Year: 2000.
Country:
Overall rank: 314
Decade rank: 46
Year rank: 6
Discography rank: 1 (out of 18 albums on BEA)
Average rating: 79/100 (from 1341 votes).
Tracks:
1. Public Service Announcement 2000
2. Kill You
3. Stan (Feat. Dido)
4. Paul (Skit)
5. Who Knew
6. Steve Berman
7. The Way I Am
8. The Real Slim Shady
9. Remember Me?
10. I'm Back
11. Marshall Mathers
12. Ken Kaniff (Skit)
13. Drug Ballad
14. Amityville (Feat. Bizarre)
15. Bitch Please II (Feat. Dr. Dre, Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg & Xzibit)
16. Kim
17. Under The Influence (Feat. D12)
18. Criminal
indicates a top-rated track.
Top voted comments:
"Some of the pop references date this album and it is much more silly than The Eminem Show which I prefer over this.
Can't deny the effect it had on pop culture. Can't deny his word play and linguistics. Even if the topics are now seen as immature now, they were rule benders and breakers at the time. His lyrics shocked and alarmed people in a way no one had done before.
And bringing rap to white people and showing that it can be done has influenced countless white musicians since, even if this wasn't his intent. We all now know he is predominantly raised in Black culture of Detroit and is what he is most comfortable with. This guy is no white collar suburban-ite
It hasn't aged all that well as our culture over the last 15's years has become more and more sensitive and PC to cultural and genetic differences.
Criminal, Kill You, the singles, I'm Back are all excellent.
Kim literally freaked me out when I heard it. It is so shockingly uncomfortable and executed perfectly for what was intended. But, yeah, I skip that one."
- Edwarda85 (Rating: 100/100)
________________________________________________________
"One of the main things i like about rap is the ability to cram a ton more lyrical content into an artistic musical piece. There is an artistry to sadism and offending people, especially in the same breath as expressions of love and thoughtful humor. After the PSA skit where he advises people to sue him, Em launches into "kill you" showing off his mastery of turns of rhyme and syllable as in "Like a murder weapon, I'ma conceal you / In a closet with mildew, sheets, pillows and film you / F*ck with me, I been through hell, shut the hell up / I'm tryin' to develop these pictures of the Devil to sell 'em". He brings highly descriptive venom from public figures to those in his personal life. But he disarms with insight on track #3, "Stan" (w/dido sample), taking the voice of an obsessive fan that takes his lyrics too literal, a sort of backhand slap at all those obsessive parents who fret over his lyrics. At the end, Em speaks as Em trying to ground the fanatic making Em seem a lot more human than the previous track and setting up a dichotomy he carries throughout the album. Of course, for the most part he's being all controversial and offensive, as on "who knew" ("I don't do black music, I don't do white music / I make fight music, for high school kids") and "i'm back" ("you better get rid of that nine / what good is a nine against a man who strangles himself?"). (i like how he sounds child-endorsed with the kids' voices at the chorus.) But the stand-out tracks are "the way i am", "the real slim shady", "marshall mathers" and "drug ballad". "marshall mathers" shows off his ability at inner-verse rhyme ("I sit back with the pack of zig zags and this bag / Of this weed it gives me the shit needed to be / The most meanest MC on this earth / And since birth I've been cursed with this curse to just curse") bemoaning the media and public's perception of him. "the real slim shady" is the pop culture comedy with lines like "sometimes i want to get on tv and just let loose, but can't, but it's okay for tom green to hump a dead moose" (remember tom green, right?) and "but if we can hump dead animals and antelopes, then there's no reason why a man and another man can't elope". "marshall mathers" rips it. Check this humor: "I'm anti-Backstreet and Ricky Martin / With instincts to kill N'Sync, don't get me started / These f*ckin' brats can't sing and Britney's garbage / What's this bitch retarded? Gimme back my sixteen dollars" and "My f*ckin' b|tch mom's suin' for ten million / She must want a dollar for every pill I've been stealin'". I love the ominous pounding behind Em's tale of killing his wife Kim. Sounds like real overflowing domestic rage of betrayal dialogue. I find it interesting that eminem was found and produced by dre and yet dre's strength is em's weakness -- that being guest appearances. Dre's ok on this, but snoop, D-12 and other guests bring the party down. That's probably because Em was just such a great rapper that he made others look like slouches."
- paladisiac (Rating: 85/100)
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About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here. _________________ Bluesky · Facebook · Spotify
It is kind of lonely for the few select rap albums on my chart, when the diminishing enjoyment of my rap music as opposed to singer-songwriter stuff. But when I think of those who have stayed, like this, Illmatic etc, it's no wonder that their exceptional brilliance earns their crowns.
