The Marshall Mathers LP

Not edgy or angry enough for all of Eminem. It's also not all aged great, it's fairly juvenile. But man, Stan is amazing. I mean, it gave the English language a new word!!

I understand the cultural significance of some of these songs but it’s not my cup of tea tbh

Eminem is very talented in what he does. His is some of the only rap I can tolerate. This record, however, wore very thin. It lands somewhere between sketch comedy and hardcore hip-hop and doesn't seem to do either very well. There's certainly very little relisten appeal here.

Go on kid, get that anger out.

I think this album is kind of good, but **deeply** flawed, but I do think that to even approach this, you kind of have to tackle the phenomenon that Eminem is. I have so many thoughts about this and about the particular way in which it annoys me a little bit that I kind of don't even know how to start. I think there's a disconnect between Eminem, his fans, and the negative reactions to his work, and I've really been trying to get to the bottom of it for a while now. I think the thing is that on The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem is really pushing against the conservative purity culture of the 2000's. At a time when politicians and the larger cultural hegemony tried to push US society to embrace traditional values, and happy families and God Fearing Americans. Eminem is one of the many who felt the dissonance between that and a life of poverty, broken families, substance abuse etc. And I think the thesis here is kind of "Why are you complaining about my violent little poems when we bomb people in the Middle East", "Why are you accusing me of being homophobic, when you're trying to push queerness out of society". And in a world where this album ends up as a cult classic, I think maybe it works better. But the problem is kind of that this ended up selling millions and millions and millions of copies. Eminem's technique here on a social level is pretty much to lash out indiscriminately. He takes shots at politicians, radio, The Grammys, his family, his ex, gay people, his label, rap culture even. So while he isn't exactly punching down, some strays end up going down. And because of how society is structured, those are the only people that really got hurt by this album. For example, I am queer, and I honestly do not think Eminem is homophobic. And I think that on some level, his use of slurs and occasional focus on the queer community is his own weird, imperfect way of trying to include us in his band of outcasts, flying in the face of "polite" republican society. But he uses the language of homophobia, and that, coupled with his insane popularity and audience of teenage edgelords added fuel to a culture of homophobia. And I think he ultimately exacerbated the problem of anti-queer sentiment in the US. Because the thing is that he had an audience of white teenagers eating out of the palm of his hand. And this is an audience that could just connect with his because they were at a time in their lives when lashing out at everyone and everything in response to feeling socially wronged is just the thing that you do. Lets face it, the highschoolers listening to Eminem weren't saying "hmm, I see, Eminem's usage of the word "faggot" hurls the beliefs of white America back into it's own face while including queer folks among his army of those wronged by this culture", they were saying "Dude, I also think it's cool to say slurs because gay people are gross". And I honestly just wish he was more honest about it. I also wish he was more honest about the fact that a lot of his popularity is an Elvis situation, where a majority white audience could only stomach Black art when coming from a white face. Let's be honest, even if you love this album, *that* is why it sold so well. It's a situation where I can see what he's doing, and I kind of get it. But I just don't think he executed it well on some level, especially since I'm living in the cultural aftermath of it. As for the album itself, the beats are good, Eminem has a great flow, and at his most earnest moments, he has some interesting content here. But I think some of his voices are annoying, I think the mixture of edgy, tongue in cheek, and earnest results in some really off moments, I think his singing usually sucks, and I think that any feature here trying to "do the Eminem thing" has aged badly. For example, the Bizarre feature on the otherwise good Amityville is fucking *terrible*. And even though it's a really interesting song, the tone issues are the worst on Kim. I understand it's a character portrait kind of, but Eminem can only really write from the perspective of people who are sort of just him on some level. So the song about killing his ex sits weirdly. Weirder still because of the theatrics and the jarring difference between Eminem screaming his brains out, and the hokey acting from "Kim". I like it on some level, but it comes across as ugly in a really odd way. Especially when surrounded by some much goofier songs. And there are all kinds of weird instances of Eminem putting his foot in his mouth here. I have some real problems with this album. And it has a lot of good too. But I just don't know if I can personally go higher than a 2 on this.

I realize that Slim Shady is a character and that some of this veers a little into satirical territory. And, while the delivery and clever turn of phrase on this album is really very good, the overt homophobia, misogyny, and over-use of the "r" word is just too much. Furthermore, those with the inability to recognize a character or satire tend to take the use of these words as an endorsement of their own hateful ideology. So, while I appreciate the quality of the art and the talent of the artist, I cannot in good conscience give this more than a 2.

el rap no es para blancos

ehhh

bruh it started feeling hella repetitive thats all

Liked: Stan Added: Stan (already added)

Kim is the fucking Incel anthem

When the songs slap, they slap. Some of the rest of it is not my cup of tea.

Luigi’s Mansion sounding ass album

It's the first time I listened to this album cover to cover. Almost all songs are about how influential he is, how talented he is, how he didn't want the fame but it found him etc. It has a couple of classics though

Meh

A few good songs here. Classics even. But the rest? Sophomoric but I don't think my 14 y/o self would even like this.

Oof. Despite being much more sonically polished, this aged even worse than the slim shady LP. Too many winces and cringes and foreshadowing of the even worse version of Em. His discography may be the most poorly aged in the rap canon.

God, this is difficult. As a pre teen, I was solely devoted to 90s alternative rock and had sworn off hip hop. This album was amongst 3 that opened my eyes to how good hip hop could be. Since then, I haven’t revisited the record much. I suppose it’s the severe downfall Eminem had in the late 2010s. It’s a slightly dated album, but it has its merit. It’s stacked with classic hip hop songs, but Eminem’s delivery is off putting most of the time. Regardless, it’s not something I will listen to with full enjoyment.

I’m pretty sure I owned this at the time, it might have impressed a teenage me but it’s just a bit cringeworthy in places, I know a lot is in character, but it wouldn’t really wash today. It’s overlong, with the usual skits and to be honest, too much filler. It has some good tracks on it, I’ve always felt Stan was well written but on the whole, he just doesn’t interest me these days.

There is 1 genuinely great song "the real slim shady". The rest is cartoonish and not that funny when compared to redman or wu tang clan of the time. It veers from mock threatening to silly and there isn't much nuance. Always thought that Eminems greatest hits album would be excellent as his choice of singles are but this album is a bit of a chore.

