Eminem, Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers. These are the three personas of the Detroit based rapper that has been with us since 1996 with his debut album “Infinite.” The 41 year old King of Hip Hop is back with his first solo album in three years with the sequel to his critically acclaimed album, “The Marshall Mathers LP”, released in 2000. His signature double entendres and references to past songs are widespread throughout the entire album. “The Marshall Mathers LP 2”, Eminem’s eighth album, has just hit digital and physical stores worldwide and critics are raving at the strong air of nostalgia that Em has brought back to his repertoire. The album is also chock-full of guest appearances, such as Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Skylar Grey, Sia Furler, Nate Ruess and Jamie N Commons.

The first track, “Bad Guy”, featuring a hook by singer Sarah Jaffe, is a sequel to one of the more popular songs from “The Marshall Mathers LP”, “Stan”, which was about a crazed fan of Eminem who killed himself, his girlfriend and their unborn child because Em didn’t reply to his fan mail. Thirteen years have now passed, and Stan’s little brother, Matthew Mitchell wants revenge on Eminem for his death. In the song, Matthew breaks into Eminem’s house, knocks him out, and drives him off the bridge, akin to the method that his older brother did and they both die in a murder-suicide. The last verse of the track has a noticeably different beat as Eminem’s insecurities are brought to light and flung at his face. This is the writer's personal favorite track off the album.

The next track, “Parking Lot (Skit)”, is an extension of the skit in the song “Criminal”, from “The Marshall Mathers LP”. Eminem is on the run from the cops after committing a robbery, but he is eventually cornered and shoots himself.

After the only skit on the album, “Rhyme Or Reason” begins. Eminem goes off on a lyrical tirade against everything, and takes various shots at his estranged father, Bruce Mathers Jr., who left Em when he was just 18 months old. The song samples The Zombies 1969 hit song “Time of the Season.”

READ MORE: Justin Timberlake: 'The 20/20 Experience: 2 Of 2' Album Review

“So Much Better” is next up, where Eminem compares the rap industry with an analogy that we can relate to, a wife. He thinks that his life would be way better if he didn’t meet her i.e. become a rapper and have all the fame that he is, but at the end of the song, he reveals that he was just joking all along and that he “loves her”, in that he doesn’t regret being in the rap industry after all.

The track that is featured on the new video game, “Call of Duty: Ghosts”, which was released on the same day as “The Marshall Mathers LP 2”, entitled “Survival,” is the next track and the album’s second single. This is the third track that Eminem has used to feature a “Call of Duty” game, with “Till I Collapse” being used for “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” and “Won’t Back Down” being used for “Call of Duty: Black Ops.” It features Liz Rodrigues of The New Royales, who previously collaborated with Em on his previous songs “25 To Life” and “Almost Famous”. The track is laden with electric guitars and the lyrics are primal and animalistic in nature, as he is challenging every other rapper as he wants to be the best rapper.

New York based singer Polina starts off the next track, “Legacy”, which sounds like rainymood.com was turned on, as pouring rain can be heard throughout the song. In the first two verses, Eminem describes his thought process when he was a kid and in the third verse he says how proud of himself he is and that he is happy that he is different from everyone else. The song is a message that it’s a good thing to be different, which is a similar message to a previous song of his, “Beautiful.”

The next song, “A**hole”, featuring Skylar Grey, is quite self-explanatory in its lyrical content. Eminem raps about how he is an a**hole to everyone around him, to an appropriately hard hitting beat.

The first single from the album, “Berzerk”, is a throwback to classic hip hop. Eminem takes us on a tour of hip-hop’s history. The song has a sample from the Beastie Boys track “Fight For Your Right (To Party)” which was produced by Rick Rubin who also produced “The Marshall Mathers LP 2.” In the chorus, Em tells us to go crazy, among electric guitars and samples of Billy Squier’s “The Stroke”.

