyrics about self-harm are said fictionally through the Slim Shady alter ego. Stan says his girlfriend is jealous over his attention being more put into Eminem (although she is likely just concerned) and implies he is gay for Eminem.
The third verse follows Stan with his pregnant girlfriend tied up in the trunk of his car as he drives out onto a bridge and angrily yells at Eminem in a cassette tape while taking alcohol and drugs. Stan references the fictional Phil Collins song In The Air Tonight, which is supposedly about witnessing a drowning, taking the song as seriously as he takes Eminem's music. Stan makes a contradiction-cum-pleonasm to show how he wants Eminem's guilty conscience to eat him up at night. As soon as Stan realises you cannot mail a cassette tape from a riverbed, he crashes into the water and drowns him and the family that could have been.
In the fourth verse, Eminem writes a letter to Stan. He admires Stan's love for his music and apologises for not writing back to him earlier, but then tells Stan to go find professional help for things such as self-harm and delusional romantic fantasies. Eminem tells Stan not to end up like a guy on the news who drunkenly crashed off a bridge with his girlfriend before realising he is writing to that same guy.
Stan is an extremely impressive record. Eminem manages to delve into the decay of a fan's sanity in such a cinematic way while managing to pull off impressive rhymes left and right, warning any fans who attempt to make this story real. This certainly is the best story writing ever seen in Eminem's discography, alongside its sequel, Bad Guy, found many albums later.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Paul - Skit
Paul - Skit features Eminem's talent manager and lawyer, Paul Rosenberg. Just like Public Service Announcement 2000, this is a skit that continues from similar skits found on The Slim Shady LP. It is short and simple, with Rosenberg understanding how telling Eminem to "tone down" The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem's most controversial album, will not help in any way, giving up on trying to restrain Eminem. This maintains the image of Eminem as being uncontainable.
Overall Rating: None, as it is a skit/interlude
Who Knew
Here, Eminem taunts people thinking he will influence children into violence, making it clear he does not even know the names of his teenage fanboys, let alone if it is possible they become violent. Eminem says people should lighten up and stop interpreting light comedic jabs at people as homophobia, misogyny, and violence, and that freedom of expression applies to music, too. He also criticises the media for prioritising scaremongering over rap music to American politicians being involved in sex scandals or action movies that are as violent as hip hop, and declares music as having no colour, responding to those who claim he is "whitewashing Black music."
This song is amazing like the rest of the album, although it appears a bit basic at times. However, this is made for in flow and message.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Steve Berman
Steve Berman features Steve Berman, the President of Sales and Marketing at Interscope Records. This is a skit serving the same purpose as Paul - Skit, with Berman trying to tell Eminem to quit being so controversial so Interscope Records can make some decent first week sales (ironically, this album would sell more than a million records in the first week).
Steve Berman drags on for a bit too long, but is still a decent skit otherwise.
Overall Rating: None, as it is a skit/interlude
The Way I Am
The Way I Am is Eminem's iconic tirade against many things annoying him. One of these pests is the media, which went around talking about Eminem through The Slim Shady LP's homophobic and misogynistic lyrics, his strained relationship with pop star Christina Aguilara, and his numerous lawsuits. Another thing he rants about in this song is his fanbase, which keeps harassing him in public and giving him attention he never wanted. Other things he insults include his deadbeat father, his legal issues, censorship of records of his such as Guilty Conscience, school shooting alarmists, accusations of whitewashing Black art, the superficially moral, the radio and Howard Stern.
Eminem's anger can be easily felt in this record, and it manifests beautifully. The rhyme schemes are also mind-blowing in this track, with his lyrical genius being demonstrated yet again, and the flow is quite smooth despite bearing such a harsh, enraged voice.
Overall Rating: 10/10
The Real Slim Shady
Possibly Eminem's most memorable song, The Real Slim Shady is Eminem's highly commercially successful single that went from making him a pop culture king to a pop culture legend, even though it disses many pop stars and pop culture in general. It is highly humorous and has many mind-bending rhymes. Eminem taunts his critics, feminists, self-righteous parents, censorship, MTV, and even homophobes. Eminem here starts his infamous rivalries with figures such as Limp Bizkit, Britney Spears, *NSYNC, Will Smith, and Christina Aguilara. Eminem makes it clear he does not care about the Grammy awards, ironically later on becoming one of the rappers to win the most Grammys. At the end, Eminem understands how many copycats will take his style.
This is an excellent track, but its lyrics can appear basic at times, which the catchiness makes up for.
Remember Me?
