Jul 26, 2024 I think you’re gonna be shocked by what I pick haha, I mentioned it before in the TDOSS thread, if I did it got buried in the Em discussion. It’s actually an album I’ve never heard before and one I was saving specifically for my week! Typing my TDOSS review as we speak and plan to dive into @Ordinary Joel ’s album either today or tomorrow. So sorry for the delay and inactivity! I’ve been busy doing other things and also trying to stay off anywhere that could potentially have Deadpool spoilers (amazing movie btw).
Jul 26, 2024 Prepare for a potential yap fest for my TDOSS review, I’m just winging it really so I have no clue how long it’ll be
Jul 26, 2024 Hermit and the Recluse - Orpheus vs. the Sirens review 9/10 favorite tracks: sirens,orpheus, argo, golden fleece, The punishment of sisyphus least favorite: N/A This album introduced me to Ka and I have been a fan ever since. Loved his albums Honor Killed the Samurai, the Night’s Gambit and especially this one which I consider his magnum opus. There is a lot to be said about the synergy he found with Animoss on this thing; sonically this is one of the most gorgeous sounding underground hiphop albums of all time to me. Despite the music on this thing being so well produced and lush, I can understand why someone wouldn’t like Ka’s style. This slow, spoken-word approach he has can get a bit tiring at times, especially since he packs so much content and motifs into his bars, still, I will say that his music clicked for me immediately on my first listen a few years ago. Ka is a different beast, not many MCs who sound like him and manage to display actual intellect without sounding like corny preachermen. The reason why this album was such a hit for me could also be the fact that I work in the field of history and archeology and spent thousands of hours reading into the themes he showcases on this body of work. It is the perfect amalgamation of my passion for mythology, my professional career and my love for hiphop, it fuses all of these different fields and elements of my own life and does it incredibly well, as cheesy as that may sound. His approach to developing these mythological motifs is super well executed too; he isn’t being overly dramatic or reaching in order to make these ancient Greek heroes and events fit his personal narrative. All in all, his performance is masterful; even more so when paired with Animoss who reached into his most off kilter protools folder and pulled out a f---ing Harp. Although taking Ka at face value and trying to rate his music using the standards of other, more ‘traditional’ hip-hop albums is impossible, one must still admire the niche he’s found for himself and the way he paved his way to developing an impressive discography with barely any duds. Won't peep weakness though my scars show Disappear in history or be hero on that Argo Chef’s kiss
Jul 26, 2024 Eminem - The Death Of Slim Shady REVIEW Score: 8.5 Track By Track/Review: So, we finally made it huh? The album we have been waiting years for is finally here! It’s kind of surreal to me that the new Em album is there, I go on Spotify and I can just listen to it. Maybe I just haven’t fully gotten off of the hype train yet! Anyways, I’m gonna do my review a bit different this time around. Instead of a tracklist ranking, I’m gonna say some quick blurbs about each track and then have a “final thoughts” at the bottom which will basically act as a TLDR for this potential yappathon. Renaissance - Em’s usual intro for the last few albums. “They talking down on the greats, haters, yadda yadda” but this one was done pretty great (saying this as someone who absolutely adores every intro since Revival having this kind of topic, yes even WoW). The fact that the first little bit is a scrapped song from the early days enforces the album theme early and was a great move on Em’s part. Great intro! Habits (ft. White Gold) - Another pretty solid track! Feels a lot like a Side B song, but it works well into the album! White Gold has a nice hook here and the use of AI to bring a clear difference between Em and Slim is great! Before the album, I was unsure how i’d feel about using AI to make the Shady voice but it was executed so well on this album, and it’s his own voice. It’s not like the Drake controversy where he used Pac and Snoop for Taylor Made. Continues to set up the theme of the album fantastically. Trouble - The song that’s gone viral, and not in the most favorable way. People who haven’t heard the album and its full context not realizing the satire and story