Eminem is back, and he is taking no survivors this time. On Aug. 31, Eminem released a surprise album titled Kamikaze with 13 tracks lasting 45 minutes. The album is very different from last year’s album Revival, with Eminem taking a more aggressive approach in his songs and calling out many people in the hip hop and pop culture. He also goes after the medias negative perception of him and Trump as well.
The album starts off with The Ringer, and right from the beginning, it is obvious that Em has had enough. Before launching into his all out attack on the current state of rap, he starts off by saying “I feel like I wanna punch the world in the… face right now.” This sets the tone not just for this song, but for the whole album. Throughout the album, Eminem’s frustration with society and the criticism that has been made against him is expressed in each and every track.
This pent up rage and frustration towards the direction hip hop is taking is evident throughout the album. One of the producers on the album, Illada Producer, says “Right away he comes out just blowing bad, spittin’. This is Eminem.” He also mentions that this new album is the return of the old Slim Shady, the one that took no prisoners and didn’t care about how the world felt about his music.
While many people are excited about this return to Eminem’s old style and flows, there is a large amount of people that believe he is not staying current. According to Nabeel Affarka, a sophomore at Pleasant Valley High School, “I think that he shouldn’t change the way he raps because it’s unique and not slow and he doesn’t mumble like the new generation of rappers.” Even though many people agree with this, some feel that he is resisting the change and evolution of hip hop/rap and is just an aging rapper trying to stay relevant.
As the culture of rap has changed, Kamikaze is a standout amidst the flurry of mumble rap and trap music. Eminem creates an album that places emphasis on the skilled lyricism and cadence that used to be more prevalent in the rap game. According to Kishore Vijaykumar, “The best quality of Eminem’s rapping is his ability to create good flow by rhyming a wide array of words.” Eminem’s ability to create meaning of seemingly disconnected words and rhyming them at the same time is one of the many reasons why he appeals to so many people.
