The official end of D12 (though they’ve been done for awhile now right?)
Alas, I’m still on the edge of my seat following Eminem reveal the tension between he and his friends first. One of my favorites off Kamikaze.
Tag: Eminem
Eminem ‘Relapse’ x Marvel
Remember those Marvel Hip Hop Variants from a few weeks back? Here’s a new one, super well-done too, merging Eminem’s Relapse album with Scarlet Witch.
“The latest sampling of Marvel’s Hip-Hop variants include nods to lyrical innovators, musical game-changers and one of rap’s biggest stars,” says Marvel Editor In Chief, Axel Alonso. “And who better to do these classic album covers justice than Ed Piskor, Keron Grant and the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz?”
Dr. Dre ‘Compton’ (Album Stream)
STREAM Dr. Dre ‘Compton’ here (iTunes or iOS)
Dr. Dre’s first album in 15 years! Featuring Eminem, Kendrick Lamar (multiple times!), DJ Premier, Snoop Dogg, and much more!
I pressed play instantly. The album goes up as one giant 3 hour stream before it’s scheduled premiere tonight and release for retail on Apple Music. Compton actually clocks in at a little over an hour. When you click the link, you can sift through to find when a desired song starts. For instance, you can skip right to the Eminem song at the 53 minute mark.
It’s Dre Day! Enjoy.
1) Intro
2) Talk About It (feat. King Mez & Justus)
3) Genocide (feat. Kendrick Lamar, Marsha Ambrosius & Candice Pillay)
4) It’s All On Me (feat. Justus & BJ the Chicago Kid)
5) All In a Day’s Work (feat. Anderson .Paak & Marsha Ambrosius)
6) Darkside/Gone (feat. King Mez, Marsha Ambrosius & Kendrick Lamar)
7) Loose Cannons (feat. Xzibit & COLD 187um)
8) Issues (feat. Ice Cube &Anderson .Paak)
9) Deep Water (feat. Kendrick Lamar & Justus)
10) Jon Connor – One Shot One Kill (feat. Snoop Dogg)
11) The Game – Just Another Day (feat. Asia Bryant)
12) For the Love of Money (feat. Jill Scott & Jon Connor)
13) Satisfaction (feat. Snoop Dogg, Marsha Ambrosius & King Mez)
14) Animals (feat. Anderson .Paak) (prod. DJ Premier)
15) Medicine Man (feat. Eminem, Candice Pillay & Anderson .Paak) (starts at 53:10)
16) Talking To My Diary
For those on the go…
1st Listen Impressions:
- Very positive. The album bangs from beginning to end, with layers like horn solos that enter the overall sound too. Definitely a Compton/west coast sound that you’d expect, and it’s definitely modern too. Also: don’t even listen if it’s not loud. High volume adds to the experience, for sure.
- It’s tough to find a drawback in tracks 1-9. The first half of the album is strongest, brought in properly by the intro + first real track. This stretch also has features 3 (!) Kendrick Lamar features in this stretch. All of them are on point and I liked his work on “Darkside/Gone” and “Deep Water” a little more than “Genocide”.
- The beat drop for Xzibit and his subsequent energy was new/classic. That definitely worked.
- Cube’s feature + the murder fantasy on that track took the album a dark direction for a couple songs that I feel longtime fans will definitely appreciate. Reminds me of the 90s.
- Dre himself is flowin with more rhythm than some of his random, rare appearances in the past few years.
- Singers doin it justice too, specifically Marsha Ambrosius, BJ The Chicago Kid, and Anderson .Paak. Dap to Asia Bryant on “Just Another Day” too.
- Wait, can you imagine this album live? It flows really well and will definitely jump another level if the rumored Straight Outta Compton Tour with N.W.A. and Eminem comes to fruition. Whoo!
- Ran back “Medicine Man” twice in a row. Dre and Em definitely feels right and both delivered. How bout Dre disgusted at today’s rap game?! The eerie, and explicit female hook from Candice Pillay works. Then Eminem kept getting better and better and even had some shock value lines along the way. Lots of songs will make the rotation for awhile to come, this is one of them.
