Artist: Eminem

Album: Relapse

Label: Aftermath/Shady/Interscope

After a 5 year hiatus from the industry and his fans, the most controversial lyricist of our time returns with his sixth studio album. It never ceases to amaze me that every time the unique Eminem releases an album, that album eventually becomes a phenomenal classic overtime and with ‘Relapse,’ the material between production and lyricism is no different from the other five albums he has released in the past. Dr. Dre headlined practically the whole album giving Shady some high quality beats he has developed over time in his arsenal. With those beats, Em allowed himself to dabble and experiment his delivery and flow over a different segment of sound that we aren’t normally use to hearing. The lyricism within itself is amazing, but then again he wouldn’t be Eminem without those highly intense verses he includes with every single track.

With everything that Eminem has been though over the course of his hiatus, the content was more than enough to cover a span of two albums. Listening to the new tracks showcase enthusiasm on his part as he seemed quite keen to step back into the booth. Between the loss of his best friend, Proof, and his addiction to sleeping pills that eventually went public, it wasn’t difficult to follow the storylines that he was exhibiting. The track entitled ‘Déjà Vu’ discusses the loss of Proof. The album within itself provides different characteristics that showcase his many personalities. Besides being deep and personal, his interesting coverage of pop culture still exists. At the same time, he also provides a psychotic side that we’ve indulged in since his debut. This time around, he doesn’t kill Kim again; however, he couldn’t resist including one song about his mother. The album follows a pattern between his skits and the tracks following.

On a personal note, there was one track that stood out from the rest of the album that even Em speaks upon as the only track he produced on the entire album. The track is entitled ‘Beautiful,’ he samples the chorus line from Queen’s Paul Rodgers’ track ‘Reaching Out.’ The way it intros the song was quite personal to him as his intro delivery tells a tale of loss hope and despair. The record in itself is quite powerful and explains a lot of what he was going through during his time in rehab and coming back into the limelight again. ‘Beautiful’ was released as his third single sometime last week and is available for download on iTunes. The video will be released shortly.

All in all, the album has a great flow to it. Just like his past albums, you listen to track one all the way to the end. Every track has a life of its own as he paints a picture through his lyrics. On the real, if you are a true Eminem fan and have been following him since ‘Infinite,’ then this album needs to be added to your collection. His bonus tracks are also bangers and dwell on a personal note as well.

Notable Tracks: ‘3AM,’ ‘My Mom,’ ‘Bagpipes from Baghdad,’ ‘Hello,’ ‘Stay Wide Awake,’ ‘Déjà Vu,’ ‘Beautiful,’ and ‘Underground.’ Bonus tracks: ‘Careful What You Wish For,’ and ‘My Darling.’