Remember Me? features RBX, Sticky Fingaz of famous hip hop group Onyx, and the uncredited Dr. Dre. Remember Me? is very hardcore, with aggression clear in the rappers' voices. All the rappers kill their parts, utilising clever lines such as "'Cause I grab the mic and get down like syndrome." Tragedies such as gang shootings, the Columbine school shooting, and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are used to illustrate the performers' violent lyricism.
Eminem dominates with his magnificent rhyming to the point I cannot give this a full 10/10, as the other artists here do not live up to this expectation in the record despite still performing well.
Overall Rating: 9/10
I'm Back
One of my personal favourite Eminem songs, I'm Back hooks the listener in with a wonderful beat. Here, Eminem fully embraces his violent Slim Shady persona as he rhymes well in an outstanding flow. Eminem makes it clear even bullets will not stop him from lyrically ripping apart everyone regardless of age, gender, or sexuality. Eminem talks about his white skin increasing his mass appeal, his detest of said mass appeal, his influence on children, and his controversial lyrics. As usual, Eminem impressively rhymes line after line while ripping into the same kind of pop stars Eminem would become. Even the most questionable part of I'm Back ("I'm sorry, Puff, but I don't give a fuck // If this chick was my own mother, I'd still fuck her with no rubber // And cum inside her and have a new son and a new brother // At the same time and just say that it ain't - what's my name?").
This song is absolutely catchy, especially due to the flows and beat used. Although not necessarily the "best," which is what I rate tracks by, it is my favourite.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Marshall Mathers
With Eminem again stripping himself of an alias to go into himself as a person, he uses Marshall Mathers to express his anger of going from an unknown man unwanted by his own family to having everyone come up to him after he blew up in fame, demanding money and lawsuits. He also insults "cheap imitations" profiting off rappers such as 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G., both of whom were assassinated in separate shootings. Eminem uses astounding rhyme schemes to describe his newfound wealth, controversies, and hatred of pop culture, with him going off on the perceived lack of masculinity of male pop singers. *NSYNC, Britney Spears, New Kids on the Block, Vanilla Ice, Diddy, the Insane Clown Posse, Eminem's mother, other estranged members of the Mathers family, the XXL magazine, groupies, pop materialism, and people thinking Eminem "sold out" to the mainstream all get attacked with homophobic and misogynistic lyricism, with the Insane Clown Posse facing the brunt of homophobic slurs. Debbie Mathers is accused of suing Eminem for wanting as much money as she does drugs and insulted for marrying and divorcing so much, with her lawyer, Fred Gibson, being called a homophobic slur and accused of helping Debbie sue Eminem out of frustration of Eminem not having sex with Gibson, although Gibson's name is censored for legal reasons.
I very much appreciated the rhyming and frustration present in this track, although I did not particularly enjoy the chorus or the instrumental. Regardless, it is still an outstanding song.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Ken Kaniff - Skit
Ken Kaniff - Skit is a skit where Eminem plays Ken Kaniff, a fictional gay pedophile from Connecticut who was voiced by rapper Aristotle on The Slim Shady LP before beef led to Eminem voicing Ken Kaniff in this album and all future albums featuring the character; and fictional depictions of Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J, real-life rappers who make up the horrorcore duo known as the Insane Clown Posse. Ken Kaniff is receiving fellatio from the Insane Clown Posse as a piano plays, with the piano cutting and Kaniff angrily leaving once Shaggy 2 Dope reveals he was fantasising about giving a blowjob to Eminem.
To say this skit is not for the squeamish is a vast understatement, as this skit is essentially just audio gay porn. As a result, while I do enjoy the general shock humour used here to diss the Insane Clown Posse, it is by far one of the easiest skips on an album for me.
Overall Rating: None, as it is a skit/interlude
Drug Ballad
Drug Ballad features the uncredited Dina Rae. As the title says, this is Eminem's rhyme-filled love song to addictive substances. Eminem details his relationship with alcohol and drugs, doing so with such an astounding flow, particularly in the chorus. The song also has magnificent backing vocals from Dina Rae that make the song and its hook more enjoyable. The track is generally very catchy and easy to listen to. Drug Ballad provides a great insight into the love/hate relationships addicts share with addictive substances. This record is a time where Eminem's voice works well without necessarily being angry or noisy.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Amityville
Amityville features Bizarre, a member of Eminem's rap group, D12. It switches from the smooth tone of Drug Ballad into a violent, crazed loudness. The intro has Eminem ominously making non-verbal sounds with his mouth, which immediately hooks us in for an angry chorus that is catchy in its own right. Eminem raps about his home city of Detroit, Michigan being more deranged than Amityville, New York, the setting of The Amityville Horror movies. Bizarre appears for a short bit with a satisfying voice and a smooth cadence, although disappointing as he only has a few lines.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Bitch Please II
Bitch Please II features Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and Nate Dogg, and is a sequel to the 1999 single Bitch Please by Snoop Dogg featuring Xzibit and Nate Dogg. Snoop Dogg begins with some minor vocals before Dr. Dre delivers a verse in a flawless cadence and flow, transitioning into a Snoop Dogg verse with an equally awesome flow. Xzibit adds his signature hardcore style in his own verse. Eminem as usual brings the best verse, sounding really smooth as he goes into his controversial nature. Nate Dogg contributes a perfect flow throughout the song.
