If Eminem's career were in reverse...

[JeFFb68CAM]

So, a friend and I got stoned and started talking about this today. We decided to post it here to see how many trolls we could attract. Kidding. If Em's career were in reverse, meaning Recovery/Relapse were his debut, and SSLP & MMLP followed years later, would people still be saying the same things? By that I mean would people still be saying he fell off? Would we consider Recovery/Relapse better than SSLP/MMLP (obviously opposite of the current consensus)?

[Blu]

Of course not wtf.

If he came out with Recovery first, our initial reaction would be COMPLETELY different. His whole image would be different than from how he started out with The Slim Shady LP.

If it were in reverse, I don't think people could grasp his transition from "good-boy" to "bad-boy" (aka Recovery to The Marshall Mathers LP)

[JeFFb68CAM]

That's my point. I understand they couldn't grasp his transition, that's why I'm saying would we then have been saying he fell off? It's hard to grasp his transition in the current day, and a lot of people are saying he fell off.

[Blu]

People are saying he fell off because of the material he's been recently putting out.

If he released an album as good as The Marshall Mathers LP right now, he would be back in peoples Top 3 of all time no doubt.

[SliK]

There are simply too many factors to really comprehend, too many unanswered questions.

Eminem raps in the moment, about what he is going through in his life and the reactions to critics, etc. Recovery would not have made sense Without Relapse. Relapse wouldn't have existed without his drug problem. His drug problem wouldn't have existed without fame, or at least not to that extent. The title Encore is a play on The Eminem Show... His albums don't make sense in reverse. There would be so many (more..) dated references. The Marshall Mathers LP wouldn't have made sense following The Eminem Show, because The Eminem Show was a lot more toned down than The Slim Shady LP, and if his career was going in reverse, it wold have been dropped after 4 previous albums, and not had anywhere near the impact that it had in 2000.

However, if you're just talking about quality of music, I think a Recovery style debut probably would have sold well and then a Relapse style sophmore album would have been viewed as a flop. If he followed That up with a 5 year hiatus and an album of Encore's quality, then nobody would even know who eminem is.

[JeFFb68CAM]

But that's only because MMLP became our standard for him ten years ago. If Relapse were released ten years ago, would that be our standard? Maybe a better way to put it is: Is the SSLP only 'classic' because it came out first?

These are obviously just a stoner's wandering questions, they are by no means my beliefs.

[JeFFb68CAM]

There are simply too many factors to really comprehend, too many unanswered questions.

Eminem raps in the moment, about what he is going through in his life and the reactions to critics, etc. Recovery would not have made sense Without Relapse. Relapse wouldn't have existed without his drug problem. The title Encore is a play on The Eminem Show... His albums don't make sense in reverse. There would be so many (more..) dated references. The Marshall Mathers LP wouldn't have made sense following The Eminem Show, because The Eminem Show was a lot more toned down than The Slim Shady LP, and if his career was going in reverse, it wold have been dropped after 4 previous albums, and not had anywhere near the impact that it had in 2000.

However, if you're just talking about quality of music, I think a Recovery style debut probably would have sold well and then a Relapse style sophmore album would have been viewed as a flop. If he followed That up with a 5 year hiatus and an album of Encore's quality, then nobody would even know who eminem is.

You make good points. I don't necessarily mean the album titles and their relations to each other, I more mean the overall style of the songs. So if No Love were to be his debut style, and the Brain Damage style followed ten years later.

[Relapse.]

If he put out the Slim Shady EP/LP right now... he would destroy rap, get all the money in the world from rap, buy america, buy the world, he would rule the world, and be dictator of this earth.

[SliK]

There would be no standard, because nobody would know who he was. Relapse only sold because it was Eminem. If that was dropped by a nobody, nobody would have bought it. He'd be selling less than Tech.

To answer your question about The Slim Shady LP, technically yes. But not just a first for Eminem, but a first for any artist. Same goes with The Marshall Mathers LP. They were truly groundbreaking. If he had waited 10+ years to release an album like that, it would have already been done, and not had the same impact on any level.

[CrashBand]

Its too vague a question really.. one of the main reasons SSLP was so big was the shock value, and also he was probably the first rapper that made it big using humor and wit so well. So I dont think an album with a similar theme as revovery as his debut would've been anywhere near as impacting as SSLP.

Maybe a better way to put it is: Is the SSLP only 'classic' because it came out first?

These are obviously just a stoner's wandering questions, they are by no means my beliefs.

and no, you would only have a point here if you didn't actually think SSLP is that good (or of 'classic' quality)

Which is just not the case man

If he came out with an album of that quality that was recieved well in the modern era then of course it would have the potential to be a classic

[JeFFb68CAM]

It wouldn't make any sense.

Proof tribute on his debut album yet 10 years later Proof's on Under The Influence.

Lol.

Obviously the entire situation is completely fictional, since we all know what actually happened. I think it's safe to assume however that in this alternate reality, if Proof wasn't dead, there wouldn't have been a Proof tribute on the first album.

[Fleka]

If I had a wheel, I would be a unicycle.

[Trimss]

If I had a wheel, I would be a unicycle.

What if the wheel was square shaped?

[Fleka]

If I had a wheel, I would be a unicycle.

What if the wheel was square shaped?

I`d square dance then.

[UofLCard]

This is an interesting look at things actually, OP.

If I had a wheel, I would be a unicycle.

What if the wheel was square shaped?

Then it'd be a box.