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There is no debate that Eminem has built the strongest fan base in all of Hip Hop history. If you take a step back to 2004 Eminem fans became very disappointed when Encore was released. When the album leaked on the internet, his biggest fans were questioning if the leaked version was even the actual album. They did not want to face the truth that it was in fact the real deal. An album that had a few great tracks but overall was not up to par with Eminem’s legacy. After this release, more or less Eminem dropped off the radar. Then in 2009 he came back and released his Relapse album. The album was somewhat of a disappointment to many of Eminem’s true fans that have been fans since his oldest material. Relapse needs to be listened from track 1 to 20 because it sort of takes you through a journey of a psychopath. This album kind of faced the same judgment as Encore with certain tracks being great and others being not up to Eminem’s legacy. One major complaint with the album is the fact that Eminem used his Arab accent throughout a ton of tracks.

Then in the summer Mariah Carey released a single called “Obsessed” where she was supposedly dissing Eminem. She dressed up like Eminem in her video or at least is what is believed to be Eminem. In typical Eminem fashion it didn’t take him long to lash back, and at the end of July we saw a new track called “The Warning.” Eminem reminded everyone why people’s careers get ended when Eminem has you in his sights. Then we saw MTV do their largely controversial Hottest MCs list. Eminem sold the most rap albums in 2009 and did not even make the list. Eminem has never addressed this, but right around the time this list was aired Eminem jumped on Forever, a track with Drake, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne. All of them came with strong verses and everyone has their own opinion on who did the best. But one thing stood out, the fact that Eminem came with a great verse that had no accent or anything cheesy. Eminem fans started to gain a little confidence back in him and hip hop fans everywhere began to take notice of him again. He lated did a collaboration with Lil Wayne “Drop The World” and then again with B.O.B “Airplanes Pt 2.”

Then on Eminem’s twitter he finally made the announcement that Relapse 2 was no longer the next album’s title but that it was changed to Recovery. Eminem fans started buzzing about whether or not this album would be great like his recent features or if it will be another repeat of Relapse and Encore. So Eminem dropped a freestyle via http://www.rapradar.com This freestyle was called “Despicable” and it was Eminem rapping over Drake’s “Over” beat and Lloyd Banks “Beamer Benz and Bently” beats. This freestyle gained alot of attention and was discussed all over the internet. But even with this Freestyle most fans were still not convinced that he would bring the heat for his album.

Then finally Eminem released his first single off Recovery called “Not Afraid.” In this track he addresses the fact that the last album wasn’t great and that the accents that fans everywhere found annoying were run into the ground. Those two lines were the only thing that fans across the world needed to hear. The song broke a first week record for being only the second song ever to debut at #1 on the charts. Hip Hop fans everywhere became very excited for the release of Recovery. And just like that Eminem had regained his loyal fan base but this would arguably be the last chance he had before he was written off.

3 Weeks before the album was due to hit stores, people everywhere began discussing it on various hip hop sites everywhere. Everyone was wondering when it would finally leak onto the internet so that they could acquire their first listen of the album. Into the 3rd week Eminem’s track with Pink “Wont Back Down” hit the internet and further fueled the fire that fans everywhere had. He attacked the usual targets on the track and also took a slight jab at Lil Wayne who was also featured on the album. Then yesturday (Monday June 7th) Tim Westwood a famous hip hop Dj from the United Kingdom premier a freestyle cyphur that featured Eminem, Royce Da 59, and Mr. Porter. This freestyle was downloaded by the masses and got everyone even more hyped for the leak of the album. Fans everywhere got their wish Last Night and the album was leaked to the internet.

So how does this album fare with Eminem’s catalog and the rest of Hip Hop? Upon the first listen of Recovery it became very clear very fast that this album is not one to be forgot. Cold Wind Blows kicks the album off with an angry Eminem just dropping ferocious lines. Move onto the next track “Talkin To Myself” and Eminem confesses he consider dropping diss tracks to Kanye West and Lil Wayne but held back. Instead of reviewing each track I am just going to go on to say that each track after just seems to sound better than the last and the whole album becomes a repeatable experience over and over again. A couple things important to note, is that the song with Lil Wayne “No Love” samples the “What Is Love” track made famous on Saturday Night Live. Only Eminem can pull off a sample like that. Lil Wayne raps the first verse which is your average Lil Wayne verse, but then Eminem comes in on the second verse and reminds you why he is one of the greatest of all time. It might be wise for Lil Wayne to distance himself as far away from Eminem as possible. The last track I will discuss is “Love The Way You Lie” which features Rihanna. Right off the bat you realize that this track is going to be the next single and it is going to do damage.

I will conclude this by saying a few things. Not everyone is an Eminem fan but if you love hip hop then there is at least a few tracks on this album for you to enjoy. If you seriously think that the album is garbage then you must have a personal gripe against Eminem and are missing a masterpiece. This album is such a breath of fresh air for hip hop. Any rapper to release an album after this one is really going to have to reexamine their work and make sure its well worth it. One popular question asked throughout Hip Hop history is why havn’t their been more White rappers to follow Eminem’s path to success. That question has been answered, because Eminem has set a barrier to entry so high that it might never be broken through. Its only recently have we seen Asher Roth, Yelawolf, and Bubba Sparxxx (2006). And we only saw those arguably because Eminem was not rapping in his greatest form. But now the barrier has been put back into place and it will be hard for a white rapper  to achieve anything. The last point I leave you with is one that is becoming a very popular topic. The question on how will Eminem do sales wise compared to Drake. In my personal opinion Drake picked an awful time to drop his debut. I think Eminem is going to do very well in the U.S. and even better overseas. Drake has a mountain to climb on this one.

Thanks for taking the time to read this long review. I really worked hard on it and tried not to be biased but there is only so much one can do with this album.

Thanks again

Site Admin (FoulPlay)