Eminem Marshall Mathers LP CD

THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. "The Real Slim Shady" won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Album Of The Year.

A Caucasian rapper from Detroit, a Dr. Dre disciple with bright blonde hair--at first glance, Eminem seemed the unlikeliest of hip-hop stars. However, his debut, THE SLIM SHADY LP, contained clever rhymes and even the occasional innovation. His sophomore effort, THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP, proved that Eminem was no fluke, but instead a legitimate rap visionary.

While his horror/shock rap can be unsettling, it's more often hilarious, as he and his Slim Shady character skewer anyone and everyone, notably the MTV-based world that surrounded him after the success of his first record. Few can come up with rhymes as consistently clever as this Motor City madman, and lines that will be repeated as long as this CD is spun. The most startling moment has to be "Stan," featuring haunting, ethereal guest vocals from Dido; an incongruously sublime track, it spins an O. Henry-meets-'60s teenage-death-song tale of obsessed fan worship gone terribly wrong.

The 2nd full length from the rapper who manages to provoke everyone and generate enough press and controversy to sell millions. The European version includes an extra track 'The Kids', spoofing the characters of South Park.

Producers include: Dr. Dre, The 45 King, Mel-Man, F.B.T., Eminem.

Engineers: Richard "Segal" Huredia, Mike Butler, Aaron Lepley.

Personnel: Eminem, Snoop, Xzibit, Nate Dogg, Sticky Fingaz (rap vocals); Dido (vocals); Jeff Bass, Steve Berman, Paul "Bunyan" Rosenberg (spoken vocals); Mike Elizondo (guitar, keyboards, bass); Sean Cruise, John Bingham (guitar); Tommy Coster, Jr., Camara Kambon (keyboards); DJ Head (programming).

D-12: Kon Artis, Proof, Kuniva, Swifty, Bizarre (rap vocals).

Rolling Stone (1/4/01, p.106) - Ranked #1 in Rolling Stone's Top 10 Albums of 2000 - "...His tortured conscience gives the album its complex emotional kick..."
Rolling Stone (7/20/00, pp.135-6) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...He's more funny and much more scary....A car-crash record: loud, wild, dangerous, out of control, grotesque, unsettling. It's also impossible to pull your ears awat from."
Spin (1/01, p.73) - Ranked #3 in Spin's "Top 20 Albums of the Year [2000]" - "...What 'going too far' means: really, finally brought that psycho rude s*** home to the 'burbs....leaving more things unsettled than when he started."
Entertainment Weekly (6/2/00, pp.76-7) - "...Indefensible and critic-proof, hypocritical and heartbreaking, unlistenable and undeniable; it's a disposable shock-rap session, and the first great pop record of the 21st century..." - Rating: A-
Q (1/01, p.90) - Included in Q's "50 Best Albums of 2000".
Q (8/00, p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...[His] disaffection sucks you in and the wholesale nihilism can still provoke shivers..."
Uncut (8/00, p.90) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...You might not like where he's dragging you, but there's no denying the style with which he does it..."
CMJ (1/08/01, p.10) - Included in CMJ's "Best of the Year" for 2000.
CMJ (6/12/00, p.3) - "...Musically, the album is a triumph....You can't deny [the lyrics'] searing honesty, and that's what makes [him] one of pop's compelling artists."
Vibe (8/00, p.162) - "...Should forever erase the notion that [he] is the Elvis Presley of hardcore hip hop. If anything, he's rap's Eric Clapton: a white boy who can hang with the best black talent based on sheer skill - enhancing the art form instead of stealing from it."
The Source (8/00, pp.225-6) - 4 mics out of 5 - "...You wanna peep [this LP], if not for the intense lyrics and witty punch lines, at least for the chance of witnessing one of the craziest MCs grow up right before ya ears."
Melody Maker (6/6/00, p.54) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...It has an answer to everything, filling every parking-spot in the towering multi-storey of ego with a triple-bluffmobile....No one else puts such a rocket under rap's self-consciousness or makes it so shocking..."
Rap Pages (7/00, p.45) - "...Even more abrasive and offensive....proving again that his imagery and storytelling abilities stand tall over most other rappers..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.57) - Ranked #78 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "The results were brutal, politically insane, loaded with pop hooks, and hysterically funny."
NME (Magazine) (12/30/00, p.77) - Ranked #7 in NME's "Top 50 Albums Of The Year".
NME (Magazine) (6/3/00, p.39) - 9 out of 10 - "...Real twisted...one long, disillusioned whine....[It] may be the white noise of America's Most Unwanted, but it also the product of a talent supremely Untouchable."