It’s a shame, because Eminem still has plenty to say, but even his newfound political consciousness can’t steer him away from some of his worst instincts. Leaning on charisma-free collaborations, histrionic productions, and nearly half a dozen attempts to rewrite his 2010 hit “Love the Way You Lie,” “Revival” is a messy, ultimately exhausting misfire. On his very long, jagged-edged, oddly sequenced ninth album, “Revival,” Eminem remains one of the most accomplished technical rappers of his generation, but his taste in beats and subjects lets him down mightily. After years spent out of the spotlight, the parking garage-set display showcased a looser, more heartfelt side of the rapper than his recent records have allowed it saw him tackle politics with sincere fury, even at the risk of alienating his own red state fanbase and it offered a rare glimpse at the onetime battle rapper performing entirely a cappella.Īs it turns out, that last part might have been the most important. Besides Skylar Grey sounding out of place and Joell Ortiz & Joe Budden only appearing on one track, this is a dope collection of songs with a little something for every type of hip-hop fan.When Eminem made a surprise appearance on last October’s BET Hip-Hop Awards to freestyle a long anti-Donald Trump rant, the performance was surprising for a number of reasons. Everybody”, as Big Sean really stepped up and didn’t ruin the track like I thought he would. I thought D12 was going to sound corny, but they actually shook the rust off and held it down on “Bane”. Royce Da 5’9″ and Yelawolf also stand out on this album, as Royce holds his own ground next to Eminem and/or Slaughterhouse multiple times, and Yelawolf has a couple dope solo tracks. He gets introspective, reflecting on his career at times, and also just spazzes out with his lyrical acrobatics on other songs. Everybody”, Yelawolf ends the album with a relatable track, “Til It’s Gone”.Įminem obviously shines the most here, as he shows a few of the different sides to his character throughout the album. After a surprisingly dope D12 track, Eminem spends the next few songs alternating between his serious, emotional side and his no-f***s-given, braggadocios side. The lead singles “Y’all Ready Know” and “Guts Over Fear” appear next before Yelawolf highjacks the scene on “Down”. Bad Meets Evil then makes a return, as Eminem flips that switch he mentioned on “Welcome 2 Hell” and dives into his Evil character for “Vegas”. The intensity continues as Royce Da 5’9″, Kxng Crooked and Eminem lay a lyrical beatdown on “Psychopath Killer” before Em taps into his emotions on the Kobe-assisted “Die Alone”, a typical break-up song. With Shady Records releasing an almost 20-minute cypher shortly before the album, Shady XV starts right where the cypher left off, as Eminem raps for five minutes straight on the first song. With Eminem obviously having the spotlight for most of this album, he is joined by other Shady Records artists including Slaughterhouse, Yelawolf, D12, and Skylar Grey. The Shady roster also has a different skill set, with more of a focus on wordplay than flows. This is almost like Tech N9ne’s Strangeulation album covered earlier in the countdown, except Shady’s roster is a lot smaller, so each artist generally gets more shine. Shady Records is celebrating fifteen years in the music industry with Shady XV, a double-disc album that features previously released hits from the past on one disc (which I won’t cover here), and new music from the current Shady roster on the other disc. * Click here to go back to the beginning of the countdown*