A Review of Eminem's "Kamikaze"

Initial Thoughts:

Will the real slim shady please stand up? Coming off his disappointing 2017 album "Revival," Hip-Hop legend Eminem looks to revive his fans with his surprise 2018 album titled "Kamikaze." When we talk about Eminem, we can't forget to mention his superior lyricism to most of your favorite rappers and his overall savagery. (The man dissed his own mother on multiple songs, he gives no fucks) The aspect of "Revival" that gave it bad reviews were the beat selections. It was still very clear Eminem could rap but, the beats he chose to spit on were trash. Some sounding equivalent to sounds from a trailer park, listen to "Remind Me." Some hooks such as the one in "Framed" were weird and a bit off beat. "Revival" clearly wasn't Eminem's best work, let's see if he could recover from that on "Kamikaze." We have thirteen songs on the track list for Kamikaze with features from Joyner Lucas, Royce Da 5'9 and Jessie Reyez. There are two interludes that will be heard on this album which cuts the amount of songs down to eleven. I'm very interested in how Eminem comes at us on this new album. Let's get to the review! 👂🏾

Review 👂🏾:

The Ringer
Well it's obvious Eminem heard all the negative reviews for "Revival." The song starts off with Shady saying
"I feel like I wanna punch the world in the fuckin' face right now, yeah!"
Other lyrics hint to his feelings toward negative reviews about his last album such as
"My talent? Oh, bitch, I don't know who the fuck y'all are
To give a sub-par bar or even have an opinion of you"
and
"Skim through the music to give shit reviews
To get clicks, but bitch, you just lit the fuse"
Eminem then appears to take aim at the new rappers with lines like,
"Do you have any idea how much I hate this choppy flow
Everyone copies though? Probably no" (As he does the flow he references)
and
"Maybe "Stan" just isn't your cup of tea (get it)
Maybe your cup's full of syrup and lean
Maybe I need to stir up shit, preferably"
That last line appears to reference the prevalence of drugs in the music of the new hip-hop generation.
Eminem appears to announce he's going to take shots at every rapper except Joyner Lucas, Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole and Big Sean on this album with the lines,
"I'm gonna crumble you and I'll take a number two
And dump on you, if you ain't Joyner
If you ain't Kendrick or Cole or Sean then you're a goner."
This song was clearly to show Eminem's rap ability as he uses what I count to be at least thirteen flows over a heavy violin beat with bass, drum and soft high hat beat. This song does what it was supposed to do and sets the tone for the rest of the album. A great introductory song.
+1.5

Greatest
This first verse is super hard. Shady just continues to gain momentum with his increase in speed in his flow towards the end of the first verse. The hook is good when he repeats "greatest in the world" but loses value when he changes his voice with the lyrics "I might be." In the second verse Eminem threatens rappers with the death of their career again with the lyrics,
"I hear you talkin' shit, I'm just too big to respond to it
God forbid I forget, go and jump out the window
Somebody better child-proof it
'Cause if I lose it we can rewind to some old Ja Rule shit"
Supposedly, many people believe the Eminem/50 Cent vs. Ja Rule beef ended Ja Rule's hip-hop career, which points reference to Eminem's claim that he will end someone's career. The flow used on this song is one that gathers momentum and that's exactly what it did on this track. The flows on display on this album are so much better than the flows used on "Revival." The guitar rifts with the fast bass, drum and triangle add to the momentum. Another great track for Eminem.
+1.5

