Eminem - Relapse: Album Review

On Tuesday, May 19th Eminem will release his sixth studio album “Relapse”. Now I'm not reviewing this album because I want to be a "critic" or any kind of shit like that. I'm just a fan of music and like to express my opinion on new albums I come across. With that being said, let's get into the latest effort from Marshall Mathers...

1. Dr. West – The best intro since the PSA’s on his first two albums. The audio engineering is really masterful, and the deranged therapist in Dr. West (played by "The Wire" star Dominic West) clearly shows why Marshall relapsed in the first place. (5/5)

2. 3 A.M. – Back on his psycho Hannibal Lecter/Jeffrey Dahmer rampage, the visuals he paints with his lyrics stand out like blood on a white wall. Some people get put off by his crazyness, but this track is really creative (esp. with the “Lotion in the bucket” part). If you get the chance to see the uncensored music video, you’re really in for it. (4/5)

3. My Mom – Another ode to Debbie Mathers. Legit beat by Dr. Dre, reminds me of elephants stomping through the jungle or something. Eminem breaks down how she’s been hooking him on prescription drugs since he was a child and the deranged parenting that made him the way he is. Oh, and the Auto-Tune cameo at the end of the bridge is hilarious! (5/5)

4. Insane – Um… he’s insane. I don’t know if the subject matter of this song really happened in some way but the gay-Stepfather-incest-rape scenario is pretty disturbing. On a positive note, it’s got a killer beat by Dr. Dre. (3.5/5)

5. Bagpipes From Baghdad – At first I really didn’t get where he was going with this track, but after listening to it several times it’s pretty much a “F*ck-You-Nick-Cannon-Mariah-Is-Mine” kind of track. Decent beat but too frivolous for me. (3/5)

6. Hello – Now THIS beat knocks! And Eminem’s re-introduction to the masses after a 4-year hiatus serves its purpose well. Not only is he saying “hello” to us by the way, he’s also waving happily at all of the bottle of pills that taunt him mercilessly. (4/5)

7. Tonya (skit) – Clearly an intro to the next track… poor Tonya, depending on that OnStar was not a good look. The sound effects make it really seem like an audio movie in a way. (3/5)

8. Same Song & Dance – Creative, creative, creative. For example, in the hook you think he’s telling the ladies to “shake that ass” but really he’s talking to the bound & gagged victim he’s got in the passengers seat. Looks like he’s getting back into his story-mode, which is never a bad thing. (4/5)

9. We Made You – The beat is pretty good, his flow is on point, but for some reason I’m not really feeling this track like I did with songs like “Without Me” & “Real Slim Shady”. At least it’s better than “Just Lose It”. (3/5)

10. Medicine Ball – And just when I thought the album would get disappointing, from here on out it holds its own. This track is absolutely hilarious, especially when he starts spitting as Christopher Reeves, challenging himself to a breakdance battle of all things. Oh, and Dre’s beat is phenomenal. (5/5)

11. Paul (skit) – Of course Eminem had to do the typical Paul Rosenberg skit, and as usual he can’t handle the kind of subject matter that’s on the album. (3/5)

12. Stay Wide Awake – “Soon as my flow starts, I compose art like the ghost of Mozart”… yes, 80% of the time he does. And this track falls into that category, no question. The rap game has clearly missed a lyricist of Eminem’s caliber. It’s good to have someone back that pushes the envelope. (5/5)

13. Old Times Sake (feat. Dr. Dre) – The dynamic duo does not disappoint. This should be the next single off the album. It’s great to hear Dre spittin like back in “The Chronic” days and offers a green inspirational message to those out there who stand up in the face of defeat. Eminem’s got some hilarious lines in here too, with quips like “I believe I can fly, while I pee on a girl, you won’t catch me C.S.I.” (5/5)

14. Must Be The Ganja – At first, the beat made my expectations of this song drop significantly. For some reason I didn’t really like it, but after listening to it over & over again I've grown to think it fits well with the track. Overall it’s a decent song, praises serial killers & herb, but nothing too spectacular. And at the end he admits he didn't even burn or drink during the recording of the song. (2.5/5)

15. Mr. Mathers (skit) – What it must’ve been like for him during the last 4 years. Great sound engineering once again. (4/5)

