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Eminem announces new album THE DEATH OF SLIM SHADY (COUP DE GRÂCE) - releasing Summer 2024
- Thread starter BoondockRiley
- Start date
I was expecting to come in here and read how shitty the album was. Genuinely surprised so many people like it. Here is my take:
I am not an Eminem hater. I listened to him a lot growing up. I liked most of his stuff up until Recovery and honestly just listened to a handful of his songs since then. In general I just don't listen to albums much anymore.
This was the first album of his I've listened to in its entirety in a minute. With all that said; I dont think this is very good. It is okay as a concept album. I get it. People will latch onto that and give it some additional points. I am happy Marshall is trying to make a public killing of his past self. I hope it brings him peace.
Eminem has creative bars as usual. But I am going to need a counter on how many times he mentioned midgets, the r word(s), paraplegics, Christopher Reeves or Caitlyn Jenner. I know some of this plays into the concept piece of this and some of it is Shady. But here is the thing: there are two many songs saying the same shit. It starts fo feel like he is using the concept just so he can say the shit, lol.
Some people will agree with this and take it to the extreme and yell to cancel Eminem. I'll make it clear, I am not offended. The shit he says has never bothered me. So it makes sense that I would not want to listen to a whole album of him saying the same shit, change his voice and yell at himself for saying it.
The flow is Eminem patented. A few variations here and there so it wasnt too repetitive. Punchlines were fine. Some good wordplay. All of the usual stuff that I respect about Eminem and I always enjoy hearing the shit he comes up with lyrically.
The JID feature was gas (pun intended). The beats were not my thing. I know this is more of a personal preference thing but they were all just kind of okay to me. Like none of them made me go wow.
Glad a lot of you seem to enjoy it but again I am genuinely shocked how little negative feedback this is getting on here. I almost feel like maybe my tastes have gotten worse. But I know I have a way more diverse palette than a lot of people in general. I respect musicians and their art if it is creative even if I dont enjoy it personally. Hopefully my post emboldens others to come out and share their thoughts. Or maybe everyone will quote me and say I'm wrong and my tastes suck. Which I am also okay with.
I am not an Eminem hater. I listened to him a lot growing up. I liked most of his stuff up until Recovery and honestly just listened to a handful of his songs since then. In general I just don't listen to albums much anymore.
This was the first album of his I've listened to in its entirety in a minute. With all that said; I dont think this is very good. It is okay as a concept album. I get it. People will latch onto that and give it some additional points. I am happy Marshall is trying to make a public killing of his past self. I hope it brings him peace.
Eminem has creative bars as usual. But I am going to need a counter on how many times he mentioned midgets, the r word(s), paraplegics, Christopher Reeves or Caitlyn Jenner. I know some of this plays into the concept piece of this and some of it is Shady. But here is the thing: there are two many songs saying the same shit. It starts fo feel like he is using the concept just so he can say the shit, lol.
Some people will agree with this and take it to the extreme and yell to cancel Eminem. I'll make it clear, I am not offended. The shit he says has never bothered me. So it makes sense that I would not want to listen to a whole album of him saying the same shit, change his voice and yell at himself for saying it.
The flow is Eminem patented. A few variations here and there so it wasnt too repetitive. Punchlines were fine. Some good wordplay. All of the usual stuff that I respect about Eminem and I always enjoy hearing the shit he comes up with lyrically.
The JID feature was gas (pun intended). The beats were not my thing. I know this is more of a personal preference thing but they were all just kind of okay to me. Like none of them made me go wow.
Glad a lot of you seem to enjoy it but again I am genuinely shocked how little negative feedback this is getting on here. I almost feel like maybe my tastes have gotten worse. But I know I have a way more diverse palette than a lot of people in general. I respect musicians and their art if it is creative even if I dont enjoy it personally. Hopefully my post emboldens others to come out and share their thoughts. Or maybe everyone will quote me and say I'm wrong and my tastes suck. Which I am also okay with.
Same for me. Hearing her as a toddler now that my daughter is firmly in the "kid" stage and no longer a toddler was something.
Relapse bums me out a lot because I imagine what SSLP-era Eminem would have done with an entire album of phenomenal Dre beats. There are some good parts to Relapse and I think it's cool that you replay it so much, but I have a hard time appreciating it when I think of what it could be.
I have a lot of thoughts and I'll continue to have more to say the more I listen, but this is certainly the most listenable album since at least Recovery, but honestly probably Encore or Relapse.
I adore MMLP2, about half of Kamikaze, and Music to be Murderer By, but his voice and flow are much more harsh and aggressive on those albums. There's incredibly impressive flows and lyrics, but they're not always easy on the ears.
This album is much more musically well-made than the majority of his recent stuff.
Listen to Believe or ShadyXV and compare it to this. Night and day.
I adore MMLP2, about half of Kamikaze, and Music to be Murderer By, but his voice and flow are much more harsh and aggressive on those albums. There's incredibly impressive flows and lyrics, but they're not always easy on the ears.
