Even better, many lines are careful echoes of the past, pseudo-homonyms that both subvert his old lyrics and beautifully mess with our expectations. As well as revisiting the sounds of his earlier album with rock-rap production and furiously fast flow, he further complicates and enriches his web of self-obsession by scattering call-backs throughout the album (the “ Hi!” from ‘My Name Is’, a snippet of the hook from ‘The Real Slim Shady’ and more). With The Marshall Mathers LP 2, the connection to its iconic prequel is explicit. Thirteen years later, and the master of self-referential mythologizing is back on top form. The point is that ever since he first got the outraged reaction he was looking for, Eminem has been mocking the humourless critics who take what he’s saying entirely seriously – the jokes and insults, like his true self and his alter-egos, have long been expertly blended. What happens on record isn’t okay in real life (despite his own history). He had just devoted a track to rapping about killing bitches, but the distinction was clear. It was a question that dominated The Marshall Mathers LP and one that he addressed perfectly in ‘Stan’, satirising the media frenzy about the violence his songs might inspire whilst counselling, “ maybe you just need to treat her better”. Funny and intelligent though Eminem often is, even at his most deplorable (all that misogyny and homophobia that lurks throughout his lyrics has always been problematic), his saving grace is Marshall Mathers’ infinitely fractured personality is he genuinely advocating what he’s saying or is he in character?
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