Throwback Thursday: The Eminem Show

Hey what's going on world? Welcome to another Throwback Thursday. Not sure why, but I have been in a big rap mood lately. Not necessarily that today's rap is anything exciting, but I've brought out a lot of my old records and have been reminded of how great rap used to be not so very long ago. One of those old favorites of mine is the album I'm about to review for this week's Throwback Thursday. In the spirit of my man Eminem's new single "Not Afraid" being all over the airwaves (which I've already posted my thoughts on here), I went into a retrospective of the older Eminem records I used to enjoy. This week I chose...



Artist: Eminem
Album: The Eminem Show
Released: 2002, Aftermath/Shady/Interscope Records

Up to this album's release in 2002, there was no sugar coating the fact that Eminem was #1 in the rap world. Whether or not you loved him or hated him, album sales don't lie. His initial breakout with The Slim Shady LP has sold rough 6 million worldwide to date. The follow up (and career peaking) Marshall Mathers LP has sold roughly 19 million worldwide to date. At the time, Eminem had done it all in music after merely 2 major label recordings. He had done world tours, sold millions of records, performed and recorded with huge names in rap, made magazine covers and newspaper headlines, saw his way onto everyone's television set, angered the government and censorship groups, and yet at the same time had music critics eating out of his hand. The question lingered; how in the hell was he going to follow up The Marshall Mathers LP: the album that put his name in everyone's mouth, his face on everyone's magazine, and his status on top. The answer? Perhaps my favorite Eminem album: The Eminem Show. What made this album so significant to me was the toning down of the insane "Slim Shady" moniker he had created for himself. He had already proven himself as the king of controversy and shocked America to death about gruesome themes like drugs, sex, and homophobia. This album went to a great length to give controversy a backseat and show off what Eminem was all along: an artist.

#1 - The Production. How do you prove your critics wrong and show that you don't necessarily need Dr. Dre to be succesful? Produce most of the album yourself; and that's exactly what Em did. With only 3 tracks produced the the Doctor, the rest of the production was handled by Mr. Mathers.

#2 - Lyrical skill. It was mainly shock value in the previous albums. In this album not only does he step the flow up, but he tells a solid story with his rhymes. He stays on theme, his rhymes and metaphors are consistent, and he tells a story in his lines. Much more improved from his previous showcases. I think this album was the one that reminded all of those of losing his rap skills since "selling out" that he was still the skillful rapper that came out of the slums of 8 Mile.

#3 - A more personal touch. In The Eminem Show we catch a glimpse more into a more serious and personal side of Em. The gimmicks and shock value aren't so necessary anymore. He goes into lyrical depth about his childhood, his stance on politics & government, race dichotomy in rap, recent personal events, being a father, and how he has dealt with fame.

All in all, this is a more consistent album and more of a proving ground of the artist that is Eminem. It showed that Slim Shady could evolve and that he wasn't a one trick shock value pony. The end result: another classic album that sold as much as The Marshall Mathers LP worldwide. Eminem could have died out, but decided not to, and The Eminem Show set the stage for the artist that we still know and love to this day. Good job Em. You deserved your success. Detroit WHAT!!

Standout tracks: The whole damn album!

Review: ***** (5/5 stars)

~Dr. M

Scale:
***** - Amazing! Highly important
**** - Great, very enjoyable
*** - Decent, worth checking out
** - Average, not very exciting
* - Poor, don't even bother

Album Review: Distant Relatives

Just a disclaimer to anyone that reads this: before you get any further into this review, reggae is not my specialty! I know who Damian Marley is, but honestly, reggae is not a staple in my music player. Not that I have anything against reggae or I think it's less important than any other genre, I just find a lot of reggae is pretty similar in nature. Similar beats, the same guitar up-stroke, and familiar themes make new songs a tad bit stale to me and leave me feeling like I've heard it before. However, I do enjoy it from time to time. Bob Marley is a music legend; no doubt about it. Now onto the review....



