In the waning days of August, Marshal Bruce Mathers, better known as Eminem, collapsed the contemporary music world overnight. “Kamikaze” became Eminem’s tenth studio work and was completely unannounced previous to its release.
Eminem’s rise to prominence in today’s vastly different rap landscape can be attributed to his hold over the music world in the early 90s and 2000s—as he became the first musical act to open up with eight works on top of the charts—and the collateral devastation of “Kamikaze.”
Eminem commences the work with “The Ringer,” where an imitation of a plane nose-diving and eventually erupting as it hits its target can be heard; The track that follows marks the beginning of the resulting carnage. Eminem sets the angry attitude familiar to many long-time listeners as he vents about the present-day hip-hop world, previous critics of his work and even President Donald Trump.
IllaDaProducer’s intensive production is effortlessly matched by Eminem’s expressive aggression, which might explain why Illa produced four of the tracks on the work, including this track. The explicit barrage of dense lyrics barely goes a few lines without throwing shots at some figure, such as Lil Xan and Lil Pump, or concept of pop culture including the over infatuation of jewelry or bragging about sleeping with somebody’s girlfriend/wife.
“Lucky You,” featuring Joyner Lucas and produced by Illa, Boi-1da and Jahaan Sweet, shows the polarizing opposite lives that Lucas and Eminem live. Lucas has just barely scratched the music world with his track “I’m Not Racist” which went viral last year, while Eminem recalls winning “a couple Grammys but I sold my soul to get ‘em.”
Lucas compliments Eminem’s flow and articulation unquestionably well, as another tension-building instrumental reminiscent of Eminem’s earlier works dramatically frames the parallel duo. Eminem’s diction remains individualistic, however, with staccatos and a sense of pressured lyrics.
While the album remains a staple example of Eminem’s work, it also shows how unyielding Eminem is, as many have labeled the album and his recent works as ignorant and distasteful. With lyrics touching on the fringes of homophobia and misogyny, Eminem has received comparisons to Trump for his behavior, such as relishing in the fact that he has made an enemy of the media.
While some can argue that this behavior will attribute to the 45-year-old’s downfall, Eminem has composed another work that keeps to his explosive reputation intact and makes sure his side is heard. If anything, Marshall Mathers has managed to stain multiple generations of the rap world and has left his imprint.