Although there are some "classics" on here (Stan has always been wildly overrated to me), this is mostly just edgy lyrics for the sake of being edgy over some lackluster Dr. Dre beats.

2.1/5 I had a mate who used to listen to Eminem all the time so Ive heard alot of these songs many times. A few good songs but so many skits that unfortunately bring this down because I have to skip them. Also the team ups with like D12 etc bored me.

Stan is great but the rest is just a load of homophobic wank

Yeah, he’s good and all but the “I’m just playing” doesn’t really excuse some of the lyrics. He sounds kinda incel.

Я поважаю Емінема за його вклад в музику, але крім пари пісень не моду нічого слухати. Тексти занадто агресивні. Я не люблю реп і цей альбом не змінив думку

Look he's clearly a talented rapper and can write hits, and there's some brilliance on display here. But the whole being shitty to shock people schtick comes off as contrived and sure doesn't do it for me.

I very much dislike the misogynistic lyrics, but I can’t deny that the beats are very good.

It's got the Slim Shady song, but that's about all that's kinda good.

Some very good songs, but some very, very weak songs, making this album overall not enjoyable.

some good beats but overall YIKES

I imagine I'm probably not the only one who has mixed feelings about this album. On one hand, nostalgic slim shady classics like 'Stan' and 'The Real Slim Shady' are always fun. I enjoy, and regularly listen to hip hop, rap, and pop from the early 2000s, so the genre is my style. However, listening to this album all the way through was...tough. All of the lyrical misogyny (especially doing the song Kim...yikes) was hard to swallow. Idk if it was meant to be received as tongue-in-cheek or somehow subversive, but it just read as Good-Ole-Classic-Angry-White-Guy misogyny to me. And don't get me started on the anti-queer lyricism in 'Criminal'..! Lowkey, I feel like this is the album that Red Pill guys and incels listened to growing up lol. That said, ALL of the beats on this album are fire. 2/5.

βαρέθηκα λίγο

Did not fuck with it very much.

This was so cartoonishly violent wtf, why do you hate women. Still giving it two stars bc of Stan + Slim Shady though.

nicht ganz gehört, aber eminem cool

It's undeniably a work of art as music, but damn are some of these songs hard to listen to. Not just because of the upfront homophobia and misogeny and whatever other heinous shit he says, but some of these songs just so amateurish. The highlights of this album are amazing however. Stan is incredibly heartbreaking, and eases you into the rest of the album, and Slim shady is hilarious and catchy as hell. Favorite song: Stan.

un poco bastante disgusting im back nice

Nokre som får meg tilbake til barneskulen, nokre nye bra for min del men òg ein del som eg tykte lite om. Høyrer nok Ikkje gjennom HEILE albumet igjen.

An angry album featuring unwell people was not to my taste

Stan is great and I like The Real Slim Shady well enough, but the rest is… just not good.

I think I understand now why, for much of my younger life, I did not like rap. In my predominantly white, small, rural hometown, rap was synonymous with Eminem. And I do not like Eminem. Now, I do not dislike Eminem because I am offended or pearl clutching or anything like that. I am fully aware that the shock value is all a bit. He literally says so in Stan - which is a great song by the way. Maybe one of the most prescient songs of the 21st century. He then repeats this in the last track on the album. No, my issue with the shock value Eminem is going for is how trivial and childish and boring it is. It is equivalent to the torture porn horror films of the era. Trying to be shocking for the sake of it. Not much to say. Empty gesturing. Once you get over the initial shock of what you are hearing (if it even perturbs you in the first place) it becomes so mundane and uninteresting. I think the album does work though as an interesting time capsule of the late 90s early 2000s when politicians spent a decent chunk of time having congressional hearings about the dangers of Grand Theft Auto games, Eminem, and South Park. And I will hand it to the album for calling that out.

Fav song-Stan

Feels very childish, in subject matter and when Eminem sings hooks. Though horrorcore in general is definitely not for me. Stan and Eminem's sometimes-used rap skill pull it up a bit.

No thanks M&M

Disturbing for the most part but some nostalgic bangers like bitch please 2

I just dont like rap. I can appreciate the message behind some of the lyrics but this was not the vibe for me today.

I’m surprised at how little I liked this album. I heard Eminem was considered great and this was almost a trash album. 1st half much better than the second

Rap is definitely not my genre. But there’s no denying how talented Eminem is. Hated Kim, Hated Kill You. Loved Stan

I’ve never been able to get onboard with Eminem. He is undeniably talented, but he applies his talents in a direction that makes it difficult/impossible to enjoy his work.

You really just need like two songs

Great production, skilled lyricist, but none of the writing aged well. This was some 13-year old fantasy stuff, and it was a really tough listen. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more consistently homophobic or misogynistic album.

Two great songs

you listen to this and wonder whether all those old people were right about his music

There are like two good songs on this album. The rest is bad. Some of them are downright annoying. I thought I would like this album considering I've been getting into Hip Hop and I knew I kinda liked some of his songs. But this is just not good.

Yes, Stan is a provocative song but the anger of this album as is the case with all Eminem albums turns me off,

Definitely mixed, few known iconic songs. Couple definitely not his greatest work that’s for sure

An unreal wide sunny

It's fine. I still like some songs on it, but it has aged poorly.

Struggled with this. I believe that Eminem has talent as a wrapper and is clever. This album goes too far into being offensive and shocking people for me to enjoy.

Just too much

Two things can be possible at once. The Marshall Mathers LP is an artistic breakthrough AND inexcusably misogynistic, homophobic, and sophomoric. Twenty-five years later, this sounds like edgelord rap, basically a 4chan full-length. Eminem can talk about Slim Shady being a character and how the Marshall Mathers LP reflected his real experiences and mindset at the time. Fine. But none of this shit is OK, and I can't get beyond its more noxious moments ("Kill You," "Who Knew," "The Way I Am," "Under the Influence," etc.) Dre's production is great, Eminem is undeniably talented, and the Marshall Mathers LP sold 25 million copies, so its legacy is set. Counterpoint: Fuck this album. Rounding up to two stars because of "Stan," which owes as much to Dido as it does Em's lyrics.

Med numre som The Real Slim Shady og Stan havde jeg forventet mere. Der er 18 numre, fraregnet de tre instrumental-versioner og de to skits. Og det er ikke rigtigt fedt. For rap er det klart bedre end noget af det andet, jeg har været igennem her, men jeg havde troet, han havde flere fede sange.

