Review Summary: The truth.
Eminem's
Marshall Mathers LP is not only the peak of the most successful white rapper of all time's career, it's also a remarkable anti-pop statement that is ironically the best pop record of the past 10 years. Eminem is us, white america's inverted social conscious wrapped up in a broken down bag filled to the brim with anger and resentment. He says what we all want (and need) to say, but don't; a message for all those who feel angry or cheated or
alive in a mainstream arena where the very things Eminem despises and shoots venom at are condemned. It's a message to those ***ers who are fake, thus making this one of the most real albums you'll ever hear. It's truth, as vivid and clear as needed to finally get it through the dense fog that most of human life are living in.
The fact that this got so big is an incredible achievement in itself. Not in the means that Eminem isn't a good rapper or this isn't commercial friendly, because he most certainly is and this most certainly is radio friendly sound. But because what Eminem is saying is the very destruction of popularity and fame and bull*** America. There were lawsuits, protests, rallies; all trying to stop his honesty. And that's why
The Marshall Mathers LP will forever succeed; it is, at its most bare and raw, the truth, something so many people are astonishingly afraid and dismissive of. This is a shot to the heart of the human experience; when Em emphasizes
"***" you
feel it; we are so programmed to stay in the confines of the cycles of life, that his pure anger is so welcoming and applauded for breaking free of the chains. It's a true escape, as all great music should be; whether it's the thunderstorm-backing letters of a ***ed up fan in "Stan", the crackling brilliance of "The Way I Am", "Remember Me's" grafiti, gritty soundscape, "Marshall Mathers'" haunting guitar line over a big "*** YOU" to the world, Eminem consistently breaks down barriers as he goes. He dominated the radio, for as brash and brilliant
The Marshall Mathers LP is, it's also incredibly fun. "The Real Slim Shady" and "Bitch Please" show Eminem at his most acceptable to the mainstream, and the songs were rewarded with constant play time and chart tops. It also showed that Eminem isn't just some crazy, angry person; he has a soul, a pulse, hell even a heart. It showed that even though the album is completely right, completely real, that you really shouldn't take everything so seriously, which is better advice than any other pop star can say they've ever given.
This should be honored for years to come.
The Marshall Mathers LP is not only a brilliant display of rap and pop music, it's a backlash at all the *** in this world. Because let's face it; there is a lot to be angry at on Earth. And when you're sitting on your stoop, smoking your last cigarette of the night, gazing at the rain, pissed off at all that is wrong with life, remember that there's someone out there who knows what it's like, who knows the truth. A masterpiece.
