#062 Eminem - The Slim Shady LP

This is a convergence of two projects here: west coast rap cartography and revisiting bands I didn't like when they first came out.

I've always been turned off by Eminem's subject matter, which seems too focused on shock value and commenting on said shock value, rather than getting down to the business of saying something (and I'm not, in general, buying the argument that such discussions of controversy and fame are themselves "saying something"). But I gotta respect his rapping, which combines dense clustering around a single rhyme, and unpredictable changes to the structure of rhyme schemes; two of the things I most enjoy and admire in rap, and things I strive for in my own rapping (you heard me).

So, lets settle in for an actual album of his, and I might as well start at the breakthrough. For the most part, my opinion's unchanged. The subject matter is ugly and narcissistic, the production good enough, but way back in the mix, and yeah the rapping is pretty good, great at times. I have to grudgingly admire the album though, it does actually go beyond what had been done before in terms of subject matter (in contrast to the Rage album I just heard), and more importantly in the way it delivers it. If this album was a movie, it would be one of those restrained, psychological horror / thriller flicks that knows how to go beyond the gore and be unsettling subtly. And towards the end, surprisingly enough, Eminem cracks open a bit, showing his hand, revealing himself (seemingly) to be genuinely frustrated, even with himself, and more than a little insecure. It makes the whole thing a lot more complex, and its the sort of thing this album project was made for, since my opinion'd be a lot different if I'd quit midway.

Where does that leave me? Across the board, its an unpleasant listen that I'm not eager to revisit, but I'm curious to see where he went next. And there were admittedly some standout tracks that have Mathers dropping his guard a little - probably just the right amount; more probably would have blunted the effect. Its a curious situation to still not like the album, and not like large parts of what the album's trying to do, but to respect the whole project for being what it is - its like a really well made slasher film. I want to give it a 2 and a 5. Well 3.5/5