I understand that Mathers is a rap god, but I just cant divorce the bangers in this album from the absolutely disgusting and disturbing content interwoven in all the other lyrics. Genuinely some of the most vile and sophomoric stuff I’ve ever heard.

I started listening to Eminem when I was 21 or so (I distinctly remember being infatuated with his BET cypher from 2016), which may explain why I really struggle to enjoy his music. I think ‘Revival’ came out that following year or the next and it was enough to convince me Eminem was not worth my time. ‘Kamikaze’ was fun to listen to the first couple times. Anyway, I certainly don’t have the associated nostalgia that others do. Edgy humor just doesn’t make me feel good and I don’t think his content aged well at all. That being said, his talent as an emcee is undeniable. Certainly in the top ten of all time. “Stan” is a classic for a reason.

I expected to give this a higher score actually. I have this CD somewhere. I’m not an Eminem hater, which I expect several in our listening group are, but my fandom is mostly in the past tense. I think he’s quite talented in spite of his more obnoxious qualities, and honestly I project that onto his fanbase more than him. I think you can listen to pre-2009 Eminem without reaching for the Mountain Dew and Xbox controllers, but that’s just me. He goes through these phases of going in and out of style. He’s like the McRib of music. I’d say I’ve outgrown the horrorcore elements but I also don’t find them particularly offensive or whatever. Just kinda try-hardish. Like, overall, as a person, it seems like he’s only ever really hurt himself; I’d rather him say fucked up shit than do fucked up shit. Maybe a hot take but I can pretty much find a 1:1 comparison in a B.I.G. song for every “shocking” moment here other than the celebrity name drops so I don’t quite know why Eminem is held up as being uniquely offensive. “Kim” is a bit much but it’s supposed to be. I don’t think even at the time he was treating it as anything other than some primal scream therapy. I don’t like it but it accomplishes what it is supposed to accomplish and if you listen to it in the context of being a prequel to 97 Bonnie & Clyde (as intended), it’s an interesting juxtaposition and actually pretty effective. On the censored version that my brother bought from Walmart back in 2001 or whatever, they replaced it with a South Park themed song about drugs that’s pretty fun. Anyway, the good stuff here is very good but like probably north of half of this album sucks. I will say without qualification there’s some excellent songs on this album (the singles, Bitch Please II), and there’s some other pretty good stuff (Kill You, Criminal), but we’ve also got the aforementioned Kim, three stupid edgelord skits, two songs with D12 members who are not especially good at this, and some other very forgettable stuff. And the album is like 75 minutes long and I’ve made my stance on that very clear.

Can't say this didn't age well, it was real edgy then and now. I mean, it's infamous. It 100% should be on this list. It's a solid rap album. It also feels like crinkling styrofoam in many parts. I wonder how the trajectory of my life would have changed if the Scott County public library would have actually let me check this CD out when I was in 5th grade. Sadly, the world missed out on getting E-Mudreezy: Kentucky's best rapper.

There are some tracks that I like, but overall its quite uneven and goes on a bit too long.

I'm just not wowed. All I learned about Eminem is that he hates everyone except his wife and daughter (and I'm not even sure about them). Too long, and most of it isn't that great.

Sumt er ansi skemmtilegt og grípandi, en ofbeldislýsingarnar og hómófóbían eru verulega fráhrindandi og ég hef litla löngun til að hlusta á þetta aftur.

It would have been a lot better without the homophobic slurs

I do like a Couple of songs on here, but he’s not really my kinda muzik- did listen though

Not really my thing.

Uh no. Can’t believe this is what my 10 and 11 year old kids were listening to.

This did not age all that well...

I can see the humour and defiance in amongst the bleakness it good at what it does but not an easy listen.

i will never enjoy this mans music. i don't even care about the lyrism, i find outrageous shit funny, this shit just sounds so bad. like a hate his aesthetics so much. the production so ass, the rapping so corny. all of the bar about people being offended by him and him not giving af reads so sensitive, shit corny af. buddy just stand on business. lame ass shit i'll never understand why he's so beloved stream boolymon thats real rap

I have to rate it lower for all the slurs and hateful lyrics

boooooooo

I have never really been a big Eminem fan. I enjoyed 8 mile and can appreciate his lyrical ability but I don't like particularly his delivery. My bigger problem is him hiding behind his alter ego's to rap provocative statements that his less educated/ mature fans take a face value without realizing that Eminem does not actually mean it...

Overall pretty unmemorable and pretty boring but couple of bangers like Stan, The Real Slim Shady and Marshall Mathers but also some absolute stinkers like Kim. Not my kind of music really either which doesn't help.

It's definitely a classic of the genre, but I am not Slim Shady's target audience.

Well, I'd have to say that this kind of music isn't exactly my bag. I did listen throughout and for what it is, it is well produced and aside from most of the lyrics it is clever and thoughtful.

The only Marshall Mathers LP is Infinite.

Eminem is a unique figure in music and pop culture. So popular, so many classic hit songs, yet so few good albums? This album is such a good example of that rule. Stan is fantastic: a wonderfully well written song, depicting some dark themes in a surprisingly tasteful manner. It had a wonderful bass-line, and an awesome sample from Dido to string it together. The Real Slim Shady is also an infectious, groovy, and funny early 2000s rap hit. Some pretty left-field lyrics, but sat within that territory of what you’d expect from someone like Eminem. The Will Smith bar is hilarious and always will be. Notice how I’m talking about the 2 biggest hits from the album, though? Off the bat, Kill You is just an uncomfortable listen and it doesn’t get any better from there. I know part of his whole thing is, “if you are listening and not enjoying what I’m saying I’ve still won”, and he is right, but doesn’t mean I’ll ever listen to this album from start to finish again. Always here for some classic Dr Dre production though!

I understand Eminem is huge and he his album is one of the best, yadda yadda. Couldn’t listen for more than 15 minutes.

I have a soft spot for Eminem because everyone around me used to listen to him when I was younger. Even still, this album is a brand of edgy 2000s shit that just hasn't aged well.

Not a fan of rap but I didn’t hate this.

