by EminemBase » Jan 13th, '13, 19:50
Well, this wait is torturous but it'll just make it that much sweeter when the time finally comes.
And when it does come, and it will... think back to this moment, reading this very sentence I've typed, if (well, you MUST be) you are reading this, and just remember back to this moment, reading this sentence. Imagine if you do now, and you remember reading this too, that'll be weird huh!
I am happy in a way that it's taking so long though because... I think that means he's taking his time with it. And whilst there's two main trains of thought on creativity, with one school saying that the best stuff 'just flows out' and doesn't take long at all... I think these days, Em's best stuff is going to come when he really thinks about it and cares about every element with supreme detail.
Back in the day, his greatest stuff did just flow out. I mean, he made MMLP fairly quickly I believe, and didn't he write "Lose Yourself" (arguably his greatest all-round musical and lyrical song) pretty quick on-set. These things came quick because he was inspired... but then you also have The Eminem Show, which many of us agree is his most consistent and well-done, and he worked like crazy on that album and cared about every, single aspect. So, I hope he's in that mind right now.
You can hear that kind of mentality in Relapse, and history treats that kind of material well; I listened to it earlier again and it just seems to re-energize itself and respur this new cycle of energy every time I hear it, it's totally thrilling, insanely catchy and addictively precise. Recovery is very enjoyable too, but as one critic said, for the first time 'he actually sounds clumsy', and he does.
Now that he's gotten his underground inspired lyrical madness out of him (Relapse) and his evolution and commercial success and experimentation out (Recovery), I'm hoping this new one is a real work of art. Since coming back - he's proven he can rhyme incredibly again, he's proven he can come up with beautiful and intense flows, and he's proven he can make hits, but he still hasn't proven he can make a consistent classic again. And given the fact that his last THREE albums all had pretty much lukewarm receptions from fans and critics (I realize Relapse is divided and Recovery is generally well-received, but neither is comfortably good or bad as a consensus) - he really needs to knock this one out of the park, just on an artistic level. And I hope, he knows that. And cares.
Also, from the sound of the BET Cypher and all his verses since, I personally think he's finally content with 'being back' and has FINALLY disconnected himself from what everybody is saying or thinking and letting it effect his sound or material... that BET Cypher verse is really quite brilliant too; and judging from his sinister tone, beautiful lyricism and flow... and what Royce said... I'm anticipaing something dark, daring and 'liquidy' (for some reason I'm sensing he's going to have somewhat rapid, tricky, liquid flows that vary back and forth in speed and tone)... I'm thinking BLACK and something, perhaps black and yellow or black and red, and I think the material will be dark and conceptual... HOPEFULLY; he senses he should have trusted his gut to begin with.