Relapse Part I

Back on April 7 WKFTB told you this:

“Not gonna lie, I can't wait to squad up with Jake and mall trip that day. I see
an ill treat and a Mary Lou's treat in the future. Hot spring day, with the sun
out and birds chirping, and I swing into Best Buy to cop the album of the
summer. Ahhhh....”

That’s pretty much how it went down – except better. Instead of Marylou’s we got Domino’s (the product of a free medium coupon that came with a Role Models purchase at BB). And instead of one Perkins, we got both brothers, as SP The Ghost took time out of his last day in EB to make a Best Buy trip with The Kids. We got a treat(s) plus some Twisted Treats and Coorsys.

We ended up on my back porch in The Rock. And call me Nickstrodamus because the sun is out -- it's hot as balls - and birds are blinging all around us. We knew, bro.

Yea, we don’t have (real) jobs. Make fun of us…but we know you’re jealous.

So here's Part I of a running diary of Jake and Nick's first thoughts on Relapse. Song by song, you get em as we listen to the album. Comments are color coded. Part II later.

3 AM: I know that we had this one on here a while ago so I have heard it, but damn I’m feeling it. This was the track that leaked out that gave me some hope that this album would be good…It also sets the tone for the way he raps the rest of the album.

One of the 3-4 songs we’ve heard a bunch of times before the album dropped. It reminds me of “Kill You” from Marshall Mathers LP, in the sense that all he talks about is, well, killing. And they were both track 2. I feel like Eminem does that sometimes. Remember when track 13 was always a song with the same girl? Guy knows the formula.

My Mom: Eminem talking about drugs and his mom….shit I feel like I’m in high school again. No matter how weird this chorus is I still think his flow is incredible no matter what he has to say. It’s just how I feel about his skills, so read the rest of this knowing that.

One of Em’s opening lines is “I know you’re tired of hearing about my mom.” And well, yea, we kinda are. But as the first song that I haven’t heard, it’s solid. The beat is unmistakably Dre and the chorus is pretty catchy. Little Heath Ledger too soon action in here. That weird accent he does starts to piss me off though. Not his best but not terrible.

Insane: Alright right away he is saying absurddddd shit. I know that you can’t take him serious really in any songs but shit, was there any message to this song? This is Em ripping it though, aggressive and spitting violent.

Woooo…this risky ass song. I kinda love it. This is Exhibit A in the case that Eminem has gone completely and utterly insane. And yes, that’s the title of the song, a fact that dawned on me as I finished typing that sentence (honestly). His flow is rugged, I feel like he’s literally spitting here, like saliva is all over the mic. The sick flow overrides the sometimes queasy lyrics.

Bagpipes from Baghdad: I heard about the controversy over this song with Nick Cannon a week or two ago but this is my first time hearing it. I honestly laughed out loud a couple times at the lyrics…Nick Cannon, you going at Eminem is like me going at Eminem, your basically a nobody man. Stay on your on level….. the best shit you ever did was Wild’n Out and didn’t that shit get cancelled? But yeah…I was feeling this one too. (That Domino’s was fiiiyahhhhh…best I’ve ever had maybe…Woooo The Kidddddd).

The Nick Cannon song. With a lil Middle Eastern riff, I like this song mostly because of Nick Cannon’s response.

Me: Is there a bigger chooch than Nick Cannon?
Jake, too inebriated at 3:20 in the afternoon to speak words: (shakes head affirmatively)

He’s a Nickelodeon chooch better served to be going after Lizzy McGuire than Eminem.

Hello: From the first chorus I knew that this would be one of my favorite’s on this CD….there was a little doubt up to this point, but I can now say that Eminem/Slim Shady are F*ng backkkkkk. The flow and lyrics are on point here, get Emmmmmmmmm.

Eassssillllyyy my favorite song on the CD so far. I love songs that within 20 seconds into them you know you’re going to love it. The beat is chronic. His flow is crisp. “My name is…Shaddddyyy” kills it. It’s only Track 6, but this is the early favorite for Song of the CD. One of the great nuances of Eminem’s songs is that they can usually be played at a party or just chilling and they work just as effectively in both settings. This is definitely the case with this jam.

Same Song & Dance: Is Tonya the new Kim song? The theme is obviously dark just like in “Kim” of the Marshall Mathers LP, but there is something in this one that changes up and makes it more catchy….probably because he mentions Lindsay and Britney. I’m starting to feel like he’s going in and out of personalities/voices in the SAME song…dude is crazy.

I wasn’t really feeling this song until the Lindsay Lohan jokes. No matter the era, it doesn’t get much better than Eminem shitting on the popular pop icons at the time. And the best part is he’s so huge that you know they’ll hear it.

We Made You: Shiiitttttt this song grew on me so hard. I hated it at first for an “Eminem Single,” because just like everyone else I wanted him to come out swingginggggg with some serious and violent shit. But what I’m saying is I have started to like this song, you gotta take it for what it is really. It’s Eminem shitting on whoever he wants and being a clown…I still sing the shit out of the chorus out loud now when I hear it, give it a chance before you skip it on the CD.

I don’t care what anyone says, this song is a beast. Started to slowly creep into all corners of my life recently – no matter where I go I hear it. It’s a typical Eminem single, yes, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Catchy as ever (were the ones who made youuuuu), this addictive jam will have you humming in the shower…the car..the post office…at funerals…during the National Anthem...you get the idea.

Meanwhile, I could use a nap at this point. I did get up at 9, you know.

Medicine Ball: Em comes right out of the gates aggressive and gritty on this one. For some reason the second time I heard it I almost compared it to the “Soldier” track on the Eminem Show….it’s something really about the beat and him rhyming fierce. (If you can’t see it start saying “I’m a solder” just like that chorus at the end of the beat…you will figure it out…btw listen to that song right now because we are and it‘s F*cking inredible.). And shittt he won’t let Christopher Reeves go huh…

We had to rewind this one. He literally uses the same rhyme scheme (esta) the whole first verse. The entire thing. Who even know there were that many words with that sound? This is why even if he’s crazy, and even sometimes corny, Em is more talented than anyone in the game.

--Jake and Nick