The next track, the third single off the album, “Rap God”, Eminem proves that he is just that, a rap god. His lyrical talent shines the most in this song, especially in the third verse where he raps a whopping 97 words in 15 seconds – an average of 6.5 words per second, which he describes as “supersonic speed.” A myriad of references are found throughout this 6 minute number with an EDM-like beat, including the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, planking and “The Walking Dead”.

The song “Brainless” features Eminem in his Slim Shady persona. His lyrics are noticeably darker and more violent. In this track, he is glad that he is brainless because if he was not, he would commit horrific acts i.e. murder.

READ MORE: Katy Perry: 'PRISM' Album Review

“Stronger Than I Was” is written from the perspective of Eminem’s ex-wife, Kim Mathers, in the first two verses, looking at his actions towards her in the years that they were together. The song also doubles as a response to Eminem’s song “Kim” on “The Marshall Mathers LP”, in which he kills her. The song is everything that she felt about what he said about her throughout their lives and through his songs. It is basically the polar opposite of “Kim.” In the third verse, the song shifts to Eminem’s perspective and apologizes for all the things that he put her through. This is a very touching track.

The fourth single, “The Monster”, featuring Rihanna in their fourth collaboration together, after “Love The Way You Lie”, its sequel and “Numb”. The song is about Eminem brooding about the negative effects of his fame, and Rihanna coming to terms with her inner demons.

In “So Far…”, Eminem emphasizes the fact that even though he is rich and famous, he still wants to live a simple life like a normal human being. The song samples Joe Walsh’s “Life’s Been Good.”

“Love Game”, Eminem’s collaboration with fellow labelmate Kendrick Lamar, is about the two rappers expressing their love for the rap game, with an analogy to a woman. However, hip hop has and owes no commitment to anyone in the rap game, but they can’t leave it, even when it is too much to deal with, it’s basically a neverending cycle. The song samples Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders “Game Of Love.”

READ MORE: Miley Cyrus: 'Bangerz' Album Review

The next track, “Headlights”, featuring Nate Ruess of Fun., is about Eminem’s family, and more specifically, his mother. The beat sounds very much like John Lennon’s song “Mother”, which is apropos given the song’s subject.

“Evil Twin”, may just about me the scariest track on the album. It’s about the balance of the personas of the (relatively) good Eminem and the violent and insane Slim Shady. The first verse is rapped by Eminem, and the second, by Slim Shady, but the last line of the song explains that both personas are one and the same. This is the last track of the standard edition of the album.

The next track, “Baby”, is the first track off the deluxe version of the album. This is another song rapped in the Slim Shady. Keeping with the title of the song, his lyrics are immature and short-tempered.

“Desperation” is the next track. The country-esque guitars are part of the beat and provide a different sound than most of Eminem’s song. The song is about Eminem’s lust for a woman and her love for his fame and fortune. As British blues rock singer Jamie N Commons sings in the hook, “You know this ain’t love.”

“Groundhog Day” is about Eminem’s childhood in Detroit. As the name of the movie suggests, his childhood was the same every day, which gave off the impression that he was stuck in the same day.

In the next track, “Beautiful Pain”, which features Sia Furler, Eminem employs the imagery of fire to empower his verses to make them more emotional and profound. He talks about the freedom and happiness he is experiencing from being free of drugs and inspires others to improve their lives.

The final track of the deluxe version of the album, “Wicked Ways”, featuring X Ambassadors, has Eminem talking about his career and his story so far. The song ends with an outro skit involving a very familiar character to past Eminem listeners, the homosexual Ken Kaniff. Eminem is in a bathroom and Kaniff walks into the stall next to him, in high heels and in drag and starts singing a variation of “Berzerk.” Realizing who it is, Eminem runs out of the bathroom screaming, leaving Kaniff alone.

Eminem has certainly returned to the spotlight with “The Marshall Mathers 2”, harkening back to previous albums and making himself relevant in this age where new artists are making their mark. The best selling rap artist of all time has proven that he is back, and he’s here to stay.

Read more of NT's album reviews here.

 

Reach Executive Producer Arash Zandi here. Follow him on Twitter here.