Apr 1, 2020

And yeah @Big Cuntry lmk I got big plans for this

 

Apr 1, 2020

big plans for what?

 

Apr 1, 2020

@Michael Myers @Zhaddow

13. Marsh—Many great rappers referred to themselves as aliens (Andre/Big Boi, Wayne, Future, Uzi, Kanye, etc.), so it’s kinda cool hearing Em enter himself into that pantheon. It’s not my favorite song in the world, but I like it and it’s a nice change of pace from him. I really like that he’s getting out of his comfort zone. Definitely some bad punchlines in here though.

14. Never Love Again—Pt. 1: I just looked it up and…this is a Dre beat? Very generic. We already had five versions of this song on Recovery. Next.

(Side note: the only one of these types of songs I really like is “Spacebound,” it actually feels like there’s some real emotion in there and I like the theory that it’s about breaking up with his addiction in addition to a woman.)

Pt 2: Way better production than part one, a little more energetic, still not great.

15. Little Engine—Flow in verses is so monotonous. The way he delivers the chorus makes it feel like it could belong on an older Em song. I like the bones of the flying saucer beat but it feels like it never really drops. Overall wasted potential with a chorus and skeleton of a beat that could have been fleshed out.

16. Lock it Up—Finally, a great, hypnotic Dre beat. I enjoyed Paak on here a lot—I loved Venice, Malibu, and Yes Lawd! but he wore out his welcome for me after that, so it’s nice hearing him on something I like again. Em flows nicely at certain points but it gets a lil choppy in pockets, not horrible though. Song is kinda about nothing as far as I can tell? The lyrics/flow aren’t good enough to succeed as braggadocios track for me. Paak outrapped Em on here by far imo.

Side note: it's worth mentioning that the length of this album has worn out its welcome by this point as well

 

Apr 1, 2020

@Michael Myers @Zhaddow

@BigCountrySXN here's my track by track review of Music to Be Murdered By:

Spoiler: Tracks 1-16

1. Premonition Intro—still think it's one of the stronger songs, good intro. Glad he basically just uses this song to respond to kami backlash instead of another whole album lol. Sets off the tone for the album nicely.

2. Unaccommodating—Not really sure how I feel bout this paring. I feel like Em and M.A. have two different takes on this instrumental to the point where it almost feels like they don't belong on the same song. I also think Young M.A. sounds much more effortless on here than Em does. There are some decent Em parts on this, but there's too many corny punchlines and I feel like he tries to rap too fast after Young MA does her thing by taking a more laid-back approach. The contrast doesn't really work for me, idk

3. You Gon Learn—Love this instrumental. I think Royce is a rare example of a rapper who has gotten better with middle age and it's nice to see him collabing with Em so often. Like with the previous track the Em verse doesn't do all that much for me, especially when it opens up with this monotonous flow. Idk why a rapper who was blessed with the gift of melody/flow has so many pockets like that on his late-career albums.

4. Alfred Interlude—I love Hitchcock, so I appreciate the theme even if I don't think it quite works on the album itself

5. Those Kinda Nights—Ed Sheeran is horrible, don't ever want to hear him in any capacity. Another attempt at a WTP/c-m on Everybody type song. What a waste of a beat that had potenetial. I don't want to hear about Bizarre getting a lapdance. Next.

6. In Too Deep—Another song about a made-up relationship. Doesn't really sway me one way or the other. The beat is hypnotic enough that it makes it less boring than the average soulless 2010s em song.

7. Godzilla—Great song other than the choppy passage in the third verse. Supersonic flow I can take or leave. Juice WRLD Hook is amazing, wish he could have recorded a verse for this. Probably Em's best/most fun post-hiatus single.

8. Darkness—I appreciate what he was doing this song. Cool/creative concept but I don’t think it’s this amazing revelation at the end—people were acting like it was like watching The Usual Suspects for the first time in 1995 or something (and he actually refs this movie in the song I just noticed lol)…it becomes pretty obvious what’s going on fairly early on in the song.

But I also don’t think it has to be this amazing revelation for it to be a good song or to execute the concept well. It reminds me of when people were talking about how complex the narrative good kid, m.A.A.d. city had when its narrative is very simple…but it being simple isn’t a bad thing! Because it executes a simple narrative extremely well.

I’m personally not too big on the song sonically. It’s not something I’m gonna be listening to often, but there’s no denying it’s a great song. When Em gets narrative songs right like this, they really hit. Also, I lol’d @ the end of the music video when it tells you to visit eminem.com for more information about gun violence lololol like Eminem dot com is the premium source where people would go to learn about gun violence.

