Eminem - Relapse (Review)

Here’s my triumphant return to album/mixtape reviews (I haven’t written a review since Elephant In The Room in March of last year lol). This is like the ultimate album review and I really feel like the Bill Simmons of Hip-Hop writing right now lol. Anyway, I would intro this review, but this shit goes over 1,500 words so let’s just get right into it:

The album starts off with Dr. West, a skit about Eminem being discharged from rehab when his "doctor" basically encourages him to drink and do pills. This shit is very well put together and sets a great tone for the direction the album is about to go in.

The second single 3 a.m. perfectly follows the Dr. West skit and tells the story of Em breaking out of rehab and going on a killing spree. Definitely some of that Slim Shady shit that we love. The beat is on point and so are the lyrics. This song gets no complaints from me, especially when played directly after the intro. That Dr. West shit really helped 3 a.m out. Not saying its not a good record in its own right, but its just better when heard in the context of the album.

"My mom, my mom. I know you're probably tired of hearin' about my mom..." Em sums up my feelings exactly when I heard Relapse would have a track called My Mom on it with the first line of the first verse. Since he acknowledged it, I gave him a break and gave this song a chance. It isn't terrible so its all good. The flow and cadence on the last verse is remnant of Brian Damage from The Slim Shady LP which is good, but other than that, My Mom is just about average. Nothing really notable outside of what I said about Brain Damage.

Tired of hearing Eminem talking ill about his mom?? How about a new dimension to his insanity: Getting molested by his stepfather! (Can't believe he saved this topic until his 6th album lol.) Even despite the sick Dr. Dre beat, Insane is kinda hard to listen to because of the subject matter, though I have to admit I laugh every time I hear him say, "After I fuck you in the butt, get some head, bust a nut, get some rest," in the first verse. (That shit is comedy! Disturbing comedy, but nonetheless comedy lol.) This is definitely a song you wanna listen to with headphones on. I can't imagine any scenario where listening to this out loud is acceptable. Picture being stop at the light and, "After I fuck you in the butt, get some head, bust a nut, get some rest," comes through the speakers. Yeah, that's not a good look lol.

Next up is Bagpipes From Baghdad, the infamous track that spawned Nick Cannon 5,000 rant lol. This track is a great example of why its hardly ever a good idea to have one producer doing the vast majority of your album. The beat sounds like a mix between My Mom and Insane with some weird bagpipes over it. Very unimpressive on the production side. If you ask me, they could've just dropped this shit from the album because its really pointless unless the phrase "bagpipes from Baghdad" has some hidden meaning I'm unaware of. Besides, bagpipes make people think of Ireland, not Baghdad and Em doing that Indian-type chant at the end didn't really help the Baghdad claim. Highly skippable track.

How is Hello not the first single off Relapse over We Made You?? I mean, yeah they would've had to edit a lot, but it was a better option than trying to rehash Em's old first single trends. Dre makes up for Bagpipes From Baghdad with the track for Hello. Elements of The Watcher 2 from Blueprint 2 and American Psycho II from D12 World in the beat and some crazy drums set this shit on fire from the jump. As far as what went over the beat is concerned, Em picks an interesting way to tackle the beat, but it actually works. Not many complaints can be made about Hello.

The skit Tonya sets up the next track lovely. Its as great an alley-oop for Same Song And Dance as Dr. West was for 3 a.m. Unlike most album skits, these actually serve a purposed and add cohesiveness to the album.

Same Song And Dance is that (literally) sick Slim Shady shit that we've grown to love over the years. Excellent storytelling of picking up and killing a young lady named Tonya, picking up and killing Lindsay Lohan, and lastly admitting his love for Britney Spears before also going on to kill her. Very nice track.

We Made You really isn't as bad as everyone has been making it seem. Yeah, Em's flow was a bit off and it would've been better suited if he made it in 2000, but it has some good elements. 1) The beat is actually kinda nice and 2) whoever the chick on the hook is (Dina Rae aka "Track 13 Girl" maybe??), she did a great job. I still think Hello would've been a better first single, but I don't hate We Made You.

Medicine Ball is clearly a filler, but despite its lack of a purpose its actually a pretty good song. Its a bit Encore-ish, but the beat goes hard rips that Christopher Reeves shit. I couldn't get that shit out of my head the other and just kept walking around saying, "Eminem I'm coming to kill you. Always hated you, and I still do," lol.

I ain't mad at this Paul skit. Don't make sense to break tradition now since its been a staple since SSLP.

Stay Wide Awake?? This is more like "Same Song And Dance Pt. 2" than anything else. Its good song in its own right, but its basically the same shit with different names, a different hook, and a somewhat different beat. I don't mind it too much thought because it fits the theme of the album and is even darker than Same Song And Dance.

Old Time's Sake is a break from the dark craziness to go back and forth with the good doctor. And though Eminem did probably write the entire song, Dre definitely outshines Em. This is mainly because while Dre goes with his signature flow, Em decides to bring back that weird Reign Man accent that nobody seems to like. All and all, this is a dope track despite the voice Em decides to rap in.

After all the heavy prescription drug talk, it’s weird that Eminem picks a track about weed and Hennessy to precede the skit where he overdoses. Anyway, on the surface Must Be The Ganja is another filler, but if you listen to the lyrics is actually pretty hot. That 2nd verse was one of the illest spit on the entire album. Go back and check for yourself, but these verses (the 2nd one in particular) go hard. The hook is surprisingly sort of catchy, but this Dre beat is lacking.

Here's the overdose skit Mr. Mathers I was talking about in the paragraph above. Another extremely useful skit, especially to jump off Deja Vu.

Another excellent track with top notch storytelling. Its crazy how Eminem can effortlessly paint these vivid pictures no matter the situation. That's why he's top 5 dead or alive in my book. You know, this track kinda sounds like the aftermath of The Marshall Mathers LP's Drug Ballad. Like this is how you'd expect the guy who couldn't turn down the drugs in that song to be acting now. I love it!

Beautiful is the sole Eminem produced track on Relapse and he really spits in the face of everyone who says all his beats sound the same and aren't hot. Though Em is at his best production-wise on Beautiful, his delivery is lacking big time. What he spits wasn't wack by far, but the voice he spit it in just wasn't cutting it. Why couldn't he just rap it his own voice?? I don't get it. The voice doesn't take away from the overall greatness of this record though so it’s all good.

I never liked Crack A Bottle because of the corniness of the hook (just doesn't sound like something Slim Shady would say), but for some reason I don't mind it on the album. I don't love it or anything, but I just don't mind it. It is what it is.

Steve Berman makes his return and it makes for another great Relapse skit. This skit also introducing Relapse 2, which is slated to drop later this year.

Last, but certainly not least is Underground. Man, this is the flow all the Eminem fans were waiting for for the full length of this CD. It starts off like SSLP's I Still Don't Give A Fuck and MMLP's Criminal with Em talking before going in and destroying the beat. My only complaint about this song is the weird tempo change from hook to verse. I loved the tempo of the beat during the verse, but the hook's was a bit too sharp and heavy. Fortunately it doesn't take too much away from the track overall and it still stand as my personal favorite.

To sum Relapse up in a few words, it sounds like a 2009 version of The Slim Shady LP. That’s definitely not a bad thing, especially coming off of Encore, so it receives high marks from me.

3.75/5