This album is much more musically well-made than the majority of his recent stuff.
Listen to Believe or ShadyXV and compare it to this. Night and day.
I bounced off this by the track Evil, I don't know if I'll go back to it, but it seems like the same thoughts over and over again repeated. I'll echo comments above, I'm glad some people are finding something to connect in later tracks but this is not an album for me.
I was crying at the gym this morning listening to that. No, it was sweat, honest.
That was after laughing out loud at some of the shit he said in Guilty Conscience 2. Christ 😅
I would be really curious to get some opinions on this album and how it handles its concept from trans people of Era.
To me, the concept feels clumsily held together and confusing, somewhat eliminating the satire he's attempting. But maybe I'm being too harsh? Trying to have an open mind here.
To me, the concept feels clumsily held together and confusing, somewhat eliminating the satire he's attempting. But maybe I'm being too harsh? Trying to have an open mind here.
I guess that would definitely be a 'your mileage may vary' situation but I'd imagine most groups he raps about are probably not the biggest fans in general. A few women I know have always hated Eminem for what he has historically rapped about.
Well, that's the thing, right? It shouldn't just be the groups he goes after that get upset at it. If he's using ablest and transphobic slurs in his lyrics, shouldn't we all call that out as unacceptable? Or does it become okay because of the story he's trying to tell?
I'm genuinely struggling with that because there is a lot that I like about this album.
It's the same situation as Ricky Gervais stand up, right? "It's just a joke!" and "People choose to be offended" is what RG says about that.
We can probably all agree they should both be punching higher, but here we are talking about, generally, how great the album is (and how much we all really like Eminem), and many love Gervais too.
To be fair, anyone who still loves Ricky Gervais in 2024 is more than likely a bigoted asshole. So I don't think that comparison helps much.
I definitely thought of this when he said something about it being like a dream within a dream. I wondered if he was going to make any Inception related wordplay but if he did I didn't catch it.
Now I wish for a Slim spoof of Inception.
Now I wish for a Slim spoof of Inception.
Important reminder: Leo was awake.
The top never even begins to topple when it was a dream.
For me personally, I am okay with the satire and the reflection of it all. It's Eminem and that sort of content is well known to be part of the Slim Shady persona.
That said, I chose to seek this album out and listen to the content of it. I don't think something like this necessarily should be blasted on the airwaves or thrown in commercials. It's not the type of music that should be actively forced on people.
Edit: Put the album on again and the first lyrics of the album are
With balls, in his durag, he sags, fearin' no man
He stands, pen in his hand like Edward Scissorhands
Will slice competition and just goes about his business
Anyone who knows about him knows about his shindig
Shenanigans, and all his wacky antics in the papers
So pretty much telling exactly what I had said, you know what you are getting into when you listen to Slim Shady
It's interesting that you ask this.
The song "Habits" basically asks the same question. Like I said before, this might be Eminem's most self-aware album.
"Part of me gets it and wants to say I'm sorry and fix it
So all my statements are basically contradictive
Like using the F-word for gay is wrong and offensive
and insensitive as if me sayin' the R-word isn't
Wait a minute, which R-word? Rape or retarded, midget?
Would this rhyme be okay if South Park had did it?
Would it make you less angry if Cartman spit it? (Goddammit)"
So all my statements are basically contradictive
Like using the F-word for gay is wrong and offensive
and insensitive as if me sayin' the R-word isn't
Wait a minute, which R-word? Rape or retarded, midget?
Would this rhyme be okay if South Park had did it?
Would it make you less angry if Cartman spit it? (Goddammit)"
In those lyrics, Eminem argues that "Slim Shady" is to him what "Cartman" is to Trey Parker.
He points out that when South Park makes jokes about people with disabilities or the LGBTQ community, it's often seen as brave satire. No one accuses Trey Parker of homophobia because they understand, "That's just Cartman being Cartman."
However, when "Slim Shady" (a fictional character) says offensive things on a hip hop album, people often assume that Eminem himself believes those things.
This highlights the struggle people have in separating Eminem (the artist) from "Slim Shady" (a fictional character with a dark sense of humor).
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I think art (and especially lyrics) are a particularly selfish act in that it requires a deep understanding of the self to get something that feels authentic and meaningful. I see this album as Em battling himself, id(Slim) vs ego(Marshall) or more appropriately younger Em vs who he is now.....everyone changes and we can feel ashamed of who we've been or what we've done but pretending like it never happened or we were never that person or that person didn't help get us to where we are now isn't helpful or productive.
Whether it's fair to use marginalized communities in a direct example to contrast those different versions of himself is not really my place to say since I'm not in those marginalized groups, but I think, at the very least, people are receptive to it because it feels brutally honest....at least that was my takeaway listening to it for the first time this morning.
