Eminem — The Eminem Show

Eminem's fourth LP. It forms a trinity with "The Slim Shady LP" (1999) and "The Marshall Mathers LP" (2000), representing respectively the albums of the alter-ego of the rapper Slim Shady, of the boy Marshall Mathers and of the rapper Eminem. It's almost entirely self-produced, the set is completed by five rhythms by Dr. Dre, while Jeff Bass of FTB joins the author several times behind the keyboards. The guests are Dr. Dre, Nate Dogg, D12, Obie Trice, Dina Rae and her daughter.

The album opens with a skit where someone is about to enter the scene. The first track is a song of denunciation by Eminem against the entertainment establishment, which has elevated him to rap superstardom more as a white artist than as a talented artist, despite all the controversies and discussions that come with each new release. Luis Resto, Jeff Bass and Eminem himself build an effective rocking soundscape to support the author's hardcore rap. Dr. Dre behind the keyboards for "Business", where he provides a rhythmic boom bap with a West Coast flavor, while Eminem dedicates himself to fighting the poor lyrics in the game. At choice number four almost accidentally comes one of the artist's most personal songs, "Cleanin' Out My Closet", in which he describes the abandonment of his father when he was a child, the relationship with the other parent and the difficult relationship with his ex-wife. Rhythm by Jeff Bass and Eminem. Sad piano keys, strangely calm hi-hats, soft bass line, melancholic mood. The emcee delivers with a subdued, regular style, following the mood of the track, accelerating and increasing the tone towards the end of the verse for the suffering hook, directed at the mother. In the second verse, the boy proves more determined and energetic than before, preparing for a lethal following verse that stones the piece and delivers it into history, returning to deliver in a subdued and melancholic way. Heavy piece, considered among the classics of his discography, but that years later Eminem refuses to perform live, after having changed and mitigated his thoughts towards his mother.

The author creates a political song with digs at his rival Canibus in the self-produced "Square Dance". Skit, then "Soldier", a self-produced cut in which he describes his problems with the law, the tune involuntarily passes into a passive way to the listener, due to a tepid rhythm and a delivery that is somehow subordinate to the rhythm and that fat bass. The following choice completes a concept that began with the skit "The Kiss" and continued with "Soldier", the two previous songs: Eminem still remains behind the keyboards and creates a neat and somewhat melancholic beat to conclude the story, struggling with his personal problems caused by the unexpected artistic success he has had in recent years and that continues to have and that has turned his life upside down (and that of his family) so much that he regrets having had that success, which in hindsight he considers disproportionate and excessive. This is followed by a sexual cut produced by Eminem and Jeff Bass in which the main rapper is joined by Obie Trice. The guest drops bars with a carefree and lively style over a pleasant beat, Mathers also delivers with style in a track that was removed from the clean version of the album due to its content.

Choice number ten is one of Eminem's immortal classics, "Without Me", which becomes the album's lead single. Here, the Detroit emcee becomes aware of his artistic importance and states that without him the game would not be the same, shooting arrows everywhere. Intro by Obie Trice from his song "Rap Name", here promoted by Eminem, then the author pays homage to Malcolm McLaren and recites a simple hook that announces the return of Slim Shady. Produced by Eminem, DJ Head and Jeff Bass, the rhythm is classic, iconic, perfect. Hard, dry, uptempo drums, a tight bass line that stays in the background so far behind that it's imperceptible, smooth keyboards, there's a pop sax loop that you cannot hear, because it's overwhelmed by the hook (but that you can appreciate in the instrumental version), magnificently ascending organ line on the chorus.

The sax becomes prominent in the construction of the rhythm accompanying the artist throughout the piece, there's also a casual piano line that passes to say hello, and a silky guitar riff on the hook, it's one of the most complex and layered rhythms of the year. Eminem starts strong from the first bar and does not stop, providing three verses with some of the best flows ever and with an impressive and unique technique, unmatched by everyone. The rapper also pays homage to the Batman theme song made by Neal Hefti in the sixties during the second verse. This track features one of his best performances ever, overshadowed by the meteoric success of the hit and what is probably one of the most memorable videos in hip-hop history (4 MTV VMAs, 1 Grammy): In the video, the boys create a parody of Batman and Robin, with the former played by a bewildered Dr. Dre and the latter by Eminem who goes by the name of Rap Boy, and both act in order to prevent a child from buying copies of his album with a parental advisory, which he would not be allowed to listen to.

