“It’s the curse of the standard, that the first of the Mathers discs set/Always in search of the verse I haven’t spit yet/Will this step just be another misstep/To tarnish whatever legacy, love or respect I’ve garnered,” Eminem rapped.
In his first album in four years, “Revival” earned Eminem his eighth consecutive No. 1 debut for an album, according to Complex.
This 19 track album featured many artists, including Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, P!nk and Alicia Keys.
Among rap songs that would remind some fans of his older albums, Eminem made clear political messages against Donald Trump in several songs, with “Like Home” being the most overt.
While some are political messages, some are just straight insults.
Without saying his name, Eminem references the Ku Klux Klan with Trump, calling him “ate off Hitler” and commenting on how all Trump does is “watch Fox News like a parrot and repeats.”
Eminem is no stranger to calling out Trump through his music. During the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards, Eminem released a freestyle rap that called out Trump in its entirety, and Eminem even called out his own fans for supporting Trump.
He also released an eight-minute song in October 2016 titled “Campaign Speech” that touched on many topics including controversial news, police brutality and Trump.
In another rap called “Untouchable” Eminem touches on police brutality and race issues. In the second verse he raps “black boy, black boy, we don’t get your culture and/We don’t care what our governments done to f*** you over, man.”
This six-minute song is one of his most politically intriguing because of how much it delves into race in America. The first half of the song is from the perspective of a racist white cop and how he profiles the black community.
He then switches over to rap from the perspective of an African-American and denouncing forms of systematic racism in society.
While “Revival” touches some on a political sphere, it also talks about his estranged wife, Kim, in the song “Bad Husband,” which features X Ambassadors.
The hook, which was done by X Ambassadors, talks about how one can be “a liar and a good father? A good dad, but a bad husband.”
While touching on some of his personal issues, he also flashes back to his older self in the song “Framed.”
The rap is reminiscent of his early tracks and has a simplistic beat to go behind his fast-paced raps.
The rap details on how to get away with killing people, which is emphasized in the lyric “but when murdering females/Better pay attention to these details or you could be derailed/Better wear at least three layers of clothing or be in jail.”
With “Revival” being the first album since “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” in 2013, the 45-year-old rapper proves he is still one of the best rappers in the business.
From his rhymes to his flow, “Revival” is one of his best albums to date. With his political messages and past revelations, “Revival” earns a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Moss Brennan is a freshman journalism major from Durham, North Carolina. You can follow him on Twitter at @mosbren
Photo courtesy of DoD News Features, Wikimedia Commons
