Everyone Hates Eminem's New Album
Before the highly anticipated "Revival," Eminem hadn't released an album since 2013's "The Marshall Mathers LP 2," which won the rapper two Grammy awards. The time gap created plenty of suspense for Slim Shady's large group of fans, which is why the flop of his latest album is such a surprise. Since its release last Friday, "Revival" has been skewered by reviewers or at least soaked with a bucket of lukewarm water. Here's what the critics had to say.
Eminem Fails As A Political Ally
Previewed by Eminem's anti-Trump freestyle at this year's BET Awards, Revival is Eminem's first overtly political album. Ann-Derrick Gaillot explains how Eminem failed to successfully be an ally to black and brown people:
"Untouchable," is its first foray into explicit political commentary. Here Eminem attempts to call out white privilege and anti-blackness in America, but song falls flat as he breaks the cardinal rule of allyship: don't make it about you. In the song's first half, Eminem raps from the perspective of a racist white police officer experiencing scattered moments of self awareness while patrolling a black neighborhood… The premise feels contrived until the second half of the song, where it becomes embarrassing, as he begins to rap from the perspective of a resident of a poor black neighborhood.
He's Late To The Game
For Pitchfork, Eminem's "woke" album is year's late — a fact made worse by bad production:
In 2017, listening to an Eminem rant against police brutality or a racist president can feel like watching "60 Minutes" after spending the week on Twitter; a slow recounting of last week's news. It's certainly possible that these screeds could be revelatory for Eminem's most delusional racist fans, but for those of us who've long since arrived and who've put in work every day, it just sounds tired. And if the beats knocked, it would probably be tolerable, too. But legendary executive producers Dr. Dre and Rick Rubin managed to stuff a bloated tracklist with uninspired production and instantly forgettable pop hooks.
Eminem Says He's Woke, But His Lyrics Say Something Different
The New York Times, among other publications, has pointed out that despite Eminem's newfound explicit woke-ness, some of his lyrics display quite the opposite:
Eminem has always been keenly attuned to the way whiteness has figured into his success, but here, for maybe the first time, he's also seeking to disentangle himself from its most problematic shades. This echoes his vigorous anti-Trump performance at the BET Hip Hop Awards in October, in which he said that Trump supporters were no longer welcome in his fandom… But his giggling promise on "Heat" to "Grab you by the (meow!), hope it's not a problem, in fact/About the only thing I agree on with Donald is that" suggests the two men may not be as far apart as he'd like to think.
He Makes Bizarre References And Comparisons
He compares himself to Bill Cosby on "Offended", completely undermining anything else the song has to level at deserving, should-be easy targets like Mitch McConnell, Kellyanne Conway, or the president. When he references Anna Nicole Smith, who's been dead for 10 years, to reference her boobs on "Remind Me", there's no empathy or parallels, despite the fact that the closing track, "Arose", is a hypothetical farewell to his kids if he had died from the pill overdose he survived the same year Smith died.
The Music Just Isn't That Good
On his very long, jagged-edged, oddly sequenced ninth album, "Revival," Eminem remains one of the most accomplished technical rappers of his generation, but his taste in beats and subjects lets him down mightily. Leaning on charisma-free collaborations, histrionic productions, and nearly half a dozen attempts to rewrite his 2010 hit "Love the Way You Lie," "Revival" is a messy, ultimately exhausting misfire. It's a shame, because Eminem still has plenty to say, but even his newfound political consciousness can't steer him away from some of his worst instincts.
[Variety]
The Collaborations Are Weird
The arc of history doesn't dictate that Eminem has ever made a good song with X Ambassadors or Pink, and they still sound bad on "Bad Husband" and "Need Me," respectively. The latter might've been an inside job: It's a vomitous sonic Crayola mess. "Like Home" is an anti-Trump patriotism anthem that uses an extended bird metaphor that concludes, "Why you think he banned transgenders from the military with a tweet?" Eminem makes the odd decision to leave a synthetic placeholder in the hook's vocal track; the official track list says that's supposed to be Alicia Keys, but there's a jig there somewhere.
[Spin]
The Whining Gets Old
It's a big part of his narrative nowadays, and it gets boring fast: The haters are always hating him, and the criticism really does get to him, but he knows deep down that he's actually really talented and a good person. "Bitch, I wrote 'Stan'," he flailingly insists on Revival's cheese-fueled, Beyoncé-assisted first single "Walk On Water," after pouring out his deepest insecurities for five minutes. His constant self-arguments—I don't suck! Or do I? — are as worn and tired at this point as an overstretched rubber band.
[AV Club]
Maybe Just Skip It
Is he for real when he raps on Castle: "I'll put out this last album, then I'm done with it / One hundred percent finished, fed up with it / I'm hanging it up, fuck it"? Much of this album makes you hope he is.