Bitch Please II is an amazing posse cut bringing West Coast legends with arguably the greatest rapper of all time. Although I wish Xzibit could have a smooth flow like everyone else here, it does not take away from the experience.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Kim
Kim is a track about Eminem fictionally murdering his ex-wife, Kim Scott Mathers, and serves as a prequel to '97 Bonnie & Clyde on The Slim Shady LP. Although this track had potential, it did not end up being too impressive to me. The beat sounds off, the chorus sounds more whiny than mad, and the verses are not very technically outstanding. However, the anger and rage felt in Kim can be very relatable and makes this record worth listening to.
Overall Rating: 7/10
Under The Influence
Under The Influence features hip hop group D12 (D12 members aside from Eminem featured here are Swifty McVay, Bizarre, Proof, Kuniva, and Denaun "Kon Artis" Porter). The first verse, Eminem's, immediately takes the spotlight with various impressive internal rhymes as he makes taunts his critics by bragging about his substance abuse and violent writing. Eminem also contributes to the song's intro, chorus, and outro. After Eminem's verse, Swifty McVay goes into great detail on how he lyrically shoots his rivals, and Bizarre one-ups McVay's verse with a rapey verse delivered in Bizarre's "smooth" voice. Proof then goes on about smoking weed and shooting both his rivals and opponents of violence in Black communities. Kuniva comes in and delivers the best verse aside from Eminem's before letting Kon Artis take the final verse, which features more horrorcore and hardcore hip hop.
Every member contributes well, flowing perfectly with the catchy beat. This track is the quintessential D12 record and is a great way to introduce someone to the group.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Criminal
Eminem closes off The Marshall Mathers LP with Criminal, a tirade against those who oppose Eminem's right to free speech, including right to make offensive music. This takes the form of mentions of misogyny, violence, homophobia, profanity, and sex, as he mocks those who equate lyrics about murder and rape with actual immoral acts. Criminal features a lengthy skit, although due to its importance with later lyrics, it is given a pass for interrupting this track.
Criminal is excellent for closing off The Marshall Mathers LP. Due to skits early on showing Eminem's self-awareness of this being his most controversial album, Criminal shows how he keeps this attitude all the way to the end, not backing down on offending anyone and everyone.
Overall Rating: 10/10
The Kids
The Kids replaces Kim on the clean version of The Marshall Mathers LP. It also appears on the deluxe, British, and Australian versions of the album. It parodies the TV show South Park and depicts a fictional scenario of Slim Shady being at a school, acting as a substitute teacher for a school Ken Kaniff teaches at, due to the latter being absent from a bad case of AIDS. The schoolchildren hear Eminem as "Mr. Shady" satirising holier-than-thou alarmists who scold Eminem for ignoring his young, impressionable fans via listing made-up incidents showing drug abuse as an awful experience no one should emulate. All of this is done over a comedically upbeat instrumental.
Despite the silly nature of this song, it yet again demonstrates Eminem's mastery over story writing, comedy rap, rhyming, and disturbing/offensive lyrics. Whilst I would normally take some points off for being too goofy on such an album, it is only a deluxe track, and I can take goofball humour when done well. As a result, I view this as perfect.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Overall Thoughts
The Marshall Mathers LP is the quintessential Eminem album and does various subgenres of hip hop well, such as comedy rap, hardcore rap, and horrorcore. Eminem's lyrical abilities are put to the ultimate test here and pass with flying colours, demonstrating why Eminem is often put into the GOAT conversation. The social commentary on family estrangement, fame, and free speech also work perfectly. Eminem executes offensive humour in a way that actually emphasises the "humour" while also making you think about society and its values. Plenty of tracks here can compete for the title of the best, including I'm Back, Stan, and Drug Ballad. Whether you wish to laugh or ponder, The Marshall Mathers LP is the perfect album to introduce someone to Eminem.
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