The Marshall Mathers

Oh geez, where to begin? This album is by far the craziest album by Eminem and will always remain one of my favorites.1. Public Service Announcement 2000 - (N/A) - Funny...2. Kill You - 5/5 - Gritty, violent, lyrical, and hard. The beat is nice too. This is the style of hip hop we need to find again! Eminem at his darkest.3. Stan - 4/5 - I don't know I was never as big of a fan of this song as everybody else...no pun there neither. It was very creative, Em rapping as an obsessive fan writing letters until he kills himself and his girlfriend. Eminem delivers the response verse which is very intersting too. The sampling is nice and the song is classically known especially for the Elton John performance at the Grammy's, but it's a bit overrated. I get tired of it after a while and not what you'd want to bang out the car window. Interesting.4. Paul - N/A - Boring waste of time skit. I usually skip it.5. Who Knew - 5/5 - My favorite song on the album, period. Speaking about how he had no idea he'd reach the level he is now at and also dissing the media for buying into it. Great song and the beat is so dope. Gotta love it.6. Steve Berman - N/A - Another Steve Berman skit...kinda funny but after a while is whatever.7. The Way I Am - 3.5/5 - The lyrics to this are amazing and so is the emotion, but the beat is a bit...I don't know, it's not even a bad beat I just don't like it like I do others. The song is really appealing as he shouts his defense and anger for being who he is, I like it but the emotion is a bit too overbearing. Genuine, but not as strong as it could've been.8. The Real Slim Shady - 5/5 - I don't care if he hated this song, it was amazing. The only real happy song on the album, it's good to listen to this to lighten up the mood for at least a few minutes. Clever, witty, not forced, just ill. Dre, this beat is phenomenal, one of his finest productions.9. Remember Me? - 4/5 - A lot of people don't like this track, but I thought it was bangin'! Gangsta ish right here! Dark, street gritty beat and ill hate spewed verses from everyone. The guests he picked for this song are good and he delivers of course the best enraged verse. Enragin' psycho muzik.10. I'm Back - 5/5 - Another favorite on the album, him stating his return in his famous "Guess whose back" line. You can tell he had fun with this track, he is really playing around with peoples' heads. The hook is catchy but the kids get annoying in the background. Still a good song.11. Marshall Mathers - 3.5/5 - Ahhh ok. I like the lyrics but the beat is too slow and no matter how many times I hear the hook I can't help but chuckle a lil bit. Eminem singing in a sweet voice about not giving a f*** and beating people down is rather hilarious whether it was meant to be or not. I like the disses in it. Could've been better, still good though.12. Ken Kaniff - -10000000/5 - This is unnecessary on so many levels. I don't even want to know why he put this on here. Wrong....nobody wants to hear this sh**!13. Drug Ballad - 5/5 - A song about drugs that is so catchy, has such a bumpin' beat, and such interesting lyrics, flow, and delivery you can't help but stay intruiged. Grand!14. Amityville - 4.5/5 - By now the album keeps getting better and better. Another gritty street joint, real hardcore and violent. It would be a 5 but Bizarre's verse is really weak and pointless. His flow is ahhh and he raps about things nobody wants to hear or cares about in such a "matter of fact" way it's annoying and nothing less than that. Still a great song. It go hard!15. Bitch Please II - 5/5 - This song almost gave me a heartattack...in a good way if that makes sense! Eminem, Dre, and Snoop...three of my favorite rappers with Xzibit who does well and Nate Dogg who is one of my fave singers. I died. A remix to one of my favorite songs, this was incredible, everyone delivers strong. Great hook, strong Dre beat...ahhh. Beautiful.16. Kim - 4/5 - Even as a female I like this song. Really intense, so intense the edited version couldn't have it, haha! It's the prequel to his infamous "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" where him and his daughter get rid of Kim's body in the ocean. This is the set up of him killing her. Dark storytelling, it's great but you have to be in the right mood or else nah.17. Under The Influence - 3/5 - One of the best D12 songs, but I dunno, it is pretty average. Everyone comes hard on it and it's catchy as hell, but there isn't as much on the excitement value for me, shocking lyrics, but yeah. Average.18. Criminal - (5/5) - Great way to end the album. Angry, political, engraged, and nonsensical violence. Eminem ends it by dissing nearly every type of human being possible and going on a rant about murdering innocent bystandards. You gotta love it.Overall: 5/5, Eminem at his strongest. It's hard to believe that the guy who made songs like "Fack" and "My 1st Single" could have penned this classic, but hell, people change I guess?

The release of The Marshall Mathers LP must have driven a whole bunch of Eminem-haters crazy because, with this second album, Eminem proved he was here to stay. In my opinion, this is the best of Eminem's first three albums, taking the rap and hip-hop up more than a few notches from the already lofty heights attained in The Slim Shady LP. This artist's unique personal flair really bursts forth here, giving us beats and rhymes much more complex and musically adept than what had come before. In addition, Eminem has by now thoroughly come into his own. He is intentionally courting controversy, daring his critics and those who would love to have him censored or simply locked away somewhere to step outside with everything they have. Those who will look underneath the violence and the swearing and the offensive remarks Eminem makes in his lyrics will find a deeply complex person with something important to say, a man who does, in his own special way, highlight the kind of real problems many young people face in the modern world, and the accusing fingers he points in all directions often serve to highlight the problems inherent in the individual and society itself. And, as he is wont to say, he is the only person brave enough to say these things.This album hits the floor running with Kill You, a track announcing to the world Eminem's confidence in himself and rejection of authority and criticism. This level of comfort and confidence proves a great boon to the next track Stan, a song in which he reverses roles and plays the innocent good guy who is too late to help a deeply troubled fan. Eminem marvels at his own stardom in Who Knew and Marshall Mathers, breaks the news to the Eminem-haters that I'm Back, and taunts them all, with a little help from RBX and Sticky Fingez, with the track Remember Me?. The Way I Am is an important song, as Eminem clearly understands that his public persona is not the real Marshall Mathers but is rather whatever the people think he is; to his critics, he will always be a subversive criminal corrupting the youth of America, but to his fans he is something much different. Songs like Amityville (featuring Bizarre from D-12) and ... Please II (with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit and Nate Dogg) raise the levels of violence and strong language up to a level that might not appeal to all Eminem fans, but the tracks are very well laid out. Criminal is the perfect ending to the album, a final statement about Eminem's nature and the interpretation of what he does by the public at large. However, the most important track on this second album, in many ways the song that made me a fan, is Kim. This track, a prequel to the first album's Bonnie and Clyde 97, is understandably controversial, seeing as how it is basically a fantasy about Eminem murdering his wife, but in a very, very strange way it is actually a love song of sorts. Few songs can rival it in terms of the immense power it communicates, especially toward the end when Eminem is basically shouting, letting go of all the betrayal and anger he feels inside.I am not really into rap and hip-hop in general, so it is difficult for me to review albums such as this. Beyond trying to communicate how incredible I think The Marshall Mathers LP is, the main point I would like to make is that no one should simply dismiss this music without listening to it for themselves. Many of those who objectively give Eminem a chance will still hate the guy, but it is much better to determine your own feelings first-hand as opposed to dissing the guy simply because you've heard he is violent and dangerous or because some group has labeled him a bad influence on young people.

Came with no damage at all, perfect condition. Great music too, Eminem is awesome.