It's been a week since Eminem's first new single since June 2005 hit the Internet and, presumably, hip-hop radio airwaves. I have yet to hear it, but reading the responses, it seems like he might be trying too hard.
He's always tried pretty hard, though. As much as he'd like to think, or like us to think, that annoying people comes naturally for Eminem, it's clear he put a lot of effort into that bristly persona. The homophobic stuff, the killing-my-ex stuff, the suicide-on-stage bit at the end of "Encore/Curtains Down"... all clearly crafted.
Lyrically, though, I have to say that his ability gives me chills sometimes. "Lose Yourself" was a rightful Oscar winner. Even his self-conscious rapper-beef stuff could be amazing; "Square Dance" comes to mind.
Obviously, the cultural reference points are dated by a few years on that one, but a larger question remains. Has Eminem's time passed? Even Entertainment Weekly is knocking his new track, "We Made You," for being six months behind the curve on celebrity insults (Kim Kardashian, Bret Michaels).
Does he need to redefine himself completely in order to be relevant after four years gone? Or will he be the new Beastie Boys, gone completely self-referential, parroting the same lines not about whose flows are the illest and rhymes the wackest, but about being-back and didn't-you-miss-me and pardon-my-zinger?
He's always tried pretty hard, though. As much as he'd like to think, or like us to think, that annoying people comes naturally for Eminem, it's clear he put a lot of effort into that bristly persona. The homophobic stuff, the killing-my-ex stuff, the suicide-on-stage bit at the end of "Encore/Curtains Down"... all clearly crafted.
Lyrically, though, I have to say that his ability gives me chills sometimes. "Lose Yourself" was a rightful Oscar winner. Even his self-conscious rapper-beef stuff could be amazing; "Square Dance" comes to mind.
Yeah, you laugh till your mothafuckin' ass gets drafted
when you're at band camp thinkin' that crap can't happen
Till you fuck around, get an anthrax napkin
inside a package wrapped in saran wrap wrappin'
Open the plastic and then you stand back gaspin'
fuckin' assassins hijackin' amtracks crashin'
All this terror America demands action
next thing you know you've got Uncle Sam's ass askin'
To join the Army or what you'll do for they Navy
You just a baby, gettin' recruited at eighteen
You're on a plane now, eatin' their food and their baked beans
I'm twenty-eight, they gonna take you 'fore they take me
Crazy insane or insane crazy?
When I say Hussein, you say Shady
My views ain't changed, still inhumane, wait
arraigned two days late, the date's today, hang me!
Obviously, the cultural reference points are dated by a few years on that one, but a larger question remains. Has Eminem's time passed? Even Entertainment Weekly is knocking his new track, "We Made You," for being six months behind the curve on celebrity insults (Kim Kardashian, Bret Michaels).
Does he need to redefine himself completely in order to be relevant after four years gone? Or will he be the new Beastie Boys, gone completely self-referential, parroting the same lines not about whose flows are the illest and rhymes the wackest, but about being-back and didn't-you-miss-me and pardon-my-zinger?
Funny, I just watched 8 Mile (I know, way behind) and I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't suck, just as a movie.