Eminem’s third album proves his genius


During my senior year of high school, I found a box of CDs that my dad kept in the basement.

Some were good, some were bad, and some were so bad I felt embarrassed for him. A few of them caught my eye, however, and I appropriated them for my own personal collection to listen to at a later time.

When the end of October came around, I popped in one of those CDs in particular to see what all the fuss surrounding the album was about. This was when I truly understood why Eminem is one of the greatest rappers of all time, and why The Marshall Mathers LP is his magnum opus.

This album showed me how much of a musical genius Eminem is. He manages to master everything that made him popular on his last outing and condense it into an album that doesn’t drag on for too long, making sure that almost every line is quotable and every song is memorable.

His internal rhyme scheme has never been stronger in an album. My jaw still drops when I hear his verses on “Remember Me” and “Kill You.” The way he’s able to stuff one bar with multiple rhymes like a Thanksgiving turkey is mindblowing, and I don’t think anyone will be able to recreate his technique on a level like this ever again.

My jaw also drops when I hear some of the things he says on some of these songs. Even at 20, when I pay my own bills, fill out tax forms and am considered an adult in the eyes of the law, I still feel like I have to hide this album from my parents. I thought the last album could get dark at times, but this album is on a whole new level.

Domestic abuse, school shootings, drug abuse and things I can’t even mention in a school newspaper are all slight work for Slim on this album — hell, all of these sensitive topics make an appearance in one song. Yet, like he did on his previous album, he somehow finds a way to make all of these things and even more despicable acts and crimes sound ludicrously funny, which forces you to take a step back and think about what you’re laughing at. His dark wit is a large part of what makes this album so successful. I still find myself laughing at random times when I’m reminded of some of his funniest quips from this album.

While he brings the laughs, he also shows his more serious side on a couple of songs. “Stan” immediately comes to mind. If you have never heard this track, I honestly urge you to listen to it at your earliest convenience. It’s haunting, but it’s tragically beautiful, and it’s one track out of many that shows that Eminem’s storytelling skills are on par with his rapping skills. Another serious song, “The Way I Am,” is Eminem giving an honest look into how frustrating his newfound fame is, showing that while it got him millions of fans, it also got him just as many, if not twice as many critics.

However, being true to his nature, Eminem couldn’t give any less of a damn about what a critic could think, and it’s one of the main points he stresses throughout the album. Part of the reason I love this album so much is because of how cheeky he is over its entirety. Every line that could be seen as offensive is a wink to the average conservative parent or religious nut daring them to go up in arms against his speech. One of my favorite jokes about this is in “Who Knew” when he asks: “You want me to watch my mouth? How? / Take my f-ckin’ eyeballs out and turn them around?” If the average American was offended by The Slim Shady LP, this album probably gave them an aneurysm.

For starters, this album gave me quality listening material for the rest of the year. The CD didn’t leave my car until I had to turn it in when the lease was up. I listened to this album at least once a month the whole way through for my entire senior year.

This, like some of those albums I’ve written about, have been synonymous with home for me. And when I moved away from college, Eminem’s hit forced me to remember that I’d be leaving Detroit in a couple of months for somewhere as unfamiliar and new like Los Angeles.

It also finally clicked as to why Michiganders have two holy trinities: the father, the son and the holy ghost and Eminem, Marshall Mathers and Slim Shady. I often have memories of when Detroit was the murder capital of the nation and how people who weren’t from Detroit saw it as a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

What Eminem helped to do with an album as commercially and critically successful as this was give the city a voice. He showed that you don’t have to grow up in the slums of the Bronx or Compton to have a story to tell, since the Mitten state is full of prideful people who know how great their state is.

Even with his humble beginnings in Michigan, he was able to make something of his life, and that gives hope to Michiganders everywhere. With this album, he told everyone who overlooked Michigan as a flyover state exactly where they could stick their pretentious attitude.

Spencer Lee is a junior majoring in narrative studies.  His

column, “Spencer’s Soapbox,” runs every Tuesday. He is also the chief copy editor of the  Daily Trojan.

2 replies
  1. Lost My Way.
    Lost My Way. says:

    Once a month for a year?

    Try 8 times a day for a year, then daily for a few years and then at least once a month for the years since.

    Nice to read someone discovering a passion for Em through MMLP still today.

    But if it was your dads why do you need to hide it from your parents lol

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