Lucky You (ft. Joyner Lucas)
To start off we get an intro to the song from Joyner Lucas that also gathers momentum as he starts off calm and finishes in an aggressive tone as it transitions to the hook. The beat drops and it's another fast-paced beat with what sounds like a xylophone or chimes and fast paced high hats and bass. We then get a great Joyner Lucas verse that leads to an Eminem bridge. In Eminem's verse he starts off taking shots at Drake with the lines,
"I got a couple of mansions, still I don't have any manners
You got a couple of ghost writers, but to these kids it don't actually matter
They're askin' me, "What the fuck happened to hip-hop?"
I said, "I don't have any answers."
These lines clearly reference Drake's ghostwriting controversy. Shady then takes more shots at the younger generation saying,
"'Cause half of these rappers have brain damage
All the lean rappin', face tats, syruped out like tree sap
I don't hate trap, and I don't wanna seem mad"
We then get Eminem rapping insanely fast towards the end of the verse before the song closes out with a joint Eminem and Joyner Lucas hook. Overall, another great song from this album. Eminem is addressing everything he feels he needs to address.
+1.5

Paul (Skit) [2018]
A phone call from Paul Rosenberg, Eminem's manager, who appears to be warning Shady that responding to everyone's negative reactions to "Revival." This ties into the theme of the first three songs where he addresses everyone with something to say about "Revival."
+.5

Normal
This song has a different feel versus the first three on the album due to the content. Eminem is talking about his experiences in certain relationships. I like the cadence Eminem uses on the hooks and the contrast between hook Eminem and verse Eminem is clear on this song. The relationship Eminem describes is clearly a toxic one as he raps,
"Even when 911 gets the call that
I slipped up and busted her jaw with
A Louisville Slugger 'cause all's it
Really does is make our love
For each other grow stronger"
There's a beat switch from the buzzing bass, mixed with heavy bass to a heavy piano beat. Em also changes his flow as the beat drops to a bass piano reliant sound. A totally different vibe compared to the first three songs but still a quality song.
+1

Em Calls Paul - Skit
Eminem appears to call his manager back talking about some of the comments he has read about his previous album. Eminem appears to belittle someone's comment and is apparently on the way to their house at the time of the call.
+.5

Stepping Stone
On this song Eminem appears to be addressing some past issues. Eminem addresses his D12 days and certain events that eventually led to the end of the group with lines such as,
"The death of Doody broke us in two
We were thrown for a loop, ain't none of us know what to do
And at the time I was goin' through my own struggles too"
Where he addresses the death of Doody, known by his stage name Proof (R.I.P.) and how the had an impact on D12. The verses on this song are good, with a good flow and some good content. The beat is a calm standard beat with consistent high hats, a consistent bass. The main idea of this song is Eminem feels bad about using the other members of D12 as his "stepping stones" as he addresses with the hook,
"To all the friends I may have hurt
I better stop and say my grace
From that I pray that I don't fall
'Cause on the way back down I may
End up runnin' back into them all
I never meant to use you all as my stepping stones"
I think this is a solid song although it drifts away from the tone set at the beginning of the album.
+1