16. Déjà Vu – Marshall fighting his demons. Pretty much the internal struggle he went through with the drugs, alcohol, and Proof’s murder. Glad he was able to clean up his act and express his pain and experiences to us through music. Very good song (5/5)

17. Beautiful – Classic. Classic. Classic. Shooting for empathy and scores. The only track on the album that Eminem produced himself. All he needed was one. (5/5)

18. Crack A Bottle (feat. Dr. Dre & 50 Cent) – The first full-length track I heard off of Relapse. Eminem’s verse is solid, Dre’s verse is par, but 50’s is lazy and uninteresting. I would've taken a second Eminem verse instead of adding 50's... real talk. (4/5)

19. Steve Berman (skit) – The usual Steve Berman skit, this time Berman’s so pissed he pulls a gun on Eminem, lol. But the skit does elude to the fact that this is the first of TWO albums from Slim Shady this year… (4/5)

20. Underground/Ken Kaniff – So where’s he been? Underground. And it’s clear while he was away he was sharpening his lyrical swords, because this track is furious. The beat is a monster and Eminem slaughters the rhyming dictionary with hilarious lines and detailed storytelling. The Ken Kaniff skit at the end is a funny end to a dark, internal, and masterful album. (5/5)

Overall: (4/5) This is probably one of the better comebacks in Hip-Hop and music history. A 4-year stint of drug abuse and depression would do the average person in, but in Marshall’s case he used his detriment to his advantage. It’s clear this album might have done more for him than a therapist, and if he’s really going to release that second album of material I cannot imagine the quality of music it would contain. But since I’m only reviewing this one, I’ll have to go ahead and say this album will be considered a classic by most… including me.

M.K. Asante's "It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop"

So I received a copy of M.K. Asante Jr.’s book “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop” from my father for my birthday, and it’s very much an eye-opener that snaps your attention to the future of our culture.

Now, like many of you I first heard the phrase “It’s bigger than hip-hop” from Dead Prez. The concept was always intriguing, but I never really thought of it as describing the progression of our culture. When reading Prof. Asante’s book, I began to understand how even though I’M part of the next-generation of Hip-Hop there are youth behind me that will shape the culture even further than I could have imagined.

Kind of how like in the 80’s we were making movies like “Krush Groove” and today you can see films like “8 Mile” and “Hustle & Flow”. Not saying they were as classic or pioneering as the original, but it re-invented what was already there to fit with the present.

And that’s pretty much the way Hip-Hop culture will continue to be… there will always be the pioneers of the past to influence the current generation, and while the current generation is doing their thing there is a whole new wave of youth that will take elements of what you’re doing and create something brand new. We can continue to say that “Hip-Hop is this” or “Hip-Hop is that”, but what will ultimately drive us forward is the realization that we can take what Hip-Hop gives us and make it bigger, better, and more applicable than anyone could have realized. And THAT’S bigger than Hip-Hop.


- Steve Tyson Jr.

T.I. - Paper Trail: Album Review

On Tuesday Sept. 30, T.I. will release his sixth studio album “Paper Trail”. Now before I get into critiquing the brotha’s album, I want to make it clear that I listened to a bootleg version for this review but will be purchasing the actual CD to support a fellow artist. Plus, the album is good enough to get bought anyway.

1. 56 Barz – The intro to the album, this song is clearly a lyrical warm-up jog for the versatile MC. The anti-climactic beat puts listeners in position to expect more from the next 17 cuts, and he makes sure we know what other rappers are in his league. (3/5)

2. I’m Illy – No, not “A Millie”. DJ Toomp gives you something to make trunks thump from ATL to NYC, while T.I. lets us know how fresh he is in every aspect of his career. He even challenges us to re-evaluate his position as a Hip-hop heavyweight by declaring he’s “the hottest n*gga rappin’ since Tupac”. (4/5)

3. Ready For Whatever – Since he has a 1 year bid to serve for purchasing machine guns as an ex-felon, it’s of no surprise that he’d dedicate a track to getting his thoughts off his mind about the situation. He explains his situation with a sense of understanding and humility, which is refreshing to see out of a rapper these days. (5/5)