9. Leaving Heaven—Beat knocks, this is the type of stuff Em is great rapping over…but unfortunately I find the song to be a bit generic. Don’t really like the instrumental change during the chorus, copy and paste skylar grey hook. There’s some choppy parts—it’s cool when he does the triplet flow in double time but it goes on a little too long. Musings on fame and being poor we’ve heard before on much better songs.

Why is he still talking about D’Angelo Bailey? Why is he still yelling about his dad like a teenager? If you’re not over your high school bully at 47 you need therapy.

At least it has this: “Okay, so while Macklemore was keeping his room nice and neat/I was getting my a--- beat twice a week” lmao

10. Yah Yah—I’ve been vocal that this is one of the best songs from the start, and my opinion hasn’t changed. Q-Tip hook is insanely good, beat/butsa sample is flames, Royce and Black Thought verses are fantastic, and this type of stuff is where Em truly shines: competitive raps without delving into rapidity rap territory, legitimately having fun at rapping, and showing just how much he respects the genre.

Say what you want a bout his output, but you can’t deny that Em truly respects the art of rap and knows its history.

11. Stepdad Intro—lol

12. Stepdad—Charlie Work once mentioned that listening to Future's "Tony Montana" nearly 10 years later borderlines on self-parody, and that's how I feel about Em and this hook, but much worse. It's grating. These types of songs could be endearing when he was younger but I just don't f---ing care at this point. People us the term embarrassing too loosely when talking about rap, but I can’t imagine being older than 17 and not being embarrassed to play this in public. In fact I instinctively turned this down when it started so my roommate wouldn’t hear me listening to it lol. It makes “Insane” look like “Lose Yourself.”

I understand that some people have had abusive parents and can relate, but the execution of this song is horrible and immature. Next.

13. Marsh—Many great rappers referred to themselves as aliens (Andre/Big Boi, Wayne, Future, Uzi, Kanye, etc.), so it’s kinda cool hearing Em enter himself into that pantheon. It’s not my favorite song in the world, but I like it and it’s a nice change of pace from him. I really like that he’s getting out of his comfort zone. Definitely some bad punchlines in here though.

14. Never Love Again—Pt. 1: I just looked it up and…this is a Dre beat? Very generic. We already had five versions of this song on Recovery. Next.

(Side note: the only one of these types of songs I really like is “Spacebound,” it actually feels like there’s some real emotion in there and I like the theory that it’s about breaking up with his addiction in addition to a woman.)

Pt 2: Way better production than part one, a little more energetic, still not great.

15. Little Engine—Flow in verses is so monotonous. The way he delivers the chorus makes it feel like it could belong on an older Em song. I like the bones of the flying saucer beat but it feels like it never really drops. Overall wasted potential with a chorus and skeleton of a beat that could have been fleshed out.

16. Lock it Up—Finally, a great, hypnotic Dre beat. I enjoyed Paak on here a lot—I loved Venice, Malibu, and Yes Lawd! but he wore out his welcome for me after that, so it’s nice hearing him on something I like again. Em flows nicely at certain points but it gets a lil choppy in pockets, not horrible though. Song is kinda about nothing as far as I can tell? The lyrics/flow aren’t good enough to succeed as braggadocios track for me. Paak outrapped Em on here by far imo.

Side note: it's worth mentioning that the length of this album has worn out its welcome by this point as well

17. Farewell—A poem by a 47 year old man with multiple daughters:

For what it's worth
You were a slut at birth
If the world had a d-ck
You'd f--- the Earth
I tried to get over you
It doesn't work
You're still a c----
I'm still a f---ing jerk

Another generic relationship song, prob the worst of the bunch. At least the other ones are generic in a somewhat relatable sense. This song is only relatable to dudes who buy flats of Monster and punch holes in dry wall. Horrible song.

18. No Regrets—Don Toliver hook is great, if you started playing the song for someone and they didn’t know what it was, there’s no way they’d guess it was an Em song. And I mean that in a good way, cuz he’s getting more out of his comfort zone. Lots of flow switches and certain pockets are effortless, reminds me of why Em was so great in his younger days. This is what an actual, good, introspective song looks like—Em’s bread and butter when he’s at his best.

19. I Will—This hook is the polar opposite of Stepdad in that it’s An Extremely Eminem Hook, but in a good way (s/o @conspiracy g---). I think I mentioned it before, but I think Royce is a rapper who’s gotten better in middle age. I love hearing him collab with Em, because Em usually brings his best in those cases. Both Em and Royce are fantastic on here. This is an example of Em showing off his technical skills that’s both impressive and works in the song’s favor, rather than just being rappity rap.

