I consider myself fairly well versed in music. I don’t adhere strictly to one or even a handful of genres. In my Spotify mega-playlist you’ll find anything from WWI propaganda songs, Taylor Swift re-releases, N.W.A, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, a ludicrous amount of John Williams, and just about everything in between. But I’m more of a jack of all trades, master of none, when it comes to music. My musical reach is wide but my expertise narrow.
This year I decided that on top of collecting handfuls of hits from across the genres and decades I was going to deep dive on a variety of artists. I can count on one hand (almost) the number of artists whom I’ve listened to their entire discographies- Weird Al Yankovic, MouseRat, Childish Gambino, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, and the Beatles (in that order). Needless to say, I felt that to be a truer student of music I needed to up that number.
The decision to dive deep was easy, the decision on who’s career to dive deep on first was not. None the less, I came to a conclusion and finished this particular artist’s latest album not too long ago. The artist in question being…
The Marshall Mathers Experience
Eminem was not my initial choice, but the more I thought about it the more that Slim Shady felt like the essential first listen. Why? Because being an angsty white boy myself, I connected to his music at a time when the both of us where working on self-reinvention.
Eminem was the first musician that I discovered on my own. He wasn’t found on my Dad’s CD rack, he wasn’t in my brother’s MP3 collection. He was someone I discovered outside of hand-me down musical tastes. It just so happens that when Recovery released, I was a middle schooler looking for something a little less glamourous than “sex, drugs, and rock and roll”.
While I can’t say I relate to much of his pre-Recovery albums, the artist struck a chord with me as someone who was also trying to figure out where they fit into the world and who they wanted to be, as well as who they actually were.
So when I booted up Spotify to start down my musical trek, I first queued up The Slim Shady LP.
Slim Shady
Having heard the entirety of the Slim Shady persona, I don’t really care much for it. Eminem’s early years feature the anger he’s famous for but none of the self-reflection or bite. There are catchy songs, yes, but Eminem spends most of these albums talking (or yelling) down to his audience.
Every album from The Slim Shady LP through Encore is fettered with spiraling self-destruction, and the artist’s personal life around that time backs up the lyrics. These aren’t terrible albums musically, but they lack a lot of the purpose and commentary that really makes the latter half of his career stand out.
Relapse, Recovery, and The Marshall Mathers LP 2
In my opinion, this is Eminem’s best stretch, though I’m also a fan of his latest three albums following MMLP2. Relapse is a really solid bridge between the angsty Slim Shady persona and the more grounded Eminem that’s present from Recovery onwards.
Relapse
Following his drug and marital relapses, Relapse is really mournful, though it still features the usual angst. But for the first time in his career his anger feels like it comes from a place more genuine than actual hate. Part of the reason for this is the focus on the artist’s own mistakes rather than the blame game that takes up much of the Slim Shady era. Relapse is where Slim Shady grew up.
Recovery
This is not only the first Eminem album that I discovered, but it is by far my favorite. I got into this album, like most of my music, because of a movie. The Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol trailer heavily featured the track Won’t Back Down and from there I was hooked.
Eminem comes off as angry but no longer angsty. Capitalizing on the depth of Relapse, this feels like the first album where Eminem really has something to say beyond his individual experience. It’s the apotheosis of his career and personal life as he sheds the old, reflects on it, and embraces the new.
I gravitated towards this album in the 7th and 8th grade not because it was popular but because I felt it. As a kid who was bullied and constantly warring between his own nerdy tendencies and the “cool” kid he thought he needed to be, this album spoke to my own self-loathing. Even a decade later it still speaks to that wounded kid inside of, though now listening to it with hindsight on my side it’s also a marker for how far I’ve come.
The Marshall Mathers LP 2
Though I didn’t find it as lyrically or thematically deep as the previous two albums, this is perhaps my favorite of Eminem’s work from a purely musical standpoint. This album is littered with musical samples and remixes from classic 70’s rock and utilizes some incredible features. Kendrick Lamar, in particular, has a feature on the song Love Game where he sings, raps in his usual persona, and then raps in an imitation of the Slim Shady persona; and it is nothing short of fantastic.
Revival, Kamikaze, and Music to Be Murdered By
Though I’m sentimentally attached to the Recovery period, I love the current phase of Eminem. The second phase of Eminem is the artist opening up his own life to the world, but this phase is him commenting on the world outside of himself. This phase of Eminem is biting, rhythmically pushing his own musical talent, and a very pro-active use of his platform. Eminem has never been one to be known for being happy, but he voices his unhappiness and speaks out against what’s causing the unhappiness of others. It could easily come across as his “woke” period, but the commentary that he offers on police brutality, nationalism, and corruption come with a purpose. He lends his platform to other voices with greater frequency and effectiveness on these three albums.
Looking Back
Eminem was a good first choice for deep diving. You can learn a lot about the evolution of an artist musically from the progression of his albums. You can also learn a lot about mixing and the ways that music can cross genre in great detail. In hindsight I’m glad I picked a solo artist to start with because you get a deeper, interconnected story from the totality of his albums because they are uniquely and individually his.
Ranking Eminem
Top Ten Songs
- Talkin’ 2 Myself
- Going Through Changes
- Without Me
- Won’t Back Down
- Love Game
- Space Bound
- No Love
- Cinderella Man
- Lose Yourself
- Cold Wind Blows
Who’s Next?
I was never a huge fan of my next deep-dive artist until about two years ago when I stumbled across a few of his deeper tracks and begin to learn about his personal life. Recently I’ve found myself returning to his music more and more often, and the podcast he recently started with a former U.S. President cemented my decision. That’s why part 2 will be all about none other than The Boss.
Collin Willis 