- R.I.P. Eazy-E. Dre appropriately paid homage to him throughout, especially to close it out on “Talking To My Diary”. *applauds*
What are your first impressions?! Let me know @gowherehiphop
UPDATE: Lots of speculation of Kendrick sub-dissing Drake in “Deep Water”, namely the beginning and end bars of his. Also on “Darkside/Gone”:
But still I got enemies giving me energy I wanna fight now
Subliminally sent to me all of this hate
I thought I was holding the mic down…
I dunno, part of me feels like this is a stretch. (In fact, Mickey sums it up well.) But whatever the case, the bars are hot and if it snowballs into an even greater competition, I’m all for it.
Eminem x Air Jordan IV (Rumored)
Not only Drake, but Eminem x Jordan now?
The ultra rare blue Shady x Jordan IVs came out in ’06 and Eminem had his own exclusives of IIs in 2008. Now, via Sneaker News, there’s a third collab coming.
It’s this pictured pair of Air Jordan IVs, designed to commemorate the 15th anniversary of The Marshall Mathers LP. Not much info is known, or confirmed, beyond this but it does look promising for at least a PE sort of release. Hopefully the masses can get their hands on ’em too.
Eminem’s comeback workout routine
#MondayMotivation for sure. And most Mondays you can look no further than Eminem to provide that.
In a new feature with Men’s Journal released this weekend, Eminem revealed the addiction that helped him overcome his addiction. The former is to cardio and working out and the latter is his drugs and alcohol addiction that led him to rehab in 2007.
The entire feature is written in Eminem’s first person account so naturally, it’s a pretty interesting read. On top of that, if you’re a workout freak, you’ll probably enjoy the image of Eminem doing things like the Insanity workout at home by himself. Hey, he’s just like us!
Here’s an excerpt:
Recovery = Running
In 2007, I overdosed on pills, and I went into the hospital. I was close to 230 pounds. I’m not sure how I got so big, but I have ideas. The coating on the Vicodin and the Valium I’d been taking for years leaves a hole in your stomach, so to avoid a stomachache, I was constantly eating — and eating badly.
…
When I got out of rehab, I needed to lose weight, but I also needed to figure out a way to function sober. Unless I was blitzed out of my mind, I had trouble sleeping. So I started running. It gave me a natural endorphin high, but it also helped me sleep, so it was perfect. It’s easy to understand how people replace addiction with exercise. One addiction for another but one that’s good for them. I got an addict’s brain, and when it came to running, I think I got a little carried away. I became a fucking hamster. Seventeen miles a day on a treadmill. I would get up in the morning, and before I went to the studio, I would run eight and a half miles in about an hour. Then I’d come home and run another eight and a half. I started getting OCD about the calories, making sure I burned 2,000 every day. In the end I got down to about 149 pounds. I ran to the point where I started to get injured. All the constant pounding from the running began to tear up my hip flexors.
Eminem f/ Gwen Stefani “Kings Never Die” (Lyric Video)
I saw Southpaw last night and came away with the favorable impression I expected. I’ll actually save some thoughts for another post tomorrow, but in the meantime, Eminem dropped an all-new lyric video for one of his two main singles on the soundtrack — “Kings Never Die” with Gwen Stefani. This one hasn’t quite grown on me as much as “Phenomenal” but hearing it during the end credits last night was pretty fitting. Plus, following along to Eminem’s lyrics in a visual like this could definitely help the cause. Check it out with me above.
Southpaw Soundtrack (Album Stream)
Today the Southpaw Soundtrack is available on all streaming services so below enjoy the mix of new and old tracks that feature 50 Cent, PRhyme featuring Logic, The Weeknd, and needless to say Eminem, amongst others.
If you’ve been up on the previews, then you’re probably starting at track 06 — new Bad Meets Evil “Raw” — and then track 09 “All I Think About”. Some great moments on both of these throughout as it brings me back to some old Shady. Enjoy!