Artist: Nas & Damian "Junior Gong" Marley
Album: Distant Relatives

I'm not going to lie; I checked this album out because it has Nas' name on it. I consider Nas one of the greatest rappers in the history of rap; bar none. He is definitely in my top 5, if not my favorite. He has made some poor business and personal decisions as of late and hasn't come as hard recently as he did in his heyday in the 90's, but his albums are always worth checking out because his message is always relevant. He is one of the last real rappers left. Now Damian on the other hand...I'm not sure. I mentioned I don't really know much about reggae aside from the big names like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and my man Barrington Levy (and the recent uprising of white people doing reggae like UB40 and Pepper), but from what I understand, Damian Marley is one of the popular names that pop up in today's reggae. It is mostly because he is the youngest son of the legend Bob Marley? Possibly. I haven't heard his music before this album, but considering he produced pretty much the entire album, I know he's got talent. That being said, I feel like this would have been better as a Damian Marley solo album. Nas throws in his verses here and there, however I feel the hip hop elements somewhat dilute the soul of the music. The instruments sound great, the themes are loud and clear, and the production is crystal clear for the most part. It seems like the things I like least about each song are Nas' verses that sometimes feel out of place with very reggae/worldly sounding tracks that would flow a little bitter simply with Damian's "singing?" (I don't know how to classify the reggae lyrics). On top of that, Damian's roots are firmly planted in reggae and his productions reflect it, so throwing a few elements of hip hop beats on top of that don't sound like they blend too well. However, considering this album will probably sell better than most Damian Marley solo albums, I can understand why it was done. Nas on the other hand...this makes no sense homie. Unless he was bored and just felt like doing something different. He does have some big child support payments coming up as well. Ya, actually it makes sense now. Overall it's worth a listen if you're a reggae fan. Damian Marley is a really talented producer and musician. I just may check out more of his joints. Bumbaclad rasta!

Standout tracks: "My Generation", "Friends"

Review: *** (3/5 stars)

Scale:
***** - Amazing! Highly important
**** - Great, very enjoyable
*** - Decent, worth checking out
** - Average, not very exciting
* - Poor, don't even bother

Throwback Thursday: 5/20/10 Edition

Throwback Thursday? Wtf is that? Let's start this off with a bang. This will be a retro-throwback-oldschool-vintage-aged (or whatever you want to call it) review of an album or band or a reminiscing of a particular trend, scene, or moment in music that takes importance in my mind. So considering it's Thursday and this blog is brand new, why don't we start off with one right off the bat? Let's get right to it....



This Week: The Fat Of The Land (album) by The Prodigy [1997]

Now I was a wee-lad when this album came out, but in terms of groundbreaking discoveries, this is the album that changed mine and a lot of other peoples' lives around the world. When Prodigy dropped The Fat Of The Land in 1997, that year became a big year for the electronic music scene to make its way out of the dungeon basement raves in the Europe and certain sectors of the US and into the mainstream and onto the charts. I want to say this album and Daft Punk's Homework (which also came out the same year and will get its own Throwback Thursday post) were the two driving forces that made 1997 a year where electronic music found their way onto boomboxes (what are those?), walkmans (what are those), and stereo systems around the world. It could be debated forever as to why people were turned onto this album, considering the big beat and hardcore techno movements weren't necessarily new, however this was a big step for Prodigy into a more commercial friendly sound. Their previous albums were pretty much the same genre, however The Fat Of The Land had more "song" aspects than their previous albums had. The songs were structured, they were shorter, they were less ambiguous, they had quite a few vocalists...but the main keys: they were catchy, they had some ridiculously freaky videos, and they were club bangers. Those 3 elements were what really shot them into the masses. Liam Howlett's beats, the genius that he is, rang through everyone's ears yes, but the freakishly looking outfits and haircuts of Keith Flint (main vocalist) haunted everyone's nightmares after watching a Prodigy video. Catchy beats and catchy hooks, cue "Smack My Bitch Up" made something for everyone to request in the club, whether they knew about electronic music or not. I was no exception to that rule. I spent many nights watching the videos of "Breathe", "Firestarter", and my favorite "Smack My Bitch Up" and watching in awe as my musical tastes began to evolve from that point. The mind of a child might be weak, but there was no going back after this point. This album never gets old and to this day, I still hear some of the jams played at clubs and at raves. And guess what...the electronic/dance scene is bigger than ever (expect a post about that in the near future as well). I'm positive that won't change anytime in the near future. Thanks Prodigy...you'll always freak me out and make me dance at the same time.

~Dr. M

Review: (*****) 5/5 stars

P.S. Remember..did I miss anything? Do you disagree? Did you not like the album? Did you really like the album? Leave a comment yo!