behind the theme of the album of Slim being one of those annoying a--- “Oh you’re so triggered! Babies! Gen Z triggered!” types of characters/people. Em doesn’t genuinely think this album is gonna get him cancelled, come on now. Cool little track to keep the theme flowing. Brand New Dance - This song is so f---ing mean spirited, but it’s so catchy. I feel like an a------ even enjoying it haha. Having a song, especially of this nature, ripped directly from the Encore 2004 sessions is a perfect idea for this album. This song scratched a couple itches for me in two ways. The first way is due to the fact that shortly before the release of the album, I was really interested in what the original version of Encore would have been like, so finally getting the unknown “Christopher Reeves” song felt huge. Granted, it’s not the OG due to the fact Em had to touch it up to make it more up to date and in line with the story of the album (which includes constant mention of Caitlyn Jenner), but people online have already been trying to make it as close to what the original could have been as possible. The second way being that I have wanted Em to do something similar to Nas for so long in the form of “Lost Tapes” where it’s a bunch of older songs that never saw the light of day. I love that he’s been doing this recently with this, JB&M, and Is This Love. Also, it was a fun way to hint at this album with JB&M and Is This Love. Catchy song, but makes me question my morals. My favorite song within the first few. Evil - This catchy a--- hook man haha, this is a classic Em hook. It took me awhile to get over the “I am not like other people” line, but I think that’s just because the internet has ruined that phrase for me. Nasty a--- beat and some good a--- rapping on this song. I don’t have a lot to say about it tbh, but I like it. All You Got (skit) - Cool skit, not much to say Lucifer (ft. Sly Pyper) - Another nasty a--- beat, the production on this album is pretty top notch and probably the best it has been since Relapse. I really like the hook here from Sly! Great rapping from Em too. This might be a hot take, but it’s my least favorite out of the Evil-Lucifer-Antichrist run. I still like the track though! Antichrist (ft. Bizarre) - Now if any track on this album was gonna feature Bizarre, of course it would be the song called Antichrist. The hook is catchy and reminds me of an early Em hook too. Em says some pretty gnarly s--- on here, once again as expected from the title. A lot of this song boils down to “yeah, ofc this is on a song called Antichrist”. The big surprise Bizarre verse at the end is exactly what you’d expect out of Bizarre. I will say, I’m very shocked there wasn’t any flack about Bizarre using a certain T-word in this verse. I saw nobody post about it or get mad about it surprisingly. I saw more people think that Em said the N-word on Fuel than any commentary on the use of the T-word in Bizarre’s verse. Anyways, entertaining track and exactly the type of track you’d expect out of Em ft. Bizarre. Fuel (ft. JID) - SMOKIN TREES I’M RIDIN ROUND!!! A DREAM COLLAB OFF THE TRACKLIST AND EASILY TOP 5 IF NOT TOP 3 ON THE ALBUM FOR ME! JID KILLS IT EM KILLS IT WHAT MORE CAN I SAY LETS f---ing GOOOOOOOOOOOO Road Rage (ft. Dem Jointz & Sky Pyper) - I’m not huge on this song. It’s not awful by any means, but I don’t go back to it often or really care too. The homage to Ha at the end of the song is super dope though, wish there was more of that. Meh. Houdini - Idk how much more there is to say about this song, pretty f---ing great all around and a great homage to his early career. Great pick as a single to get the hype going for this album. A song I will cherish for a super long time. Breaking News (skit) - Another skit just furthering the story of the album, leads well into the next song Guilty Conscience 2 - Wow, what a track. I love this one a whole lot, easily in my top 5 on TDOSS as well. I really thought Dre would be on this track, but as the album progressed it was more and more obvious that this wasn’t gonna happen, and honestly it works even without Dre! Em and Slim going back and forth is wonderful. Huge climax for the album and it’s a great pay off to the story that was building. That little section where they are rapping at the same time is also fantastic. GREAT s---, Em. Head Honcho (ft. Ez Mil) - The Ez Mil promo track of the album, and I think they both killed it! I don’t go back to the tracks in the post-Guilty Conscience 2 section of this album as much as I should, but I do think this is a stand