Eminem: Relapse...thoughts

OK, so i dunno what happened to Slim Shady, or even Marshall Mathers? Em hasn't had a decent piece of work since The Eminem Show, and with the nonsense that he put out with Encore, it seemed right that he come out of retirement to try and salvage his name. 5 years later he comes out with Relapse, and i've gotta say i'm less than impressed. For some reason he's gone back to that sound that he used back on the Slim Shady LP, except now his lyrics aren't as funny or interesting. Naming an album Relapse you'd think he'd gone through some serious turmoil and would have mad stories to tell, but he's essentially talking about nothing for 20 tracks.

The rapper we all came to love was clearly present in the Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show. Just the way his voice sounded on those albums was so much more rugged and engaging. i mean, The Way I Am? Classic, and he just brought you in with everything he said. I gave this album a quick listen straight through, and there was nothing about any of the songs really that made me want to play it back or listen closely to what he was saying. I think it all goes back to how his voice sounds on these. High pitched, and whiney for 5 minutes talking about nothing of significance. I'll give it a couple more listens and hope to hear something better, but i'm doubtful. If you're gonna come out of retirement, you know you have to come with something strong, cause you have to prove that the game missed you while you were gone, ie, American Gangster. yes there was Kingdom Come as the initial comeback, but Hov gave us a classic the next time around. So i can only hope Em comes with something different after seeing the failure in this album. His peak must've actually come back on The Black Album where he outdid Jay-Z on his own song. That was the marking of him being the best rapper in the game.

Now......?