Grammy winning rapper Eminem released an unannounced album on Aug. 31, aptly named Kamikaze.
This surprise release follows 2017’s Revival, which was ridiculed harshly by critics, musicians, and fans.
The common attitude was that Slim Shady should retire from making music; that he is too old, hackneyed, or has nothing left to prove.
Eminem made a point to show his relevancy with Kamikaze, and spared no one.
“The Ringer” is the first track on the album and is a dense diatribe analyzing hip-hop today.
Within this song, Shady challenges prominent figures in music, Lil Pump, Lil Xan, Iggy Azalea, Machine Gun Kelly, and more to produce an articulate response to him.
The current state of hip-hop is being dominated by “mumble rap,” music that is performed by the new generation.
Some common themes in mumble rap include explicit drug abuse, sexism, and promiscuity. Mumble rappers such as Lil Pump, Lil Yachty, and Lil Uzi Vert murmur their lyrics at a rapid pace, which doesn’t impress Eminem.
Also in “The Ringer,” Shady addresses the downward spiral of rap, where he sends a wakeup call to the genre.
Eminem fires shots with, “I’m sorry, wait, what’s your talent?/ Oh, critiquin’ my talent…, To give a sub-par bar or even have an opinion or view” and “I heard you mumblin’s but it’s jumbled in mumbo-jumbo.”
Through this song the artist attempts to persuade mumble rappers to steer the genre back to where it should be.
The rapper compares his lyrical depth to their inferior lines and calls them “too stupid to get it” from prolonged drug usage.
However, there is hope.
Eminem does give praise to Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Joyner Lucas as saviors of rap music.
Other high points of the album were the songs “Lucky You (Feat Joyner Lucas)” about Eminem being his harshest critic, “Fall” again about his opinion of the decline of hip-hop, and the last track “Venom.”
This song will be featured on the soundtrack for the Marvel movie Venom in theaters Oct. 5.
The song serves as another incentive to catch the flick.
Then, on the sixth song, Eminem does something different.
“Stepping Stone” is a deeply contemplative song with hints of redemption through Christianity by washing away his sins.
In this song, the artist reflects on his humble beginnings in the rap group D12, and how he achieved fame while they were left behind.
Shady regrets his celebrity status, which interfered with his friendships.
The loss of Eminem’s friend Proof, or “Doody” as he calls him, drives the rapper to loathe his fame.
The piano that softly plays is haunting and dreadfully efficient.
The other eight songs are valiant swings and misses.
Throughout Kamikaze, the choruses are not melodic, the production is overdone, and the overarching theme is: “I’m Eminem, and I’m the Greatest.”
This reminder is not only monotonous, but arrogant as well.
Of those who Slim Shady called out, only one answered: Machine Gun Kelly.
The two have had issues since 2012 when MGK disrespected Eminem’s daughter, Hailie.
Kelly responded to “The Ringer” with his song “Rap Devil.”
In this ripped off title, MGK calls Shady “bored,” “a baby,” “a bully,” and overrated.
His best line is undoubtedly, “It’s a fast road when your idols become your rivals.”
An unspoken rule in rap music is to leave Eminem alone, because he has a laundry list of people that have been “lyrically murdered.”
Shady responded to MGK with a single called, “Killshot,” which features a cartoon of MGK in the scope of a rifle with red X’s over his eyes.
In the four-minute song, Eminem attacks MGK’s physical attributes with, “But how are you gonna name yourself after a damn gun, and have a man-bun?”
Throughout the single, Shady attacks MGK’s much younger age with terms like “kiddo.”
This beef isn’t a small quarrel, it’s a battle of wits that has had a huge impact on pop culture.
MGK has over 105 million views for the “Rap Devil” music video on YouTube, and “Killshot” has a close 97 million.
Both rappers racked up the staggering amount of views within less than a week.
Machine Gun Kelly might have laid down some good (and fair) punches at Slim Shady, but Eminem remains the uncontested diss-track rapper.
