Guess who’s back, back again?
Shady is back, and he is dominating the hip-hop world 14 years after he released “My Name Is.”
Controversy-inspiring rapper Eminem released the third single from his upcoming album, “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” on Oct. 14, and the track has drawn rave reviews. The track is appropriately named “Rap God.”
Unlike the album’s first single, “Berzerk,” which features heavy instrumentation that samples Billy Squier and is inspired by the Beastie Boys, “Rap God” relies solely on Eminem’s rapping ability over a repeated beat. The focus is clearly on Eminem’s wordplay, which is impressive enough to make poets reconsider their career choices.
He begins his first verse with how he’s been dominating the rap game since the Clinton administration — as if we needed reminding — and proceeds to make a rather crude remark about a particular Clinton White House intern. It is clear within the first minute of the song that the real Slim Shady is back, cracking jokes at pop culture’s expense.
In the second verse, Eminem puts himself in line with fellow “rap gods” such as N.W.A. and Tupac Shakur, saying they taught him, and now, he is leading a new generation of rappers.
But don’t think that just because he claims to be a new rap god, he’s going to take it easy on other members of the industry. In the third verse, Eminem ridicules rappers Fabolous and Ray J for the feud they had, but the joke is overshadowed by the most stunning part of the track, which follows soon after.
With the intro, “Lyrics coming at you at supersonic speed,” Eminem launches into a 15-second free-for-all in which he raps about 100 words — nearly seven words a second.
If anything could prove that Eminem is a “superhuman,” it would be this verse. It’s nearly impossible to process the words that quickly, let alone try to emulate him. But naturally, it would not be an Eminem song if it did not elicit a controversy.The rapper says several homophobic slurs throughout the song, which has caused some critics to condemn the song.
Eminem is no stranger to being labeled a homophobe — it was a common criticism early in his career. He has yet to make a statement about the lyrics to “Rap God.”
Eminem’s new track channels the essence of what made him the most popular rapper of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Eminem returned to the rap scene with 2009’s “Relapse,” but the upcoming “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” — due out Nov. 5 — marks the return of Slim Shady.
A version of this story ran on page 12 on 10/24/2013 under the headline "Real Slim Shady stands back up"
