I'm hatin' my reflection, I walk around the house tryin' to fight mirrors, I can't stand what I look like, yeah, I look fat, but what do I care? I give a fuck, only thing I fear, is Hailie, I'm afraid if I close my eyes I might see her. "Going Through Changes" sees Eminem telling the story of his near-suicide, describing a self-loathing so severe that even his daughter became a negative trigger: On Recovery, Eminem squeezes into a microscope slide and scrutinizes himself as fairly as the rest of the fray. Unapologetic stories had been his business, but those came from a displaced perspective, whether through other people's perspectives (notably the smash hit "Stan") or through a funhouse-mirror take on his troubled past. Yet Eminem has never taken braver lyrical action. Fans and critics alike will target these moments: What kind of rapper apologizes? Less talk, more action, Mr. This segment from "Not Afraid" is one of many moments in which Em calls out the last disc (and, hell, the one before it) as a bummer, takes responsibility and asks for fans' forgiveness. In fact, Let's be honest, that last Relapse CD was "ehh" Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground Relax, I ain't going back to that now There's a game called circle and I don't know how I'm way too up to back down To the fans, I'll never let you down again, I'm back I promise to never go back on that promise. The most novel feature on next week's release, Recovery, is the humility: Indeed, Em nixed his original plan to release Relapse 2, cutting off all ties from the rotten disc with a new name, new producers, and a new, more panicked vocal attack. The 36-year-old sounded tired.Įminem didn't respond to the shortcoming by wallowing and hiding out again. Relapse's phony levity and shock-value grabs were mere ghosts of the Shady persona, and Eminem further bungled the proceedings with hokey accents, paltry rhymes, and ho-hum pop references (Christopher Reeves? Jessica Simpson?). But the result, like a recovering addict in denial, was an insincere, heartless mess. Figures that Eminem would take such a challenge last year his early-'00s peak was the largest hip-hop had ever seen, as was his five-year hiatus (a much bigger number in hip-hop years).Ģ009's Relapse came after drug addictions and crippling depression, and its songs cheekily acknowledged those roadblocks while miming the quirky "Slim Shady" material of old. There are exceptions, of course-Jay-Z couldn't keep quiet after "retirement" to test his lasting power, and came back with an amazing album and an incredible string of concert tours. Superstar MCs rarely return from a long hiatus at the top of the rap game.
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