Ultimately, a large portion of why rap has lost its appeal to me is that I am very tired of the same performative way of expressing. NWA started it with Niggaz4Life, and then it worsened to the wack-ass rappers that people hype up. It's all performative and theater, instead of being real. "Well Eminem is peak performative yet you love him to bits and bits, isn't that very hypocritical of you DD"? I'm glad you asked. The magnificent genius of Eminem is that 1) he and we know it is a performance, and his bluntness states it several times, 2) his performative expression still shows a lot more unique acuity and personality than all of the real folks around. Both regarding how the Slim Shady character is written and how Marshall Mathers comes into play (no pun intended). He makes sure to hit the perfect emotions of the listener to maximum effect, precisely where it's supposed to be, whether it's shock, depression, anger, or humor, 3) he is creating something new, a new character with new perspectives and uttering, whereas most performative music is just to pander to stereotypes about the artists' culture they are a part of, 4) most importantly, it's pretty much the most seriously intelligent study and parody of performative art itself. Eminem satirically slits all the veins of it, by destroying it from the inside. As opposed to every single artform being reduced to commercial product, Em starts from the general appeal and sabotages it with attitude, artistic brilliance, and exposure. He is a calculating pop phenomenon (songs alternate with brief spoken interludes of people commenting on Eminem's attitude, of he having oral sex with two guys, etc, the ultimate form of self-glorification) that viscerally exposes calculating pop phenomena.
"I'm like a head trip to listen to 'cause I'm only givin' you/things you joke about with your friends inside your livin' room/the only difference is I got the balls to say it in front of y'all/and I don't gotta be false/or sugarcoat it at all", on the most commercially appealing song that sounds like he is shitting on commercially appealing songs.
(For some, the references could be dated, but I grew up with boybands like NSYNC and Backstreet Boys being some of my first exposure to my love for music, and I still listen to them, so for me, it's de facto not outta date. And it is so wholly effective that when it's on, I'm like yeah "fuck everybody else" too.)
Joking or serious, he continues to offend and provoke effortlessly and satisfyingly, throughout. And increased by his utterly prodigous, unique and definingly effective Idgaf-attitude, he paints a picture of a violent, unfair, and absurd America - the America, he is a product of. Eminem’s unfiltered honesty and willingness to voice what others only joke about privately highlight society's issues. However, he does not claim to be the perfect remedy for these societal ills. Instead, his lyrics, scattered throughout the album, speak volumes. He candidly exposes the flaws and hypocrisies in society, as seen in his pointed critiques about parental guidance and societal norms. And for anyone that has accused me of being hypocritical for having this as one of my favorite pieces of art ever made as a Christian, then tell any American pro-gunner the same too, and make them quit the action of gun control. Then, I will reconsider. Until then, upon approaching me like that, you have just kissed my gash. Eminem’s topclass skills of balancing clever humor, sarcasm, and seriousness is as unique, creative and entertaining as freaking possible. Hip Hop KO's like Kill You, and The Real Slim Shady are definitive torture for the laughter muscles. In contrast, classic heartwrenchers like Stan and The Way I Am illustrates an Em, who's giving a true outlet for his emotions with convictions and strengths, so wondrously and aggressively poetic. We've never got to experience it before or even after.
It all culminates on The Marshall Mathers LP, arguably the most fearless album of our kind, my go-to motivational record, as well. I love this album so much, it physically hurts. It's unreal that it both exists because of its infinite qualities, and how it managed to get so fucking huge. He skillfully brought raw, unfiltered emotion into the mainstream, subverting and perverting youthful minds with powerful artistry. During a critical three-album span, with this as the pinnacle, Em transcended mere marketability by combining profound messages with genuine musical skill. His lyrics were densely packed and scrupulously crafted into a piece of art, rarely containing throwaway lines. Unlike many great MCs who occasionally include random, meaningless phrases, Eminem maintained a consistent standard of quality throughout his rhymes. They are only a few albums (probably less than ten) that I would consider "perfect" - because even though a lot of them are flawless in theory, they still have a lot of emotional grasp or sonic texture that could have been done better. Well, safe to say, MMLP is one of those records I would consider perfect. The flaws, somehow, is preferring to the thoughts of making it better (like The Glow Pt.2). With the overdope beats, essential lyrics, memorable hooks and rawest personality, this album will never grow old, and will always be one of my ABSOLUTE favorites of favorites. Classic in every sense of the word. Still remains that after 2 decades, an untouchable milestone. We're greatly into the 21st century and have greatly proven there'll never be a record like this ever. _________________ My Top 100 :
www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=4...amp;page=1
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