Yikes! Sorry for me classics, but a little too offensive for my delicate little heart. Heh

1. public - 0 2. kill - 0 3. ztan - 3 4. kneuu- 1 5. zteve -0 6. uuay - 1.5 7. Shady -2 8. Remember -0 9. Back -1 10.Mathers - 2 11. Ken - 0 12. Drug - 0 13. Amityville - 0 14. Bitch - 2.5 15. Kim -1.5 16. Influence - 0 17. Criminal -1

Hmmm. Great beats, often enjoyable rapping, Eminem is a really funny guy with some clever lyrics that make him stand out from other rappers, but man does he like to just go off on some rant about nothing and just try to say as many trigger words as possible. He spends so long trying to convince everyone on here that his words aren't a problem and that anyone who's bad will be bad regardless, but he protests too much. I'm certain he knows he's lying but he's made a career out of it so doesn't want to change now. It's a shame cos when he tells a story, like on Stan, it can be really quite moving

I can't say much more than what I did back when we listened to the other album on this list from Eminem. Its perfect for the late 90's early 2000's but its so juvenile now and just edgey for the same of pushing buttons. Not one lyric on this is considered art in my opinion, just a razor sharp brash statements. Sure they are clever but, in the way that is almost trashy. The beats are one dimensional, computerized. The features are lame, the skits are stupid. The ONLY shred of redemption on this album is Stan. Long form allegory about this fan base that he developed. So dark, so raw, so creative.

Stan still an interesting tune

Could be good but is too weird.

It’s a good album for what it is, I just don’t think I like what it is. Some great music, some lyrics that just don’t age well and it soundtracks a part of my life id rather not remember. Respect (some of) it for what it is, but didn’t enjoy

I don’t even know what to say about this one… I really respect Eminem as an artist. But goddamn this dude is angry. Some of these songs are incredible how raw and open and honest he is with the lyrics. But other songs are very gratuitous. Just like any other rap album, I’m sure this is a reflection of the world he was living in. But some of it hasn’t aged well at all. Half of this album is really wild and great, and the other half did literally nothing for me other than make me cringe. Probably could’ve been amazing if it was shorter.

Wow. This was pretty tough to get through. Much like his other albums, this one shows off his talent as a rapper, but also his desire to make shocking music. When it’s good, it’s done really well. But his imagery of violence and sex are hard to get through. 2/5 Won’t listen again

It's strange to listen to all these songs without the censorship. I'm used to the radio edits, where when I sing along I include the pauses and sanitised lyrics. This one is tough to rate because logically I can hear how smart the lyrics are, and when it slaps it really slaps, but I can't get over his immature it is. Even if it's a persona, it's tough to take seriously.

Eh, denne er vrien. På en side, så er dette et lite mesterverk av et album. Hiphoppen tok over albumformatet etter rocken, og dette er en av de best konstruerte albumene der ute. God historiefortelling, bra musikk, gjennomført konsept og en meget god flyt og form på albumet. Jeg prøver å kose meg, men man kommer ikke unna den enorme mengden med misogony og homofobi i dette albumet. "Faktisk så er det ikke Eminem som er misogyn, det er Slim Sh-" bla bla bla bla. Jeg vet det er et forsøk på å fortelle noe om sin egen samtid, å satirisere og sjokkere, men det er ikke godt nok. Dette er intet ironisk feministisk prosjekt. Dette er et album som egentlig fortjener langt mer, men det er vanskelig å gi bedre karakter når albumet får meg til å føle og tenke på alt annet enn musikken.

The actual beats were good, but this album did not age well.

Listen - it hasn't aged fabulously but there is some drops of good in here.

This album is corny overrated and aged like milk but is still somehow kinda okay. Its crazy to me there was a time this idiot was considered the GOAT. What were people thinking, seriously, how many references to fucking his Mum are on this thing? Mr Mathers has a major Oedipus complex. He also approaches the album with this, you can't cancel me for being homophobic when its not so much we're trying to cancel him but people were begging him to write about ANYTHING else besides his Mum, his ex or gay guys and nothing has changed. Your goat has the depth of a puddle. He knows how to write a catchy song but thats about it. Also Kim might be the worst song ive ever heard. That being said it still has its moments and is catchy as hell. 5/10

I remember the controversy around this album at the time but had never actually listened to a full album. It was a shock then to discover just how nasty, misogynistic, homophobic and centered on violent fantasy this album was. A hour of this is just boring, once you become desensitized to what he's saying. I'll give a low 2 but only because I acknowledge that Stan is well written and the last track ended on a slightly less sour note than everything else here.

Rich Evan voice: Embarrassing!

A couple of good songs (Stan Real Slim Shady) and better production than Slim Shady LP (eg Bitch Please 2). But mostly, this suffers from the same lack of direction that the Slim Shady LP had. It only has a couple of things to say. Stan is a standout song with something unique to say and done in an interesting way. The rest of it is basically "you can't shut me up!"

Meh. Rap’s not my fave. Some beats are cool but nothing special. Questionable lyrics.

The production on this album is undeniably high-quality, filled with catchy beats and memorable hooks. Even though I’m not a fan of Dr. Dre and don’t follow his work, I have to admit that he’s a top-tier producer. Now, onto Eminem. I know my opinion might be outnumbered by the masses, but I’ve always struggled to see him as a timeless musical legend. His wacky, silly, and goofy wordplay, laced with provocative and sarcastic humor, just doesn’t resonate with me. It feels more like satire with a level of maturity that specifically targets a young adolescent demographic. Sure, it’s a phase we can all relate to at some point in our development into adulthood. And yes, maybe his music spans generations, but it’s also a phase that we’re meant to grow out of. As one generation moves past that stage, another younger generation steps in to take over where the last one left off. But here’s the thing: if you found yourself relating to Eminem at 20 and are still listening to him at 60, that might be a pretty good indicator that you never really evolved or grew up.

I liked this when I was young and there's still some good songs and it was important 25 years ago but I'm going to rate it through modern lens

Genuinely embarrassed that I used to listen to this as a ten year old with my parents within earshot. I begged for this album for Christmas, I think my parents actually might have taken it off me after hearing some of the lyrical content. Found myself cringing a bit at it today, I don't think you'd get away with writing an album like this these days. Am I woke? Some bangers on here right enough though, Stan still slaps, but there's so much filler too.