Not Alike (ft. Royce Da 5'9)
Interestingly enough Eminem gets a Tay Keith beat for this song. One thing I've noticed about Tay Keith is a lot of his beats (Look Alive) use the same tempo that is on display with the piano on this song before the beat drops. When the beat drops we get a two high hats with different pitches and a bass. Eminem uses the flow from the hook on “Bad and Boujee” as he says,
"Brain dead, eye drops
Pain meds, cyclops
Daybed, iPod
"May-back", Maybach
Train wrecks, sidewalks
Pay less, high-tops
K-Fed, I Hop
Playtex, icebox"
which sounds exactly alike in the flow from the hook on “Bad and Boujee” when Offset says,
"Raindrop (drip), drop top (drop top)"
Eminem then transitions to using the flow from XXXTENTACION's (R.I.P) "Look At Me!" when Eminem raps,
"That's how much we have in common (yeah!)
That's how much we have in common (whoa!)
Up on this mic, when we're on it (yeah!)
That's how much we have in common (yeah!)
That's how much we have in common (woo!)"
The flow on the post hook sounds similar to XXX rapping,
"I'm like 'Bitch, who is your mans?' (ay)
Can't keep my dick in my pants (ay)
My bitch don't love me no mo' (ay)"
Eminem then closes out using another Migos flow, this time from the Migos song "Deadz" where the flow Eminem uses when he raps,
"We are not alike, there's nada like us,"
which sounds similar to "Deadz" when Quavo raps in his verse,
"If I wasn't trappin', I'd be wrappin' up them bundles
If I wasn't rappin', I'd be trappin' out the condos (know I'm sayin')."
With the use of all these flows Eminem makes it no secret who he's referencing in this song. We then get to the Royce Da 5'9 verse who also takes shot at the newer generation when he says,
"Y'all music sound like Dr. Seuss inspired it"
We then get to the Eminem verse where he addresses an apparent Machine Gun Kelly diss on the song "No Reason" where MGK was a feature on this song off of Tech N9ne's album "Planet."
MGK rapped,
"It's only one option, you gon' need a doctor
I ain't talkin' 'bout the one from Compton," which flips lines from Dr. Dre's "Forgot About Dre" where Dr. Dre raps,
"And when your album sales wasn't doin' too good
Who's the Doctor they told you to go see?"
MGK flips those words basically saying after this verse Eminem would need to see Dr.Dre. MGK also raps later in his verse,
"I pop cherries and popstars, you popsicles is not hard
Popped in on the top charts out the cop car
To remind y'all you just rap and not God
And I don't care who got bars,"
which references Eminem's hit song "Rap God off of "The Marshall Mathers LP2."
Eminem responds in "Not Alike" with,
"Oh, you run the streets, huh?
Now you wanna come and fuck with me, huh?
This little cock-sucker, he must be feelin' himself
He wants to keep up his tough demeanor
So he does a feature, decides to team up with Nina
But next time you don't gotta use Tech N9ne
If you wanna come at me with a sub, Machine Gun
And I'm talkin' to you, but you already know who the fuck you are, Kelly
I don't use sublims and sure as fuck don't sneak-diss
But keep commenting on my daughter Hailie
I keep on telling motherfuckers
But just in case you forgot really and need Ja memories."
Eminem is basically calling Machine Gun Kelly out by name, referencing why he has an issue with MGK (because MGK tweeted that he thought Eminem's daughter was "hot"), mocks MGK for his gangsta demeanor then finally says he'll end MGK like he believes ended Ja Rule. The beat switches to feel that basically says "Boss Level," while Eminem continues to go at MGK. Eminem then ends the song with a hook. This song has a lot to digest because of its various amounts of sub-disses which can be overshadowed by Eminem going directly at Machine Gun Kelly. Overall, it's a great diss song that returns us back to the vibe of the first three songs off of this album.
+1.5

Kamikaze
This beat has a nice distorted bass and a great bass that doesn't come in, until the middle of each verse. This beat can feel a bit like a video game. Eminem takes another shot at Drake in the first verse as he spits,
"I'll ride through your cul-de-sac
Window cracked, bumpin' your reference tracks,"
Eminem references the reference tracks that have been connected to songs off of Drake's "If You’re Reading This It's Too Late." Eminem also raps in the outro,
"You got some views, but you're still below me
Mine are higher, so when you compare our views, you get overlooked
And I don't say the hook unless I wrote the hook"
Eminem again references ghostwriting and references Drake's 2016 album "Views." Overall another good song that is consistent with the vibe set at the beginning of the album.
+1

