Eminem — Kamikaze

Tenth studio album by Detroit rapper Eminem. Behind the keyboards there are the same author along with Illa da Producer, Ronny J, Mike Will Made It, Jeremy Miller, Boi-1da, Jahaan Swwet, LoneStarrMuzik, S1, Tay Keith, Suby, Ball and Luis Resto. The guests are Paul Rosenberg, Joyner Lucas, Royce da 5'9" e Jessie Reyez.

The tape is opened by "The Ringer", where he disses the entire trap scene over a trap boom bap realized by Illa da Producer and Ronny J to slam trappers for their own ish. And he succeeds. A single verse lasting almost six minutes, a bomb. The diss tracks against individuals are countless. The beat slows towards the end, and Em reels off at least a dozen different flows, all parodied or nearly so, practically non-stop, mind-blowing. The second joint is a trap soundscape provided by Mike Will Made It and Jeremy Miller ("Greatest"), another slap in the face, three powerful hardcore stanzas and an absurd, yet poor and functional, chorus.

Then, Joyner Lucas is welcomed over a trap beat ("Lucky You"), bridge, hook, verse, honest rapping, then the guest speeds up to match the competitive level of an Eminem album; the rhythm picks up during Lucas' verse, because what would Em be on a slow trap beat? I don't want to imagine. He spits quickly and closes the circle, Shady's jazzy boom bap bridge, then he delivers the second extraverse, devastating everything. The music is realized by Boi-1da, Jahaan Sweet and Illa da Producer.

A skit of Paul Rosenberg precedes a dark trap beat created by Illa da Producer, LoneStarrMuzik, S1 and Swish Allnet, taking the piss out of the entire trap scene ("Normal"). There's another skit of Rosenberg before what is, perhaps, the only "serious" track on this album ("Stepping Stone"): Em apologizes to D12 and announces the end of the group that launched him. Dark, soulful, jazzy boom bap, the first beat invented by Eminem in this record, along with his long-time collaborator Luis Resto. No trap, no bullsh*t here. There's another diss track ("Not Alike"), realized with the guest Royce da 5'9" with which Eminem forms the duo Bad Meets Evil, mainly against Machine Gun Kelly and his Rap Devil, over a dark trap rhythm provided by Tay Keith in which he parodies Migos with the hook; over the switchbeat created by Ronny J in the final verses, Eminem kills his rival with one lethal bar after another, in one of the best songs of his recent years.

The beatmaker Suby realizes a disturbing and ridiculous boom bap ("Kamikaze"): it's so bad and weak that seems to have been poorly done on purpose, as the author compares his previous album "Revival" (2017), which received universally negative reviews from critics and the public, to "FACK", his worst song (also on purpose).The Detroit emcee continues to dissing the whole scene ("Fall") with three verses over another dark trap production provided by Mike Will Made It.

Jessie Reyez is guest in the following two songs, first performing a chorus that is perfect in parodying the scene ("Nice Guy"), while Em executes strangled verses over this deep trap liquid solution created by Ball and S1, then opening with a great and varied hook ("Good Guy"), Mathers delivers a unique stanza, good soundscape of Illa da Producer, the soulful background of Reyez is lovely. The album is closed by "Venom", disturbing, hardcore boom bap realized by Eminem and Luis Resto, disturbing, weird delivery from Em.

To combat what's considered a curse in the hip-hop scene — the mumble rap — Eminem decides to make an entire mumble rap album himself, disses the personalities of mumble rap. A single track would have been enough, but instead the rapper decides to make an entire album, and it doesn't work.

Eminem has suffered a severe backlash after the heavy criticism he received for his latest album, "Revival", which was savaged by critics, the public, and especially his longtime fans. He continues to maintain, even after many years, that it's still one of his best, if not the best. And of course, he's the exact opposite, because it sucked, it still sucks listening to it ten years later, and it will still suck a hundred years from now.

But he's not having it, and he's criticizing everyone. Everyone. He spares no one. And he's back with this album, released as a surprise, without promotion or announcements, unlike his disgusting flop, "Revival", which, despite extensive promotion, was also a commercial disappointment with few (if any) precedents for an album from someone who was once the rap industry's leading commercial powerhouse and a major force in music in general.

Still lacking in imagination, somehow drained, Eminem doesn't know which cover to place for his album, which in the end turns out to be a solid album and therefore a sort of "comeback album" for him, and he decides to steal the one from the album "Licensed to Ill" (1986) by the Beastie Boys. Released by Shady, Interscope and Aftermath, the album peaks #1 in 22 countries (including US), it's one of the best-selling albums of the decade in its homeland and one of the best-selling albums of 2018 and 2019 worldwide, certified platinum by RIAA in few months, leaded by three singles which were successful and received a response from the public that the songs from the previous album hadn't, all hitting the charts and racking up certifications, also boosted by the diss track against MGK "Killshot", which didn't make it onto the album but left traces even years later and put an end to Machine Gun Kelly's career.

The album was received mixedly by critics, with some even praising what they called a "comeback album" for Eminem, others calling it a mediocre effort, while some critics dismissed it for its poor lyrics, terrible music, and overall lackluster lyricism, in which the author was quick to insult everyone and everything.

The album's release, filled with insults and references to other public figures, especially other musicians and rappers, sparked a series of controversies, as many decided to respond to the rapper, who found himself virtually isolated from everyone, having to contend with people who painted the their faces to people with no credibility like joe budden. But Eminem once again managed to get everyone to agree on one thing, critics and audiences, fans and serial haters: perhaps this was the time for him to retire permanently. The album remains a step up from the hot garbage he threw from the balcony the year before, but it's still a poor album. A poor trap album.

Rating: 4/10.