Eminem - Encore

My Thoughts: (Reviewed by K-Billy)

Two years after the unheard of success of his album “The Eminem Show” the notorious rapper whose real name is Marshall Mathers is back with his 5th album “Encore.” With his latest release Eminem becomes a bit schizophrenic. At this point in his career it seems as though he needs to make a definite decision about the direction his music will go in yet he continues to teeter back and forth. There are two styles to Eminem on this album. On one hand he delivers some powerful and pure rap tracks that will amaze you with their complexities. On the other hand he also makes his joker songs, poking fun at various celebrities. So in this sense it really depends on what we as the public want Eminem to be. Do we still want the jokester or would we rather have the serious side of Mr. Mathers. I personally prefer his more serious tracks.

The act that he’s put on for so long is starting to wear thin as far as the humor goes. “Just Lose It” (while catchy and carefree) could never live up to his previous singles “Real Slimshady” or “Without Me.” It’s not as if these songs falter in quality, it’s simply that Eminem really has nothing to say on the joke tracks and it’s evident. He admits it after the nonsensical “Rain Man” where Em jokes, “I don’t have to make sense, I just sang a whole song and I didn’t say shit.” They’re still mildly fun but it’s time for Eminem to make the transition to veteran rapper. In some ways he has, many of the tracks are top notch Eminem. High points include “Never Enough” where he’s impressive as ever with his rhyming schemes. Not to mention the cameo by 50 Cent who holds his own against the master.

In fact all the tracks featuring other artists including Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Nate Dogg, Obie Trice, Stat Quo, and D12 are solid. “One Shot 2 Shot” is particularly entertaining featuring all the members of D12 and recounting an entire story of a gang war within the song, showing creativity and invention. Eminem even talks about his feud with Ja Rule (who sucks by the way) on the track “Like Toy Soldiers” where we see a cool headed Em playing the whole thing off. And considering everyone’s doing it he also has his political bashing of the war and current president on the stomping track “Mosh.”

At the moment if you buy the CD you also get a bonus disc with three unreleased tracks called “We As Americans” “Love You More” and “Ricky Ticky Toc” which are much better then any of the joke songs on this album and should’ve replaced them. The bonus disc really does feature three incredible songs from Em. Overall the CD is an excellent release. It’s still Eminem and he’s still at the top of his game. However he’s come to a turning point and seemingly hasn’t made up his mind which direction to go in from here. As a result the CD seems like it’s split in two. However even the joke songs are still good and the serious tracks far outweigh any bad on this CD. He’s still the best.

Key Tracks:

Never Enough
Like Toy Soldiers
Encore
Evil Deeds
One Shot 2 Shot