4. On Top Of The World (feat. Ludacris & B.o.B.) – Hotlanta definitely gets some good representation in this song. DJ Toomp is a maestro on the beats once again, recent Grand Hustle signee B.o.B. handles the hook like a seasoned pro, and Ludacris takes some shots back at Samuel L. Jackson for saying rappers couldn’t act. There’s so much goin on T.I. almost gets overshadowed on this song… almost. (4/5)

5. Live Your Life (feat. Rihanna) – When I first heard this song at the MTV Awards, I thought it was a good commercial move by sampling the “Numa Numa Song” and getting Rihanna to switch up the lyrics, but now it’s getting just as annoying as the original. Fun while it lasted tho. (3.5/5)

6. Whatever You Like – T.I. always has one or two songs for the folks who are tryna get their grown & sexy on. Jim Jonsin keeps listeners mesmerized by the synthesizer soundscape and T.I.’s hook tugs on ladies’ heartstrings, while giving the fellas something to whisper in her ear. (4.5/5)

7. No Matter What – On this song, he really shows the world Cliff Harris. Coming at the haters & naysayers, putting Shawty Lo in his place, and letting us know the strength of his faith. If anything happens to him in prison, this album will really be his paper trail. Props to Danja on the beat. (5/5)

8. My Life, Your Entertainment – ATL reppin’ once again, this time bringing in R&B sensation Usher. For a minute I thought getting Usher on a track might be a played out move, but the minute I listened I regretted thinking that. Drumma Boy is really establishing himself as a producer-to-be-reckoned-with and T.I. & Usher get the chance to come back at all the gossip outlets and rumor mill stories about them. (4/5)

9. Porn Star – Another song for those folks getting their grown & sexy on… or just getting their sex on for that matter. “Porn Star” delves deep into the sexual escapades that T.I. wants to take a lucky lady on. Decent production, generic topic, but good wordplay. (3/5)

10. Swing Ya Rag (feat. Swizz Beatz) – I swear, Swizz Beatz is one of the best producers in the game at making you want to stand on your desk at the office and tear your shirt off on some ol’ wild out sh*t. It kinda reminds me of that Petey Pablo song, but definitely revamped for 2K8. (3.5/5)

11. What Up, What’s Haapnin’ – This song is the “Ether” to Shawty Lo’s flimsy career. Classic. (5/5)

12. Every Chance I Get – Back to ballin’. T.I. takes up the generic “I’m gonna ball” theme for this track. He still manages to do it better than a lot of other rappers, but at this point I want to hear some other topics. Decent effort. (3/5)

13. Swagger Like Us (feat. Kanye West, Jay-Z, & Lil’ Wayne) – Probably the song of the season. The four biggest heavyweights in Hip-hop collab for this effort. Kanye is a genius for finding that M.I.A. sample for the hook, and every single MC murders their verse. I swear they all co-ghostwrote Diddy’s version of this track too. (5/5)

14. Slide Show (feat. John Legend) – T.I. gets reminiscent again, this time running through memories of his past and how he visualizes them as pictures in a slideshow. His impending prison sentence is really bringing a side out of him that I don’t think has been revealed much on any of his other albums. Kanye helmed the boards for this song too. (4/5)

15. You Ain’t Missin’ Nothin’ – This song is soaked full of emotion, letting his fallen comrades know that even though they are gone they’re in a better place. He’s really been through a lot, and once again isn’t afraid to show it. DJ Toomp gets more soulful with the beat and it matches the verses perfectly. (5/5)

16. Dead and Gone (feat. Justin Timberlake) – It seems JT is really learning from Timbaland, cuz at first I thought it was Timbo on the beat and sure enough it was Justin. If that wasn’t impressive enough, T.I. brings back his classic flow and rounds out the album with a very solid single. (5/5)

Overall Rating: (4/5)
If T.I. can keep his head on his shoulders while in prison, and comes out a more focused and determined agent of positivity, I think his next album will be even more impressive and personal than this one. At first listen, the album didn’t live up to his best in my opinion (“King”), but the more I hear its songs over & over the more I have grown to appreciate it. It’s definitely worth picking up when it drops next Tuesday, so enjoy.