PICTURE Eminem and a friend in his car, waiting outside a bar for his wife Kimberly Mathers. All of a sudden, Kim comes out of the bar with a guy and they start kissing. Next thing you know, Eminem rushes out of the car and starts shooting his gun off.
This is exactly the scenario one imagines while listening to track number six, “The Kiss”, of Eminem’s new album The Eminem Show.
The Eminem Show, his third, is a 20-track album that has the Caucasian rapper talking about the September 11 attacks, the criticisms by the media, and the personal battles against boybands.
And, just like the previous albums The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show revolves again around three women, his mother, his wife Kimberly Mathers, and his daughter Hailie Jade.
Like a theatrical show, The Eminem Show opens with “Curtains Up” followed by “White America”.
“White America” talks about how Eminem manages to win fans and earn money because he is “white.” Eminem chides, “Let’s do the math, if I was black, I would have sold half, I ain’t have to be a graduate of Lincoln High School to do that.”
One interesting message, though, that the 28-year old Eminem likewise discusses in the album is his plan to quit rapping at age 30 (“Saying Goodbye to Hollywood” and “Soldier”).
In “Saying Goodbye to Hollywood”, Eminem discusses how he could no longer take the responsibilities and consequences that come along with fame and how he wants to leave the show business “with a level head intact.”
“Soldier”, on the other hand, sends a more direct message on his retirement as Eminem blurts out “my life’s full of controversy until I retire my jersey/till the fire inside dies and expires at 30.”
In “Hailies’ Song”, Eminem pours his heart out in this ballad, which he dedicates to his daughter Hailie Jade. Surprisingly, Eminem does very well in this track despite his constant blabbering that he doesn’t know how to sing.
Eminem likewise also shows his versatility from one style of rap to another in “Square Dance”, a track that talks about terrorism. The Detroit native likewise displays his traditional pop tune in the album’s first single, “Without Me”.
“Without Me” is The Eminem Show’s version of “The Real Slim Shady” (from the Marshall Mathers LP), and “My Name Is” (from the Slim Shady LP).
In the latest single, “Cleaning Out My Closet”, Eminem goes all the way out to berate his mother Debbie whom he hates so much because of her alleged abusiveness when he was young.
Overall, The Eminem Show is a fairly good album to listen to. Listening to the whole album is synonymous to hearing Eminem’s life story.
And if The Eminem Show will be his final act and he decides to lose his dyed hair and hang up his signature baggy clothes, then fans of the charismatic white rapper deserve an encore.
