The New Shady Joint

I can't even lie and claim that I'm going to cop it. I'm just too old to be amazed by the schitck. Now that's not correct--ever was never amazed by shock-rap, but I endured it if you had the mic skills and the beats. But these days, I can't even take Straight Outta Compton--except "Parental Discretion" and "If It Ain't Ruff" which is still amazing ("Ice Cube is equipped to rip shit in a battle\Move like a snake when I'm mad and then my tale rattle...")

That said, I always appreciate a fine piece of writing and this piece over at Pitchfork was pretty good:

Star Trek isn't the only franchise reboot expected to do big numbers this summer-- instead of the 13-year-old who got into The Slim Shady LP and found that underground shit he did with Scam, Relapse is for that guy's little brother who's 13-years old right now, and Eminem is fully committed to upping the ante for today's desensitized sensibilities. Do a double-take when he rapped "I just found out my mom does more dope than I do"? This time, you get to untangle the knotty word thickets of "My Mom", wherein young Marshall gets bullied and tricked by you-know-who into an addiction to prescription pills. Recoil when he threatened to push a fat girl off the high dive in swim class? He's now murdering his cousin in a tub and drinking the bathwater. Cringe at Eminem advocating roofies at a kegger? Get ready for the term "felching" to enter the public consciousness as Eminem gets anally raped by his stepfather in a tool shed. Got all that? Congrats, you're now four songs into Relapse.

As much as I loved music, I always found telling someone how something sounded really hard, and thus music criticism really tough. Still, this is a nice contribution to the genre.

One question I have for the assembled. Does Em have a truly classic album? He's a great rapper, no doubt. But does he have an It Takes A Nation, an Illmatic, an Aquemini or a Death Certificate?