I kinda feel bad for Em...

[Blu]

I don't know how to put this... but it seems like no one really has high hopes for him nowadays. Yeah, I go on this forum and everyone's like "OMG HIS 8TH ALBUM IT'S GONNA BLOW EVERYTHANG OUT THE WATER." And of course, that's natural cuz it's an Eminem forum. But, in the real world? People outside of this forum? They just don't seem to have high expectations anymore. It's only the Stans, the hardcore fans, who seem to actually give a shit.

I think mostly it's because of the songs he put out so far. If his verse on "Throw It Up" and "Richard" weren't so... lackluster (they were filled with great rhymes, I know). They just sounded bad. I hate when people make the excuse "he was just making fun," because as one of the leading titans in the game today he should be making examples everyday of what an excellent verse should sound like. The cypher was awesome, I wish he released more verses like that.

Some of you might agree, some of you might not.

[Slim Fiasco]

I could never feel bad for him. He had the world in his hands from '99-'02, those 3 years can't be overshadowed by any negativity. Unless he meets Aftermathers or something.

[Trimss]

I think no one really has any expectations because he doesn't really release a lot of material, and some people think his next solo album will be like his last features which is honestly stupid.

[UofLCard]

and some people think his next solo album will be like his last features which is honestly stupid.

I always thought that reasoning was dumb. The other artists want the song to sound a certain way, so they're going to tell Em what his verses should look like, subject-wise.

[babyjane]

It's hard to gauge where he's going lately so it's hard to have high hopes. He does some really WTF things like putting off or turning down the likes of Jadakiss, Nas, Masta Ace and poor Tech Nine lol. On the other hand he says yes to multiples with Pink, Rihanna, Wayne and one with Bruno Mars. For pure Rap heads and some die hards that's enough said GTFOH.

Others are so hungry for anything they get excited for an "alternative club" joint on someone else's album. It's all a lot of wait and see. Wait and see what else he's going to do, wait and see if the verses on other's people's albums are any indication where he'll go on his. Most general fans today have too short attention spans for wait and sees. I don't think you'll see much general interest until a release date for his solo album is set.

But I don't feel bad for Eminem, he'll be fine. I do feel bad for Slim Shady R.I.P.

On another note, My fantasy is him working with the Bass Brothers again. I think they gave his music a direction and consistency it doesn't have now.

[EminemBase]

I don't have the same expectations I once had but I still do expect something entirely different from his last project, and something which will blow me away at points, even if at just points.

Even though neither Relapse or Recovery are classic albums to me...

When I first heard Relapse: I didn't expect or predict anything, ANYTHING like that, and I was beyond pleasantly surprised. I was so excited listening to that album on repeat and peeling away at the layers of rhymes and weird flows like peeling an onion. It was so different and intricate.

It was pretty much just two songs that ruined it for me, and I'm pissed I don't have RX2.

As for Recovery, again, regardless: I didn't expect that what-so-fucking-ever. The style and sound again was totally new to me and not like anything he had done. And the high-points of the album ("Cold Wind Blows, "Space Bound", "Cinderella Man" and "Almost Famous" in particular) are incredible to me. The only thing which tarnished Recovery, really, for me, was the production.

Regardless of his hiccups and occasional let-downs, he still always surprises me and always manages to at least give me something very new and amazing at the time. And I'm not a blinded stan, there's many things to criticize too, but overall, he's still delivering in essentials to me.

I love his "Richard" verse too. And the BME EP is very satisfying.

From 2009-2011, he's given me a lot of new favourite material. A lot of songs from Relapse , Refill and Recovery are real favourites of mine now (period / whole career), which I think is pretty impressive at this stage, considering the caliber of material he's created.

But yeah, basically, I'm still waiting to hear a top-to-bottom consistent album from him with some truly amazing concepts, without any major compromise. I think he's back to a skill level and focus now to where, if he just got the right - SMALL handful of DECENT producers and put his mind to it, he could put out a classic. If Em had produced all of Recovery with say the Bass Bros, it'd be a classic to me. Even with all those same songs. Imagine truly decent production on them all.

People are expecting a masterpiece every time now, which probably won't happen: and Em needs to find some new creative drawing points beyond women and himself. But he's still exciting to watch, and each release is still exciting, as you do truly never know what he may sound like, or come out with next. I'm looking forward to the next one.

[Fa-Q]

That will fade once the first single hits....people will be back on his dick again. I feel this way sometimes about Jay-Z and then his album comes and the feeling goes

[AshRoarshock]

I'm going to go ahead an say people do care. he has more facebook likes than any human in the world and growing over 60,000,000. It was only like 30 million when recovery came out. facebook says "323,510 talking about this"

[master360]

Tomorrow is the day
Mixtape release date and some new album info i guess u.u

@RealSway: .@Eminem & @Slaughterhouse are gonna hang with us tomorrow on Shade 45 to talk "Welcome To Our House!" Check it out: http://t.co/8liOOigB

Sway in the morning!

[kiki]

Which target age group are we talking about?

I remember in my country when 8 mile/ Lose Yourself came out even the die hard pop music fans suddenly liked him. Nowadays you can call it LTWYL effect.

Honestly - on Relapse he said some pretty gasp-worthy things and with Recovery he was back in the mainstream music business (did he ever leave it?) with the Rihanna song. In THIS DAY AND AGE THOUGH no one seems to care anymore about anything.

Let's blame Lady Gaga.

[Mr. Porter]

I actually feel like it's the other way around (talking to the OP). To me it seems like the casual fans are the ones who still like him, and it's the internet fans who are down on him.

[Kill You]

Eminem is still massive the mainstream. People DO care. Most people outside internet forums havent even heard Throw It Up or Richard. It's the hardcore fans that are giving him the most criticism recently. His next album will be massive when announced and Im sure his new single will be all over the radio.

This. Not many people have actually heard those verses. The last thing a lot of people heard from him was Lighters, which is a hit, so...that's that.

I, for one, do have high hopes for his next album. I think he's bringing Slim Shady back.

[TeflonTom]

^ I agree....Even negative influences such as Slim Fiasco couldn't penetrate Em's mystique & success! :P Eminem is TEFLON...LMFSAO

[TheGoldenSun]

I have never really felt bad for him tbh. He is a millionaire superstar after all.

[sbolli1]

I absolutely feel bad for him, in many respects.

The man is under the most pressure out of any artist out there, despite him already obviously proving himself a GOAT on many occasions.

Also, some people think that the only reason he is so famous is because he's white, but I'd say he suffers more negatively than positively because of his skin color, which is bullshit of course. I honestly think a lot of hip hop fans are somewhat offended at the thought of a white guy dominating a predominately black art form, and because of that, he never really gets the credit he deserves.