| Eminem - The Slim Shady LP |
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| Tuesday, 23 February 1999 | |
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Aftermath Ent./Interscope Records | Performance 6.5 | Sound 7 |  All
the jokes about a white boy doing rap aside, this album is actually
very interesting. For some reason or another rap hasn’t exactly been
breaking new ground in a while, and say what you will about Eminem’s
complexion, but there’s something here that, at the very least, should
be listened to. Were he not white, it would be interesting to see how
this album would instead be played-down, because this album's lyrical
content is, to put it mildly, a little different. At times ironic while
at others almost overly-graphic, ‘Shady’ deals with a number of things
one might expect from a ‘disenfranchised youth;’ drugs, girls, death,
but (and perhaps this does have something to do with the messenger) the
twist here is just a bit outside of the norm.The album is recorded well and sounds good, but the real question is, ‘can he rap?’ Well, is Eminem the single greatest lyricist on the planet, hardly, but he is definitely original, which is something many MCs out there today cannot say. Check "If I Had," "Rock Bottom" and "Role Model" for deft lessons in a Pharcyde-like reality and a near-millennium mentality. Even if you have no interest in taking this album home, give it a listen if only to glimpse someone adding something to the game. Like this article? Bookmark and share with any of the sites below.        |