Fall
This is another beat with high hats and bass being in the foreground. On this song get another diss, this time at Joe Budden and D.J. Akademiks. Eminem fires back at them calling his album trash, (https://youtu.be/DWG2mSSBi8U) with the lyrics,
"Somebody tell Budden before I snap, he better fasten it
Or have his body bag get zipped
The closest thing he's had to hits is smackin' bitches
And don't make me have to give it back to Akademiks
Say this shit is trash again, I'll have you twisted
Like you had it when you thought you had me slippin' at the telly"
Eminem then takes shots at Tyler The Creator with the lines,
"Tyler create nothin', I see why you called yourself a ******, bitch
It's not just 'cause you lack attention
It's because you worship D12's balls, you're sack-religious
If you're gonna critique me, you better at least be as good or better
Get Earl the Hooded Sweater
Whatever his name is to help you put together"
Eminem raps in response to Tyler The Creator's tweet calling "Walk on Water" a "horrible" song. Eminem then once again takes shots at Drake over ghostwriting with the lines,
"All I know is I wrote every single word of
Everything I ever murdered
Time to separate the sheep from goats
And I got no faith in your writers, I don't believe in ghosts."
Something I found nifty about these lines is he says he's separating the sheep from the G.O.A.T.s (Greatest of all time). Eminem then closes out the song shouting out rappers he likes as he spits,
"I inspired the Hopsins, the Logics, the Coles, the
Seans, the K-Dots, the 5'9"s, and oh
Brought the world 50 Cent, you did squat, piss and moan
But I'm not gonna fall… bitch!" I like the hook from Justin Vernon because the autotuned voice is such a contrast from Eminem's bars, it can give the listener a break from the lyrical onslaught. Another great song from this "Kamikaze" album.
+1.5

Nice Guy (ft. Jessie Reyez)
The beat on this song is a very slow one with a dragging bass and a dragging drumline. There is an appearance of a piano during the hook. The vocals from Jessie Reyez sound horrible especially when she "sings,
"After the club, you go back home, right?
R-I-I-IGHT?! S-I-I-IKE!"
During her first verse, she sounds like a SZA imposter which sinks the value of this song. The song ends abruptly after Eminem's second verse as it transitions to the next song. This song once again diverts from the tone set at the beginning of the album.
+0

Good Guy (ft. Jessie Reyez)
This beat sounds like a calm walk in the park. The soft drumline, violin and background vocals contribute to a calm vibe. The content about a relationship, where Eminem discusses being cheated on with the bars,
"And I ain't violent, but she's goin' through my drawers
To plant the K-Y in; I'm gettin' accused by a whore
Who smells like St. Ides and who's probably screwed five more
Guys, sucked eight/nine men."
The vocals from Jessie Reyez sound better than the vocals from the previous song, however they still don't blow me away. I could do without this song.
+1

Venom- Music from The Motion Picture
With this song, there's a bit of a synthesizer with the beat and high hats. I'm not a fan of the inclusion of this song on this album. I'm also not a fan of the hook where Eminem sings,
"Venom, (I got that) adrenaline momentum
Venom, not knowin' when I'm
Ever gonna slow up and I'm
Ready to snap any moment I'm
Thinkin' it's time to go get 'em
They ain't gonna know what hit 'em
(W-W-When they get bitten with the—)"
I don't go crazy when I hear Eminem in that cadence and the verses on the song were trash compared to the other verse on this album as a whole.
+0

"Kamikaze"

Raw Score: 8/11
Quality Score: 12.5/11

Eminem's "Kamikaze" is better than "Revival," which shouldn't be a bold statement. The beat selection on "Kamikaze" was far more superior to the beat selection on "Revival" and it's not even a contest. I thought Eminem did a wonderful job setting the tone with the first three songs, then used the interludes perfectly as a break between the dense content he was rapping to the listener. "Normal" sandwiched between the two interludes was executed perfectly because he told the listener when he was going to leave the "attack mode" vibe and when he was going back to it. The disses on this album were through and direct which is something I enjoy. I could have done without the three songs at the end. I thought "Good Guy" and "Nice Guy" would have been better suited between the interludes following "Normal" because of the similarities in content between the three songs. I thought "Venom" should be released as a single because it didn't correspond to any of the content presented on the album at all. It almost felt like a bonus track. My top three tracks off this album are "Greatest," "Lucky You" featuring Joyner Lucas and "Not Alike" featuring Royce Da 5'9. Overall a great body of work from Eminem, once again proving why he is a legend. Go stream Eminem's "Kamikaze" today on your favorite streaming platform. Also, don't forget to follow OldMilktheblog on Instagram @OldMilktheblog!