This article deliberately combines both highly speculated titles for Eminem’s next album. An album that Marshall Mathers recently announced on NYC Hot’97 radio.

After a few years of hiatus, the return of Slim Shady seems imminent, which is an event in itself.

Following rumors of his early retirement dating back to 2005, despite strong denial from the artist himself, many listeners, fans, and perhaps even close friends continued to wonder if Eminem had decided to work more in the production field or if he simply buried his evil character forever.

But perhaps the return of Eminem will not be musically written in the same terms as expected. Perhaps Eminem intends to come up with an entirely new style. If he doesn’t, he might resurrect Slim Shady from his grave, who knows?

At the moment I’m writing those lines, those are just empty guesses. All we can do is wait and see.

Eminem is truly a phenomenon in rap history. His detractors claim that he used his skin color to get to the top more easily.

In fact: among all the white rap artists (sorry, I really hate talking about an artist’s skin color, but this item is necessary, if I want to prove my point), Eminem is the only one with global appeal in the world. hip hop world.

In fact, Eminem is one of the most talked about contemporary rap artists.

Many people tried to imitate his style, but they all failed before achieving anything consistent.

So why did Eminem, also known to the public as Marshall Mathers, have such an impact on hip hop?

The first reason is without a doubt the brilliance of Eminem. The more I delved into the study of his music over the years, the more was his intelligence in handling compound syllables, his subtle sense of humor, his ability to use his own weaknesses to his greatest advantage, his honesty in describing situations. of real life. through, I was impressed.

Some people always objected that Eminem owes everything to Dr. Dre. If it is true that brilliance is not everything in the ruthless world of the music industry, Eminem’s early work is the full expression of a musical genius.

A song like Biterphobia is a subtle musical composition, both lyrically and instrumentally. It was released in 1994. One could hardly object that young Marshall Mathers had the means to pay off a ghostwriter at the time he was struggling to survive, meaning the young man was a true (undiscovered) lyrical genius. Other songs on the Slim Shady EP have the same brilliance in writing; Admittedly, the first Eminem excels at storytelling.

Second, whether his detractors like it or not, Eminem is credible as a white man in a world of black men.

As he put it in a previous interview dating back to 1999, Marshall Mathers used to live on the other side of the black side of 8 Mile, because his mother couldn’t pay the rent on the white side.

Fully immersed in hip hop culture since his uncle Ronnie introduced him to the Ice T CD Breaking, Eminem also grew up in the harsh world of 8 Mile, where he had to fight to make his dream come true, despite racial tension. that prevailed at the beginning. 90’s.

In addition, and despite the climate of hatred and suspicion among the black and white communities, Marshall Mathers made real friendships with his black colleagues. D 12 is not a group that was born out of professional interest as is often the case in the music industry, but was the result of brothers (RIP Proof is the main founder of the group) who shared the same passion for the environment.

Third, you also have to remember that Eminem doesn’t fit the usual artistic stereotype.

His down-to-earth attitude, his self-hatred, his honesty in exposing unpleasant facts and situations, his modest origins, his accessibility in terms of sharing the details of his life story soon made Eminem a very nice person. in the eyes of hip hop fans.

Eminem soon became the example of someone with whom people could relate. His acclaim is totally justified in that way, because he managed to break the distance between artist and listener, creating an unprecedented closeness and complicity with the fan.

Perhaps Eminem is also the prototype of a walking contradiction: his generosity in exposing a number of details from his life story soon became the boomerang that would hit him hard in terms of the freedom he yearned for. Bullies of all kinds would soon turn his private life into a living nightmare.

From the time he was catapulted to the top until now, Eminem has offered his listeners a prolific work with a wide variety of artistic collaborations.

His second album, the Marshall Mathers LP, probably outperforms any of his other albums, because it is a subtle combination of poetry, creativity, social commentary, shocking courage, an invaluable sense of humor, at least in my opinion. In addition, Marshall Mathers is an artist who managed to create a specific atmosphere thanks to his subtle command of the English language.

A song like Stan has the depth of Rimbaud’s poem Le Dormeur Du Val. Like the French poet, Eminem draws a picture that grows more dramatic and darker with the passage of time.

Later on, the 8 Mile Road song, for example, is based on similar [i] sounds that involve a constant struggle. A similar structure can also be found on Yellow Brick Road, a subtle construction of syllabic words that will remain an attentive ear for the monotonous sound of a train on the rails.

Very few songs surpass Drug Ballad, a beautiful instrumental and word combination that allows the listener to enter the forbidden world of a drug addict, making him feel the sensation of drowning in alcohol. The instrumentals really make you feel the hellish spiral in which the addict is trapped with no way to escape.

Encore is probably the worst of their albums. Despite some well-written songs like Mosh, it indicated some artistic fatigue and some of its tracks need to be revamped. The commercial dimension of some songs on Encore really disappointed me.

In stating this for a while, I raised some controversy. But I really don’t care.

In any case, I am not here to praise Eminem. As a music journalist, I am here to offer an honest and objective perception of the artist from a professional point of view. I owe my readers the truth.

Eminem’s strength also lies in the fact that he manages to use the darkest situations in life that he went through to transform them into artistic creativity.

Since 2005, Eminem has been through very painful events. The death of your best friend Proof is probably one of the worst pain a human can go through. I trust that Eminem’s willingness to honor his friend’s memory will enable him to bring out the most beautiful and creative lyrical treasures from his heart.

Then the world will truly be yours to take because the crowd of listeners will thrill and crown their mic king with a standing ovation.

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