Better than i expected, but I got bit tired of the all dicks and bitches towards the end

Eminem is an artist I have very mixed feelings about. On one hand, he’s an extremely skilled rapper and has some very insightful songs, but on the other hand, he leans too much into the humorous side. This album — or more precisely, its hit songs — were played so much on MTV and other music TV shows back in the day that they’ve gone stale in my mind.

Hit songs have wore through, rest of the tunes don't really interest me at all. Not enough music and way too much "lyrics" for me to enjoy this. It's like watching a juggler or contortionist who perfected their art, after the first few tricks I'm bored and mind wandering I can't really follow the act anymore. He is a very talented lyricist, witty with his words and jackhammer with his lines, these are practically the same reasons (but ones applicable to the guitar) I don't listen to Yngwie Malmsteen.

I was impressed by Eminem's raw ability to rap and he channels his anger well and even has a sense of humor—though I don't think he's funny. By the time I got to Marshall Mathers, I also realized he can fuck off.

18 tracks, a lot of shit, but some really good ones to balance it out. Plus he added stan to the lexicanum. 2.5 stars

a melhor parte é a produção do dre

This felt very 2000s. The fictional conversations between the music company 'suit' felt cringe, and is that... what....? I had to skip that. But in other senses I liked some of the 'hits'.

I didn't like him when I was young and I still don't like him now. 1 extra star for Stan

First of all, I hate this. Entirely putting aside the arguments about negatively influencing children, I hate it because it's got that "haha just kidding" shit that inspires the most insufferable so-called humor coming out of dudebros at the bar. I think the outrage I feel is mirrored back at me. These fucked up, angry, cruel, gross lyrics are coming out of impoverished, abandoned communities that live in survival mode. It's flipping off the hypocrisy of the rich and the lack of solidarity from the middle class. There's a lot of pain, violence, and cruelty that festers in poor communities and I think Eminem reflects that. At the end of the day, I find it to be artistically impressive but immature and repulsive. Glad to have listened to it for the music education aspect though.

Some good beats. Great wordplay and flow. Also though, the misogyny and homphobia wrapped up in its little, rage bait, satire bow is hugely unpalatable. I love hip hip and this dudes talent is massive, but it''s fucking gross. Not a Stan....

It sounds great and I get the appeal, but the edgelord lyrics are rough to sit through. I’m not a prude or easily offended, I just know when someone’s trying way too hard. It’s just a pretty cringe listening experience.

I don’t get the appeal of this guy’s music. He has some good songs like Lose Yourself but this album is largely devoid of those types of songs. The song with Dido was good and the real slim shady is funny but ugh. Glad this one is over

All over the place. I just can’t rate an album highly if I have to listen to a (total shit) song about graphically killing your ex that lasts two minutes longer than your single.

Didn’t Mather that much to me.

Never got into Eminem when I was younger. Definitely a slice of nostalgia of that era, but not my cup of tea, even if it's a "shock, but just kidding" style of album.

Not for me

No me gustó mucho, ya tengo suficiente con vivir en Latinoamérica como para aparte estresarme con la música.

оййбляяя... это его лучшая работа? ок чувак, я тебя услышал. Он читает как уебан, сильные фроубэки к домашним рэперам с 10ых годов, джоннибойчики, вот этот дурачок с видео который читает у ковра. И ведь дело даже не в ассоциациях, это просто плохо состарилось. 2/10 Highlights: The Marshall Mathers LP MUTED VERSION. ps:Биты полная хуйня

Orkar inte… CD eran har så sanslöst långa plattor! Sträcker mig till en tvåa för att den går att ha på i bakgrunden. Ingenting jag nånsin skulle lyssna aktivt på.

I picked up on a lot of influence from Dr Dre. I like the beats but not a fan of the lyrics.

I'm aware of the influence and impact Eminem has had, and the fact that as someone who doesn't consume this genre, I had already heard song from this album such as "Slim Shady", "Stan" or "Bitch Please II" is an indicative of how universal of an artist he is. That been said, I don't really like rap music so I don't think I can be fully objective when rating this album. But overall It was a fun experience.

Not the WOKE-est of WOKE albums. I quite enjoyed hearing Stan once again.

The Dre beats sound surprisingly timeless, and the overall production clarity is refreshing. But the content is very much of its time. The hits are interesting curios.

5/10

Off the cuff remark: never got this at the time, still don't. Is it about being as offensive as possible? Is it about self-aggrandisement? Quite like the "sound" but otherwise it's just a bit dull. Revisit?: unlikely

It’s very violent and hateful. Not my cup of tea.

No es lo mío.

A couple of catchy bits; but overall, not worthy. 5/10

Eminem is…. Not rlly for me

The radio hits are decent, the rest feels like suuuch a slog

This album didn’t age well. 2 stars for the 2 songs I enjoyed. I thought “Kim” was never going to end. Longest 6 minutes of my life! I do recognize the skill of Eminem and what he did in the industry. But this album is painful to listen to at times.

Aside from drug ballad it's tough as an adult who isn't an edge lord stalking the local mall corridors to relate to this album. It's well made. The rhymes are excellent. I don't fault it for what it is. To quote and appropriate episode of Ren & Stimpy: "it's an excellent representation of its sickly breed."

Not a fan...

Some of the dumbest music ever created. It’s almost impressive how consistently it avoids anything resembling taste, talent, or thought. If there was a prize for artistic misjudgment, Eminem would be a lifetime achievement award winner. The sad part is there some of it I don't mind.

The “hey, this is what you get when you listen to my music” record. Which I was the expectation. Low expectation met.

I think I liked this one a little bit more than The Slim Shady LP, but I still didn't like it at all. At least it was funny this time, making fun of the reasons I hated the first album (though it got real bad with Kim.) There's so much talent here, but I just don't like anything about it.