My one qualm: I wish Crooked I and Joel Ortiz weren’t on here at all, because they reeeaaaaalllly make it sag in the middle. Royce and the hook start it off great, and then it’s kinda like you’re just waiting for Em’s verse lol. In fact I may download an mp3 and edit out the middle part myself lol. All in all a great final song though.

20. Alfred - Outro—I’ll se this as a spot to say my final/overall thoughts:

Like I said before, I love Hitchcock and I understand what Em was going for here. But the s-----y relationship songs and other soulless songs like “Those Kinda Nights” don’t fit the theme at all and bring it down to the point where you forget there’s a theme at all until Alfred Pops up himself. I really would have liked him to trim the fat on this one and have it just be a collection of fun/competitive posse cuts and introspective stuff where he digs deep like “Premonition” and “No Regrets.”

I was a little harsh on the album when it first dropped, but I still think it’s very flawed and the parts where Em shows what once made him one of the best rappers in the world are bogged down by the soulless Recovery-lite cuts. Those songs being in there at all (and so frequent) reeeeaaallly messes up the flow and sequencing of the album, which is partially why I initially had such a negative reaction. With a little time I came to appreciate some of the individual songs more. I’d say it’s his best post-hiatus album after Relapse. Kamikaze is tighter, but the “old man yells at cloud” content doesn’t really age well for me.

 

Apr 1, 2020

Basically u seem to like half of this @Big Cuntry

 

Apr 1, 2020

Great
Godzilla (feat Juice WRLD)
Yah Yah (feat. Royce Da 5’9”, Q-Tip, Denaun)

Good
Premonition (Intro)
I Will (feat KXNG Crooked, Royce Da 5’9”, Joell Ortiz) (would be great without the joel and crooked verses)
Darkness
No Regrets (feat Don Toliver)

Average or I like the non-Eminem parts
Unaccommodating (feat Young MA)
You Gon’ Learn (feat Royce Da 5’9” and White Gold)
Lock It Up (feat Anderson .Paak)
Marsh

Bad:
In Too Deep
Leaving Heaven (feat Skylar Grey)
Little Engine

Horrible:
Stepdad
Those Kinda Nights (feat Ed Sheeran)
Farewell
Never Love Again

N/A
Alfred (Interlude)
Stepdad (Intro)
Alfred (Outro)

 

Apr 1, 2020

I thought u liked marsh ? Overall agree w a large part of this gonna listen again and give my thoughts

 

Apr 1, 2020

Also @Papa Alpha Andy ur turn now!

 

Apr 1, 2020

The main things I disagree w @Big Cuntry

Lock it up. It's about nothing you say.. I honestly don't get this when so many rappers just say a bunch of random s--- / lines without a real purpose. I think its sonically great and all 3 (dre, em and paak) did a great job here. Em is calm, confident and obviously paak kills it. Beat is great as u said.

Leaving heaven is good/ok imo not bad. Kinda agree w ur analysis though.

Those kinda nights is fun..u hate ed I know but if u ignore that its a decent little fun track.

I also think the songs u listed as good are great but yeah thats just personal, u gave them credit they deserve.

 

Apr 1, 2020

Don't worry @Papa Alpha Andy, any responses to your forthcoming assessment will be done from the shitter.

Stuff under "average" means I liked the song but there's enough stuff bringing it down that it's not something I'm gonna listen to a bunch. Or in the case of You Gon Learn, I love Royce and the beat and the hook but Em brings it down for me.

Like I said, I'm all for a braggadocious track—I thought Paak's parts were great!—but both Em's delivery and his lyrics didn't impress me. I love the hook, love the beat, love the paak verse.

I hate ed and don't find the song charming despite a few funny lines. It's pretty bad. And this is coming from someone who loves c-m on Everybody.

When I was considering what songs to include as "great," I just thought about what tracks I'm still revisiting two months later, and those tracks are Yah Yah and Godzilla. If I make an edit that takes out the s--- slaughterhouse members I would listen to I Will too.

 

Apr 1, 2020

Fair enough. Oh btw pls send me that I will edit. Without those 2 clowns its flawless

Oh and u might disagree but this review is a lot more valuable to me than overall reviews that focus on almost everything but the individual songs. This gives credit where its due (to you) and criticism where u feel its needed.

 

Apr 1, 2020

It depends what you're looking for when you listen to an album. For me, I'm looking for a cohesive body of work, but since you're looking for songs to add to playlists I can understand why track by track would be more valuable to you.

I really only make playlists for occasions like parties and roadtrips.