BY STEPHANIE PETTWAY
A&E Editor
After the mixed reviews received by Eminem’s 2017 album “Revival,” the rapper unexpectantly releases his 2018 album “Kamikaze,” where he drops many bombs.
He addressed everything from his anti-Trump freestyle at the BET Awards’ Cypher to dissing many rappers who have said negative things about him.
“The list of artists he decimates is as bracing as it is extensive: Machine Gun Kelly on ‘Not Alike’, Die Antwoord on ‘Greatest,’ Lil Pump and Lil Xan (and all mumble rappers, whose introverted flow he loathes) on ‘The Ringer,’ a track on which he also takes aim at Vince Staples,” said Jordan Bassett of NME.com.
Eminem has never been afraid to speak his mind, which is something many admire about him.
“He’s a rapper who really expresses himself – a lot of other rappers don’t do that. Maybe they’re afraid to,” said London based rapper Ray BLK to Jimmy Blakes of BBC’s Newsbeat.
However, with his free expression comes much controversy in what he is saying. Some would even argue that he is out of touch with current events due to touching upon many sensitive subjects from the past, but the new albums prove otherwise.
“Like a pilot flying his plane into his enemies, crash-and-burn style, Em is taking a gung-ho approach on ‘Kamikaze,’ regardless of the consequences and criticisms that may come from it,” said Mark Elibert of Billboard.
With these personal confrontations that the rapper addresses in the album, it brings awareness to the differing sides in rap: “mumble rappers” versus Eminem and other rappers like him, who could possibly be Joyner Lucas, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Big Sean, who he mentions in the “The Ringer.”
He brings this awareness to the two sides and makes you choose between him or the “mumble rappers.” You either “Stan” for him or for them.
In the midst of dissing other rappers, Eminem states how he would reword his BET Cypher freestyle about President Donald J. Trump.
“In ‘The Ringer,’ the opening track of the new album, Eminem appears to second-guess himself, rapping that ‘if I could go back, I’d at least reword it / and say I empathize with the people this evil serpent sold the dream to that he’s deserted,’” said Daniel Victor of the New York Times.
The rapper continues to rap that Trump, who he refers to as “Agent Orange,” sent the Secret Service to him to ask if he was really thinking about hurting Trump or was linked to terrorists, which he finishes with saying “Only when it comes to ink and lyricist.”
Debatably, “Kamikaze” is either a step up from “Revival” or a continuation of the downward spiral for the artist. Regardless of what side anyone leans, the album did break a record in the UK.
‘It’s the rapper’s ninth record in a row to go to number one, breaking the record for most consecutive chart-topping albums – a title previously held by Led Zeppelin and ABBA,” said Blake in reference to the UK charts.
Whether you find yourself a fan of the rapper or on the opposing side, it is still debated that he is one of the greatest of all time and on the way to a comeback with this new album. It all depends on whether anyone is listening to what he has to say.