The first half was great, but stopped listening midway through Kim due to the disturbing content. The rhymes and production's great though. Tracks to Track: The Real Slim Shady

Ugh...I really don't care for Eminem. Too gimmicky, too much shock value for the sake of shock value, too much cartoony production. And it is probably way to overplayed from my college days. 2/5

..............oh, holy hell Like, ok, so I was around during the 90s and am familiar with how normalized hateful words were........... and I know part of the idea of this album was trying to make a point about what we say vs what we actually do...... but my god this was a rough listen. The music itself was probably good, but all of the misogyny and homophobia and ableism were so much louder. *cue Disney's 'this piece of art was made at a different time with different cultural values' message *

Bit of a tough listen tbh. Maybe I'm too soft but a lotta the lyrics are just kinda icky. The sound is obviously still iconic and a couple songs are classics

Väldigt kluven lyssning. Rätt starka låtar, clean och krispig produktion, tydliga hooks och många hits. Text och persona är dock väldigt tvek och rätt tjatigt. Funkar i vissa låtar, men i längden blir det bara gnällig incel. Hatar även artister som gnäller om hur jobbigt det är att ha lyckats. Känns inte heller som att han säger så mkt med all sexism, ilska och homofobi. Till slut tröttsam stapling av nedsättande epitet som mest triggar dålig stämning än att säga något. Kommer lyssna igen: nej Bästa spår: Stan (D) / The real slim shady (D2) Betyg: D: 4 av 10 / 2 av 5 D2: 3 av 10 / 1 av 5

There is no question about Eminem’s ability to rap - his is a rare quality. And there are tracks on this (and other albums) which reveal his genius. The problem is that very few of them stand up to multiple listenings except as examples of his verbal skill. Thematically they are repetitive and frequently boorish. Listen to a track or two - ‘Stan’ is the standout of this album - and then listen to something else, something more cohesive - something better. Perhaps ‘Straight Outta Compton’ if you want some proper rap.

It's too bad he can't use his powers for good. I've got a lot of throwing up to do too.

Before listening, I was already familiar with Eminem but nothing from this album. The standout track for me is Stan, which is great in its sampling, story-telling, and overall sound. The rest of the album I don't particularly care for. Kim, is also particularly memorable, but more for its horror than for being a good song. Stan is good, but wouldn't listen to the album again.

God I remember listening to Stan on repeat towards the end of my Junior year of high school. What a sample and song. The rest of the album, hard for me to get into after expanding my musical taste to the classic rock roots I now know and love. The vulgar, violent, and agressive nature of this type of hip hop is hard for me to sympathize with, but I do like Eminem. 4/10

Didn’t like much, but Eminem was in Real Steel. Not revisiting.

Eminem has aged worse than his actual albums. That said, the album's shock factor has decline heavily in the last decade or two. There's gems here but it has lost novelty with age. I dunno. Hard to say.

El concepto a comprender para poder escuchar este álbum es que Eminem está representando un personaje, un alter-ego violento, misógino y homofóbico. Parecido a lo que ha hecho Kendrick Lamar más adelante. No puedo decir que me guste el álbum, la música es muy repetitiva (entendible para el estilo musical, pero considero que con unos pocos detalles de variación en los arreglos la música podría haber cobrado más vida). La voz de Eminem es excelente para el rap y varios de los temas son icónicos como "The Real Slim Shady" y "The Way I Am". Insisto finalmente en que aún más que en otros discos, es muy relevante comprender el contexto alrededor de la producción del álbum.

Best viewed generously as a transgressive provocation piece, like if the most messed up kid you knew turned out to be very good at writing rhymes, and decided to try and make everyone hate him more. Elevates outrage to an art form, and extremely self-conscious about what it’s trying to be. But still jarring to listen to the degree of homophobia and misogyny. Weakly tried to palm it off saying the F word was just a contextless insult - not credible if you ever listened to the album. Music deliberately simplistic to avoid distraction from the lyrical limelight, but sounds hollow and aged.

He's brilliant and all, but by fuck is this painful to listen to in 2025 (and I could barely tolerate it at the time). A whole album of a guy you just want to tell to shut the fuck up the whole time.

Objectively good album, but not for me. Stan was good(probably as it was more suitable for people like me). Not a fan of the skits, put me off it.

A musically brilliant and lyrically ultra-violent album. The rhymes and rapping are pretty incredible. But to me, it's as if every song Lou Reed wrote was "Kicks" or "The Kids". And then he turned it up to 11. Over the course of the album, the shocks wear off. I think he gives himself away in the lyrics of Stan. "I say that shit just clownin', dawg, come on, how fucked up is you? You got some issues, Stan, I think you need some counselin'." I can see why there was controversy. But why anyone would play this whole thing straight through more than once is beyond me. I gotta go listen to some Beach Boys or The National or something.

I understand the whole other devil persona bit Eminem goes for with Slim Shady, and I knew what I was getting into with this album. Did not make it any more enjoyable, he has better songs/albums than this.

Just Cringe.

A bit dated

Einzelne Lieder sind gut, aber insgesamt ist es mir einfach zu misogynistisch.

Overrated

Top 10 White Boy Crash Out

25 years later, I just can’t listen to this one. Am I old yeah. But that shouldn’t matter. I can still listen to other 20+ year old hip hop albums. This one is just too much for me. Two stars since I do recall it’s got some good beats and rhymes (even if it’s absolutely vulgar).

Aged poorly in nearly every way

too much sweAring and machismo

So, this is a bit hard to rate. I don't like the violence, I don't like the misogyny, and I don't like the profanity. That said, it's got some of the elements of a great piece of work... it's clearly heartfelt, there are some meaningful contributions from others, it's creative, it definitely adds to the genre it is part of. I've been consistently giving one star to artists that I think are douchebags, and to albums that seem to be profane and violent for no purpose. Though I'm tempted to one star and move on with my life, I have to give this two stars. The artist has shown signs of trying to work on himself and improve himself, and the profanity and violence on this record are autobiographical.

High highs and low lows.

Good singles, rest is kind of meh.

Not my dealio

2.5 its ok

Meh

Transgressive art is an interesting thing. Sometimes it ages well, often times it does not. This, as an album, hasn't aged well. Even Eminem thinks so. He apologizes for his older material on Kamikaze-- a record that, when it came out in 2018, sounded like good ol' Eminem again. Eminem used to really like slurs. Especially homophobic ones and this album is chock full of them. It honestly makes it borderline difficult to listen to in 2025. But, the record does have a couple of great songs that still hold up, especially "Stan" and "The Real Slim Shady".

Only the Singles are worthy

Surprised by the repetition in this - how many times do you have to say that you say whatever you want to say and don’t care who cares? Eminem’s diction is impeccable, which is a shame because you’re not able to miss a single word. And what is the purpose of sharing a personal cathartic fantasy like “Kim”? Who the hell listens to that more than once?! Ugghhh

Had a very hard time getting through this. Other than "Stan" and a couple of others it's just tedious shock rap and some songs are unlistenabe. I know it's a persona but give it a rest.