out! You can tell Ez really brought his A-game, as you should on an Em album and especially an album as important as this one. Like it a lot! Temporary (ft. Skylar Grey) - When I saw Ez Mil and Skylar on back to back songs, I thought of this forum haha. It’s like it was Em’s little way of saying, “half these guys don’t want these features, let’s put them on back to back songs.” Just made me laugh. Anyways with the track, it actually almost made me cry. Em is getting older, and death is inevitable for everybody. This track was beautifully written and Skylar killed it too. This being a letter to Hailie for after he passes just hit me, and this might sound selfish, but it also made me realize that one of my heroes isn’t getting any younger. One day the news will come that Em has passed, and God forbid that is not anytime soon. A lot of emotion in this track and a lot of meaning too. Only two Em tracks have made me tear up, this and Darkness. Fantastic s---, Em. Also thanks for not using Skylar Grey to make another love song. Bad One (ft. White Gold) - I think I have actually only listened to this song twice. Meh. Not that into it. Felt like another Side B song. Tobey (ft. Big Sean & BabyTron) - I felt like I was this track’s biggest defender upon release. Everyone killed it, especially BabyTron. I was addicted to his verse for a super long time and it was fun seeing him on a song with Em. Production has grown off of me a bit, but I’m just being nit picky at this point since the song has been out longer than all of the others besides Houdini. Great s--- from everyone involved. Guess Who’s Back (skit) - Loved seeing Ken come back. Awesome. “Sometimes I wonder if my homie’s gay” Somebody Save Me (ft. Jelly Roll) - As someone who has been following Jelly Roll’s career for years, this was major for me to see. I’m not gonna act like I was constantly streaming Jelly’s music, but I was keeping up with his life and what he was up to musically for many many years. I remember being young and listening to some of his earlier s--- with my dad, mostly the “Whiskey, Weed, and Waffle House” tape and also the collaborative project “No Filter” with Lil Wyte. Anyways, this was a great outro. The intro of him talking to Alaina is haunting, showing how he was during his major drug binge between Encore and Relapse. It is really sad and eye opening. The Jelly song worked perfectly with this outro. Final Thoughts/TLDR: TDOSS, great album. Only two meh songs and 0 songs that I just cannot stand (which hasn’t happened since Relpase). Great s--- all around and I love to have Em back in the spotlight! Apologizes to @Justin Trudeau for getting this in late and having to recalculate the average and all that! @AOTWClub My Rankings: Sling - 9.0 Cilvia Demo - 8.5 Melodrama - 8.5 The Death Of Slim Shady - 8.5 When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 - 8.0 All My Heroes Are Cornballs - 7.5 Americana - 7.5 Big Conspiracy - 7.0 MID AIR - 6.5 DiggleDogg’s Rating Average: 7.88
Jul 26, 2024 @AOTWClub I recalculated "The Death of Slim Shady" for diggledogg cause I felt nice and he wrote a novel lol It's now tied with Three 6 Mafia for 2nd place Standings updated on main page
Jul 27, 2024 @AOTWClub only 4 reviews in for Hermit and the Recluse, hoping The Death of Slim Shady doesn't = The Death of Album of the week @DiggleDogg69 picks the album for next week tomorrow night!
Jul 27, 2024 Everyone taking a trip to greece to listen to the album how Ka intended before writing their reviews
Jul 27, 2024 Hermit and the Recluse - Orpheus vs. the Sirens Standouts: Sirens,Fate,Atlas, Argo Skips: (I wouldn't say there are skips but there are songs that I wouldn't go back to, not because I dislike them but because they're redundant) Score: 6/10 Final Thoughts (Skit): For such a short project it does feel redundant and repetitive at times but I appreciate the concept and its execution (I love greek mythology), I love the pen game but some songs feel very interchangeable ngl both in topics and production, does this mean I didn't enjoy it? of course not, I do like it but it's not something I see myself going back to in full, probably just the standouts It did make me curious to check out more of Ka's s--- @AOTWClub
Jul 27, 2024 Best part about finally reviewing the albums myself is that I can read everyone else's reviews now, I usually avoid them before listening to the s--- cause I don't wanna be influenced, not even subconsciously
Jul 27, 2024 There’s been like 5 reviews, means that almost half the users now thought the album was mid