Skit, then comes another highlight in Eminem's career. "Sing for the Moment" boasts an interpolated sample from Aerosmith's "Dream On". Eminem and Jeff Bass behind the keys, a sample left to breathe, then the drums fall, dirty, pounding, midtempo, perfect, beautiful bass line, guitar riffs to support. The emcee offers personal lyrics reflecting on the consequences and legacy of his music, delivering three verses with a focused and fast rapping and paying homage to the hook in Aerosmith performed with their singer Steven Tyler. Aerosmith are back collaborating on a hip-hop track after making the historic "Walk This Way" with Run-DMC, which helped relaunch their career. Like the previous rock rap crossover, this track is a classic, and certainly one of Eminem's best tracks ever.

Steve King, Eminem and Jeff Bass create the musical carpet of "Superman", a song that Eminem performs with his colloquial style, reciting lyrics that address girls in a calm love ballad. The MC dedicates a song to his daughter, singing over a self-produced melodic boom bap beat. In the last verse, the author gives an extra verse in rapping to close the piece. Originally, the song was not to be released, then the author changes his mind, but even later, the original Beatles sample ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps") is removed from the song because George Harrison's wife does not authorize the use of the sample. Skit, then Eminem reunites with his group D-12 in "When the Music Stops", where the guys reflect on the fact that listeners take rap tracks too literally. Intro of Bizarre, then Eminem kicks his beat made in cohabitation with Denaun. Swifty McVay in stanza number two with a regular rap, Kon Artis continues inspired, confident, with excellent rapping, paving the way for Kuniva, who drops bars while maintaining a flowing style. Despite the uptempo beat, Proof goes down with a calm, cool and steady flow, going off with his own style. A long name dropping by Bizarre closes the posse.

Over a rhythmic production by Dr. Dre, Eminem enlists his friend to create a diss aimed at Canibus, Jermaine Dupri and the magazine The Source (he had already dissed XXL in the title track of his previous album, two years earlier), the two rappers deliver three verses going back n forth. In the outro they also get Timbaland who throws a final dig at Dupri. The Detroit emcee self-produces the next cut, yet another considered a masterpiece in his discography, is "Till I Collapse". Shockingly, it's not even a single, yet it achieves a frightening success. The rhythm is based on the drums of Queen's "We Will Rock You". Thematically, the author turns his gaze once again to the contemporary hip-hop scene and the critics of his music, as well as his status in the game. Eminem spits again inspired, focused, energetic, destroying the rhythm with one of his best executions. On the hook is Nate Dogg, who sends the cut into the firmament of the genre with a simply gorgeous voice. The last real track on the album is "My Dad's Gone Crazy", inspired by his daughter and who also features her alongside the author on the hook. Production by Dr. Dre, intriguing skeletal drum, fat bass, hinted keyboards, Shady drops two light-hearted and lively verses on this production, spitting dirty and violent lyrics and singing the hook. For the third verse, the rapper becomes more serious accompanied by a phenomenal bridge by Dre, magical synth lines and stabs of strings descend. Ken Kaniff closes the album with the final skit.

Final Thoughts

"The Eminem Show" is the fourth studio album by the Detroit MC, and the third and final album in his "Persona Trilogy" that began with "The Slim Shady LP", continued with "The Marshall Mathers LP" and revisited with that album's sequel in 2013. While his 1997 album saw the author take on the grotesque, immature and ultra-violent persona of Slim Shady, the following album saw the emcee return to his former self, addressing how his life was affected by the impact the public and the media had on his music. In this album, he looks back at the success of his previous two albums, accepting himself as a superstar and describing the problems that came with it, inspired by the film "The Truman Show" (1998).

The album was recorded around the same time as the author filming his movie "8 Mile". Eminem decides to be the main producer of the project, leaving a handful of beats to his long-time collaborator Dr. Dre and getting help from his other long-time collaborator Jeff Bass. The music takes on a different tone compared to his past efforts and approaches rap rock, with rhythms driven by the guitar. The topics of the album become more serious, thoughtful and personal, the emcee cuts out the shocking passages and ultra-violent songs and gets down to addressing topics such as socio-politics, his status as a rap superstar and the consequences of his enormous success.

Considered the most anticipated album of 2002, already pirated on the internet months before its scheduled release and published in stores before its official release, the album only has one day of sales to make the Billboard 200 chart: in the only day available, it sells 284,000 copies and climbs to the top of the pop chart, no album before had managed to do so. The following week it sold over 1.3 million copies, over 800 thousand in the third and over half a million in the following one, grinding out almost three million copies in a month. First in eighteen countries, it's the best-selling album of the season globally, the best-selling in the US and one of the best-selling the following year. It was certified diamond in 2011 and is his best-selling album ever with 27 million copies worldwide. The CD is welcomed by critics as his most personal and best work, retrospectively evaluated as one of the best albums ever.

Rating: 8/10.