Sep 6, 2020 ppl went crazy the first few days. then the dissent, backlash to the accent and content kicked in. huge overcorrection happened.
Sep 6, 2020 I still remember when it leaked and I just sat in front of the computer with my sister through the entire first spin in silence. Just like whoa I was 16 at the time and loved every single song. Never heard anything like it. Leading up to release though, I wasn't a HUGE fan of We Made You but I think I convinced myself it was amazing in the context of everything else dropping at the time. I loved the I'm Having a Relapse freestyle when it dropped, it got me so hyped. I loved 3AM too. But some of my friends pointed out the accent and said it was wack. Lol. I was just like iTs An ArTiStIc ChOiCe GuYz
Sep 7, 2020 Even at the height of stan days I was super wary of what the album would be like—3AM, Crack a Bottle, and We Made You weren't exactly what I'd had in mind for his return lol. To put it into perspective, Encore came out when I was in 8th grade and Relapse came out when I was a senior in high school, so at that point in my life it felt like he'd been gone forever. I remember listening for the first time and thinking he was 100% back when I heard My Mom, and then the rest of the album was sort of ups and downs of me loving it and thinking "what the f--- am I listening to." At school people were really mixed on it. Half loved it and half thought it was terrible. But by that point kids were generally much more into Kanye, T.I., Jeezy, houston rap, Drake was first popping, etc. I definitely wrote a "mixed review" for my school paper lol—perhaps the genesis of my posting career (though if memory serves the first review I wrote was for Q-Tip's The Renaissance. I can only imagine how terrible they are lol). Album ended up growing on me though.
Sep 7, 2020 I remember those days at TRShady, there were people who hated his accent and there was a lot of hate. This album was hated by some as much as Revival. Probably only after the release of MMLP2 did people reconsider their views on Relapse and in recent years this album is most often called a classic, but 10 years ago no one called this album a classic.
Sep 7, 2020 I remember loving we made you then getting 3AM and loving it more and then I think Old Times Sake leaked or was released and I realised relapse was going to be dope as f---! And it was. My favourite Eminem album then and now.
Sep 7, 2020 First eminem album I listened to (like, on release date). From what I remember I loved the production, but hated the accent. 15 year old me didn't really care about content so that didn't bother me at all. We Made U s----d then and still sucks now. In 2020, I feel the same way except some songs I liked back then I dont really like now because of their content.
Sep 7, 2020 I remember I was so hyped for it. I played the Having a Relapse freestyle and possibly We Made You on repeat in the car for hours at a go. But then the album came and I just went flacid. I remember My Mom being my favourite song on their for a while as it was more like the Slim Shady, don't give a f---, mentality on there. The rest of it just seemed so forced and unnatural. I still played the h--- out of it but there was def part of me that was trying to force myself to like it. I think that's why I rank Recovery so high. I know it has a lot of failings but to me coming back from Relapse made it great and was more like what I wanted to hear from him. Even if it was aimed at the mainstream.
Sep 7, 2020 Hmm there is a point to be made here with the way Recovery was so exciting at the time. As much as I loved Relapse, it really left me wanting just a little bit more because it gave us teases of a really intense slim shady-esque direction in My Mom like you said, and also Underground (Despite its numerous cringe bars, I'm more referring to the overall energy and ferocity.) Most of the album had very esoteric raps like Hello and Medicine Ball that are appreciated today for their technical rhymes, wit, flow, production, or whatever but at the time felt stiff and lacking in voice/perspective. Recovery was a lot more personal and brought the energy of Relapse's high points and amped it up (probably too much in hindsight), but at the time it was hard not to be excited. Today I do place Relapse higher than Recovery. And I did kinda feel insulted when I first heard Not Afraid's lyrics apologizing for something that I really loved. But the change of direction was important in him finding his voice again.
Sep 7, 2020 Relapse era was the time where I started to get really interested in eminem and his music. I thought "Having a Relapse" was the new single and i downloaded it from youtube back then. As far i remember i couldnt tell if it was good or not. 3am was my favorite track back then. Today i will always say its a classic
Sep 7, 2020 It leaked late at night my time so I played it once. Couldn't believe I was hearing new eminem songs after so long. I remember Insane and Underground made a strong impression on me, like "he's really crazy". I felt uneasy. But it took me a long time to realize the album is a masterpiece.
Sep 7, 2020 I had been a huge fan way before that. I actually started being a 'Stan' before Stan had even dropped (early-mid 2000). Back to the topic - in order to understand where I'm coming from, I must first say that one of my most disappointing memories is when I first heard Encore. It showed that Eminem was human after all and an album of his could be a miss. So... when Relapse dropped, I really really appreciated it for its technicality. This was the first time since The Eminem Show (not counting 8 Mile obviously) that an Eminem album felt lyrically proficient and Eminem felt unfuckwithable once again. 02-09 is a h--- of a long time to drop a solid album. So yeah, loved it back then, love it now. Top 2 album post comeback for me (along with Kamikaze), it is a classic in my eyes
Sep 7, 2020 it's funny now to consider everything after 2009 as "comeback". There was a gap from MMLP2 to Revival as long as Encore to Relapse. It no longer feels like he was away.