Those lyrics do make a very interesting point about South Park. I've not watched it in years and don't follow the conversation, but I'd assume there are similar complaints to it, like there are about Slim and Gervais, and whatever else.
I guess even when Eminem says those things as Slim (an alter ego), the argument is that.. should he be? Just like Gervais and "It's just a joke" argument.
I don't know what the answer is and I am not in any group that would be part of these types of things so it's not my place to say either.
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Listened to this a few times and the only ones I really dislike are Road Rage and Temporary. I'm not really a big eminem fan but this definitely surprised me and I'll probably add a few tracks to my main playlist
If you took a shot every time either of these are mentioned you'd be passed out by track ten.
I think the album is great and to me the concept of Slim Shady from 2002 being ripped into 2024 is really good.
As others said I do struggle with some of the outdated slurs at times...but also think it's playing a role in the concept he's trying to tell here. Those things were not as inappropriate in 2002, and he understands the issues with them now, but not from back then.
That those things are not appropriate and it's almost him critizing himself for using those words in the past in a creative way.
As others said I do struggle with some of the outdated slurs at times...but also think it's playing a role in the concept he's trying to tell here. Those things were not as inappropriate in 2002, and he understands the issues with them now, but not from back then.
That those things are not appropriate and it's almost him critizing himself for using those words in the past in a creative way.
Already quoted you earlier, but i just listened to GS2 again and after Paul hangs up on Em, he laughs like Slim Shady. I'm starting to think that maybe Shady didn't die, which maybe explains Temporary and Somebody Save Me being songs of Eminem rapping as if he's dead. Cause Shady actually took over.
That was my thought too. Maybe we will get a Side B album later in the year.. that'd be awesome
Very, very mixed feelings on this one. It's so surreal to hear Eminem rap like he did in the early 2000s again and damn does he sound good, but the satire really just doesn't land for me. 'Slim Shady' said a lot of controversial/vile shit back in the day but it was a lot more 'popular culture commentary/shock value horror core' compared to the weird amount of psuedo-right wing talking points on this.
Damn, I really like this album. Lots of self reflection going on. I think Lucifer might be my favourite Track. Gotta love that beat.
It seems you didnt listen to the whole album. Its a concept order meant to be listened to in order. Gc part 2 explains it all.
I listened to the whole album in order, I understand the concept, it just didn't land for me.
I am offended.
Marshall, you had one job. And that job was to put Abel Tesfaye somewhere in the credits of this album. You failed at that job.
I won't even bother to listen to the album. It's not worth it.
Marshall, you had one job. And that job was to put Abel Tesfaye somewhere in the credits of this album. You failed at that job.
I won't even bother to listen to the album. It's not worth it.
I think I'm just over heady concept albums rn and find most recent ones to be little more an exercise in monotony. I get it's part of the "point" so he can rebuke himself later but he really had 13 songs straight of the exact same Caitlyn Jenner and PC Police joke over and over, I like Guilty Conscience 2 quite a bit but I don't know if it alone makes up for how lyrically repetitive most of the album is.
This is still probably his "best" work since Relapse and is the first time in a while I'd gladly spin most of this again, although the last bit of the album sadly does nothing for me, sappy parenting anthems never do it for me though.
This is still probably his "best" work since Relapse and is the first time in a while I'd gladly spin most of this again, although the last bit of the album sadly does nothing for me, sappy parenting anthems never do it for me though.
This is our first year in a while that's been relatively Weeknd free, let us enjoy it!
Gave it a second listen and the production is already falling apart despite my previous praise of it. I'm probably going to end up agreeing with the mediocre reviews it's getting.
The fact that he's trying to tell a story using slurs doesn't mean it's okay to use slurs. He's trying to have his cake and eat it too.
The fact that he's trying to tell a story using slurs doesn't mean it's okay to use slurs. He's trying to have his cake and eat it too.
This is where I'm at.
The album wore out its welcome VERY fast.
I can't bump this shit full of slurs and ableist language.
With more listens the corny ass bars revealing themselves as well.
Listened to it 1 more time to see if my opinion changed, and I'm still not a fan of the first half of the album in terms of content. I don't even need a ton of introspective content from Em anymore. I'm glad he made Temporary and Somebody Save Me, but if he plans on making another album after this I would just want lyrical rap records with dope production without the offensive shit. I'm just over the Slim Shady character and tbh that was never my favorite version of Em anyway. It's why I prefer The Eminem Show over MMLP and SSLP.
He prefers making fun music over sad stuff for the most part so just focus on that without using the Slim Shady character.
He prefers making fun music over sad stuff for the most part so just focus on that without using the Slim Shady character.
I'm honestly bored of the Christopher Reeves jokes. I'm not offended, I just don't care. All the Caitlin Jenner jokes (seriously how many songs mentioned her) wore out pretty fast too.
Overall I enjoyed it but not sure it's better than MTBMB.
Overall I enjoyed it but not sure it's better than MTBMB.