Soo edgy and hateful for no reason. It's a shame because Marshall Mathers was a generational talent but in his prime he loved to waste it on trying to be as shocking as possible, to often really embarrassing results. A soundtrack for an angry suburban white kid who hates his mom and is weird about women. Give me the real slim shady and Stan and the rest can go fuck its mother, as Eminem circa 2000 would probably say. He also sounds like Linda Belcher when he sings on the godawful Kim

No es mi palo

Meh

Mwah wel goeie throwback

I haven't listened to this since I was a kid and I can see why, it hasn't aged well, lyrically most of it is violent, misogynistic and homophobic, it's just not something I want to be listening to, bar Stan and one of two other songs there's not a lot that makes me want to come back to. Admittedly I'm not a big Hip Hop / Rap fan, I just feel there are better and more interesting rappers out there from the 90s.

No matter much I try, I just can't get into Eminem. The only songs that did anything for me were Stan, The Real Slim Shady, and Kim

When I like the instrumentals I dislike his delivery, and when I like his delivery I dislike the instrumentals. Too circus/horror-influenced. The music doesn't hold up.

2000 really was a different time. I really liked these songs when they came out but now it’s just a little cringy. I understand he’s joking and putting on a character but I feel like it’s not something I want to listen to any more.

Knew the hits, but was unaware of how bad the rest of this album was

This album is like a cringe fest where Eminem tries way too hard to be edgy. I only enjoyed the tracks I recognized, but I won’t be revisiting them anytime soon.

Oops! I listened to Marshall Mathers when I was supposed to listen to Slim Shady, so I'm reviewing for Slim Shady here. I like this as a whole more than Marshall Mathers LP- I think it's musically a pretty great hip hop album, but good lord, the edge. I don't need to listen to a song about a guy having sex with a 15 year old man. Biggest problem is that there's no song half as good as Stan, which is Eminem's opus, on the Slim Shady LP

Have any of Eminem's albums aged well? Technically I'd say this holds up pretty well, but man those lyrics were something else.

Forgot how homophobic and weird this album was...

I can basically copy and paste what I wrote for the slim shady LP here. The same applies. Loved it when I was 14, doesn't really appeal now, but I do think this is better than the previous one slightly. Still recognise every track and some of them have their moments. Not aged well, or maybe the problem is more that I have aged? It's long too 2.5

I thought we left Emi—whas'it behind in 2000.

Album art:5

gonna be honest, I don't really like most Eminem. there's like 2 or 3 songs I like and none of them are on this album

The misogyny, violence and bigotry are pervasive and oppressive. It’s an onslaught of words, like Bob Dylan, but few of them are pleasant. I get that there was a big audience for this. It’s just miserable to listen to.

Eminem has great flow but I'm just not a rap fan so I can't appreciate the nuance of this album

Eminem uses one beautiful instance of storytelling in “Stan” to show you how to craft a thoughtful, memorable, substantive response to stardom — then nosedives the rest of the project into a hateful, vitriolic mess of how NOT to respond to newfound fame/infamy. The doubling down on slim shadys whataboutism is full of dates references that doesn’t clear his name or meaningfully divert the attention to the systemic failures that led to so many kids (namely white teenage boys) relating to some sentiments on this record; “Who Knew” is the best example of these misdirections. Dr. Dre’s production doesn’t hit as hard on most of this project imo, the best beat on the album to my ears is “Drug Ballad”, which Dre doesn’t even have his hands on. There are moments of introspection that almost make you sympathetic for Marshall Mathers the person, but it seems like each time he comes up for air, he quickly devolves back into some mixture of slurs and hatred. Did this album shed a light on the awful underbelly of middle America, white men, and cycles of poverty? Yes, in many ways. Did it have to do so with nasty, awful language and aesthetics? Nooooooo no no no no no no noooooo. My two stars all go to Stan.

duas estrelas pq tem uns beat bom. dito isso, se fosse um preto cantando isso aí, ele teria sido preso rapidinho.

A lot of angry blabla, screaming into the mic, and sucking sounds.

This is a joke right?

There’s a couple classics which is why it doesn’t get 1 star, but that bj skit is so gross. All the skits are so cringe.

Nicht meine Musikrichtung. 1-2 Songs kenne ich. aber überwiegend nicht mein Ding. 2/5

Clean version is pointless, so many gaps in the music. Great album with entertaining lyrics

2.5 stars. Pretty good but not for me

Meh. I get it as a work of self-expression, but I wouldn’t care to hear most of the album again. If that’s the point, then well done, I’m glad I listened to it 25 years later by subscription and didn’t go out of pocket for the CD. One and done.

He's so angry! He's painted a clear picture of why he's this way - bullies, doubters, haters, and homelife. He does have a lot of problematic themes (repeated calls to kill/hating women/misogynistic lyrics ) but he's oddly aware of it? I'm not sure if the acknowledgment of it is satire or just pure acknowledgement for better or worse. He's good at his craft and when he sinks purely into satire it's fantastic but you can tell he is diving into his demons through the music. Unfortunately, that won’t be enough for me to listen to this again.

331/1001 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

Too much incest. Was tempted to give it some more stars for that track of just dudes sucking each other off

A tough listen, it’s clearly a young man processing through difficult relationships he has with his mother and the mother of his child. But as a women it’s a little hard to listen to the violence directed at women. Also, lyrically he’s insanely talented flow is amazing, but the pitch of his voice I can only listen to so many songs in a row before I need to pause. In the end it’s a good album but it’s not really for me

Nah

Fine. Not my thing.

I'd outgrown this when it came out, when I was 16, because it's puerile and silly, and there's little of redeeming value. Having said that, I do think - for all its memeability - Stan is a very good, well constructed and quite thoughtful song. It's annoying in a way, because he's clearly capable, but chooses not to bother.

I gave this a chance, I really did, but seriously, what the fuck is wrong with him. Half the songs I had to skip cause they were just disgusting and cringy. The only reason why this album isn't a 1 is thanks to Stan... what a brilliant track. Other than that it's very hard to find anything good to say about this album.

