Jul 15, 2024 Okay, I'm being honest... gulp. Renaissance 4/10 First half of the lyrics is nostalgic then it gets into the "us rappers are unappreciated" rant that we already had in Premonition. The mixing on the vocals makes it sound thin and unenergetic. This is a missed opportunity. It really could've an opener that set the stage for the album, created a story for a concept album (like some of Relapse's skits). Habits 2/10 Sorry. Just not feeling this, at all. It sounds like a MTBMB pt. II outtake but with shock value lyrics added on. Not really a fan of that style of delivery or the mixing on his vocals here. Shock value doesn't excite or offend me. Been there done that. It kinda just bores me now. Trouble 5/10 This beat slaps, sounds epic when the guitars came in. This really could've been a full song instead of a gag. Brand New Dance 5/10 I see the nostalgia factor for people who are really invested in the Em universe. But someone who didn't grow up on Em coming to this would probably see it more objectively. It's a cute corny song. Lazy melody. It has its charm, but it's still one of the weaker Encore tracks. Evil 5/10 Love the beat. It's gritty, vintage, super dark. The chorus works with it. Again, lazy shock humor is zzz for me though. Antichrist 6/10 Most of the lyrics are unremarkable but the classic 1998-2003 vibes are there. Bizarre verse at the end made me smile; love the beat switch; unironically the best part of the song. Fuel 6/10 JID raps like his life depends on it, and crushes it. While Em's flows get better toward the end, nothing he says really hits. By track 9, the shock value has worn off. I don't think it's anything he hasn't done before. Road Rage 1/10 This is cringe. The beat sounds a stock randomly generated beat. Nothing about this song really hits for me (the chorus, flows etc.). The lyrics don't offend me, but they make me yawn, roll my eyes and they just seem petty. Houdini 7/10 This is the playful fun Em we missed. It's catchy and danceable. It's a perfect lead single. If we're including the video, we could up this to an 8 or 9. Guilty Conscience 2 7/10 This is what I wanted on the album. A fun energetic hard beat with some vivid storytelling. This is what I thought it would be. This has a fun factor to it that some of the other shock songs don't. It's a mix of shock value with a tiny bit of self-reflection. Head Honcho 5/10 Ez Mil's verse is okay, Em's verse had its moments. They work separately, but it never really comes together. Beat is average. Temporary 5/10 Beat is basic and bland. The lyrics are great, Skylar's performance is good, but after 14 songs of shock value, this song feels jarring. It doesn't fit on the album sonically or in terms of content. With how minimalist this beat is, there was more room for reverb and overall atmosphere on the vocals. Mixing is meh. Bad One 3/10 This song doesn't do anything. It's nothing we haven't seen before in his lyrics,flow or delivery. The beat and chorus are average at best. It feels like a MTBMB Side B outtake. This song also just doesn't fit; it doesn't fit the first 2/3 of the album or the last 1/3. Tobey 7/10 All 3 artists feel like they fit together on the same song. Their flows and delivery match well. Babytron did great especially. Minor nitpick; the beat builds up, but never really has a climax; it could've had a instrumental solo or something. Somebody Save Me 5/10 See what I wrote for Temporary. This feels like an alternate version of Arose from Revival. I feel bad giving this a low score because it is some of his best lyrics on here, but the execution matters too. It just doesn't sound good. The production and FX chains sound straight off of Revival. They could've just added some of the FX chains from the other TDOSS songs onto this to make the album sound more cohesive. Overall rating: 4/10
Jul 15, 2024 Can someone help me understand the JID praise? Thought his verse was painfully average, and people say he killed Eminem on the track... The "P, did he?" line alone is one of the best on the album "I can put her p---- on the platter like a platypus" If Eminem spit this he would be getting s--- on.
Jul 15, 2024 I agree there are some great one-liners on this project (as well as some bad ones and a lot of mid ones). But on a macro level, even if a few aspects of the lyrics are good, most of the lyrics don't do anything or say anything aside from shock value. They don't really paint a picture or tell a story like the verses on some of his past albums did. I feel so bored by the majority of the rapping on this album, that by the time he has the occasional good moment, I'm half-asleep tbh.
