Eminem – Encore

Eminem’s forth album Encore fails me. What happen to the dramatic descriptive rhymes and the powerful wordplays?

Encore is not what I have expected from a lyricist Eminem even though the first quarter of the album from “Evil Deeds” to “Mosh,” he sounds sharpened, refined, and matured. “Never Enough” is a beautiful collaboration with 50 and Nate Dogg. His delivery on “Yellow Brick Road” is both persuasive and apologetic as he recites his side of story about disrespecting Black women on a tape he did back in 89. He proves to have grown-up by handling the beef with Ja Rule and Benzino with a mellowness tone on “Like Toys Soldiers.” Of course, the infamous “Mosh,” where Em takes his political stand against Bush, is both motivating and inspiring despite the outcome of the election.

Unfortunately, as soon as he throws up and flushes the toilet on “Puke,” the rest of the album goes down the same path as well. On “My 1st Single,” the beat is hot and his flow is tight but his singing, burping, and shitting just ruins it. Although “Mockingbird” is lyrically inspiring as he tries to explain to Hailie about her mother’s situation, Em’s premature vocals damage the chorus. He needs to stop singing because his voice is infuriating.

Eminem should have crafted his album better by taking out some of the ridiculous tracks. It’s hard to make every song counts with 20 tracks (including 3 skits). It seems as if his materials have run dry from living in a mansion instead of a trailer for the past few years. His topics have become staled with dissing his ex-wife (“Puke”) and women (“Spend Some Time”).