Eminem didn't fall-off. He and his music have just aged poorly. This album sounds like a stroppy teenager. Its so immature - who ever thought that the homophobia and misogyny on show here was cool? Its so obviously uncool that I feel quite embarrassed listening to it. Its only shocking in how cringey it is. The beats stank of early 2000s bling era too - they are quite awful. The skits are predictably atrocious. The main problem with them I guess is that Eminem isn't funny. Songs like Kim where Eminem does various cartoony voices are so annoying. It's weird. Is he trying to be taken seriously or to make a joke? They just fall in odd places in between, I don't like it. And then this album has Stan which is simultaneously so out of place but so perfectly in place for this album. Its weird. But I guess this is Eminem's best song, so overall I think this is still better than The Slim Shady LP. 2.2/5

Lyrics that have not been heard before didn’t even know I wanted

It's a bad good album. I don't really like it. Will I listen to again: 1%

Stan and The Real Slim Shady are excellent. Don’t *love* all the gay slurs on Marshall Mathers or the skit in the middle. It’s very of the time it was produced. Really hated the track Kim. Idk how I feel about this as a whole

думаю любителям репа очень понравилось бы, но я (рокер) не в восторге.

Tricky one, his talent is truly exceptional. He hasn't hurt anyone in real life. His career was driven as an antithesis to the manufactured boy/girl groups. However, the misogynistic and homophobic language feels from another era entirely and I find I don't vibe with it the way I once did.

Holy christ two songs with listens in the BILLIONS on spotify. Way more of a fan of the gentle eminem than the aggro eminem, crazy amount of homophobia, pretty over it half way through

I'm not sure all elements of this record aged well. I think I can admit this was probably groundbreaking for the time, although cannot say fully why. It oscillates between mega-hits and stinkers. He spends too much time tripping over himself to say even more offensive and shocking things.

1/14, 7%

Problematic in 2025

The songwriting and arrangements on this album are brilliant but the violence, misogyny and homophobia made it a hard listen. I don't think this album has aged well, it's frankly, quite juvenile. Before we get into a discussion about the character in the songs is not the same person as the artist, or these are just stories or whatever, there's no nuance or teaching moment here, it's just violence.

This guy sure has a potty mouth! If you can ignore the lewd, rude n’ crude things he says he does have a good flow and a natural ability for creative rhymes. I would’ve been fine if a good half hour of this had been lobbed off, especially since so many of the songs cover the same topic of people not respecting him enough. I had fun listening to this as a time capsule of pop culture in 2000 but can’t see myself ever coming back. In terms of ranking the rap albums so far on this list, I would much rather listen to this than Gang Starr but Wu Tang is still leading the pack. Standout - “The Real Slim Shady” is a catchy ass song. Mother of God… - “Ken Kaniff”

Well, I liked it back then in my Teens. I did not even understand half he sang. Today the rap is good, but why listen to him insulting each and every one? Why waste my time with this aged hate?

The Marshall Mathers LP is a much better album than The Slim Shady LP but it is still not very good. Instead of just having bad songs (with the occasional hint of something decent) this album is somewhat more of a mixed bag with it actually having some good songs. The instrumentals have gotten a slight upgrade from the last album with none of them being overly annoying and actually having a structure. The rapping has improved a little bit too in some songs where in others, it remains overly cringey. This album is not good, don't get me wrong here, but if you gave me the option between listening to this and The Slim Shady LP, then i would pick this album any day of the week. Best Song: The Way I Am Worst Song: Under The Influence

dont like eminem i just dont think white people should rap

Too long, boring and bad hiphop music, but Stan is a Stan(dout).

Ugh. This album came out the same week I turned 14, and I HAD to have it. I loved this album and in hindsight, I have no idea why. The themes in this album don’t hit as hard for a literal child, though. This time around, I couldn’t even make it through the entirety of “Kim” before I had to skip to the next track. If I was just hearing this for the first time, I’d give it a 1. For the nostalgia of the better songs, I’ll give it a 2, but I hated having to listen to this. I was actually relieved when Dr Dre came on in “Bitch Please 2.”

Despite not being a fan of 90s hip hop I've got a lot of time for Eminem. I like his multiple personas (little bit Bowie-esque), his rhymes are very clever, he's definitely got an ear for a good sample, and he's undeniably influential. That said, this is the second Eminem album I've listened to now and the second I haven't enjoyed. There are some really good tracks (The Real Slim Shady, Bitch Please II) but there are also some I hated (Remember Me, Kim), and others that were ruined by attempts to shock with violence, misogyny and homophobic slurs. Then there are the awful skits that unnecessarily pad the album out to a bloated 72 minutes. And no, Eminem, I'm not going to suck your cock because I don't like your music.

I didn't listen because his last album has not aged well lyrically with lyrics of sexual volence and misogyny but I know this has Stan on it so gave it 2 instead of 1.

Awful taste, but great execution.

extremely funny to me that this album birthed stan culture. anyway, a bit much for a 7:30am listen. s/o to my childhood friends who heard the rape, homophobia & domestic violence of it all and were like "yeah, this DOES feel like being 11 [flips someone off]"

Boy! This is hard to listen to now. Even at the time all of my friends would be like "it's just Eminem doing his thing" but trulyyyy was it ever good, overall, as an album. I have to admit some of the singles still really hit but this experience as a whole is not enjoyable.

Stan left me shocked! I was invested. Still not my thing tho. 2 out of 5.

definitely shouldn't listen to this

2+ Stars (6/15)

he said it himself- he makes music for high school kids. this did bring me back to freshman year (In the worst way). tough one to finish, but its not for lack of skill

No other album on this list is gonna have Tom Green references or simulated oral sex by the Insane Clown Posse…… Eminem is honestly really interesting, I see the appeal and I’ve continually tried to get into him. His voice is really strong and he was engaging with his image/impact right from the get go, which I do find compelling. The production here is good too, of course. It’s all very overwhelming lyrically, and while there’s good moments, I just think it’s mostly stupid. But this will not be the last time I listen to him, so who really wins….

it might be a bit of a shock to tell you that, as a Colorado native, i've never seen a single episode of South Park. i hesitate it to call it my "culture", but it and the general cultural output of Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been forever linked to my state. hell, they had a South Park t-shirt ban at my elementary school. all this hullabaloo has been going on around me and now all of a sudden these guys have Tony Awards and they own Casa Bonita (and apparently the food's a lot better -- what a letdown). honestly? i've never really felt the need to engage with it. partially because South Park is always going to be viewed through the lens of its edginess and how well that holds up as comedy (although arguably we're entering a golden age of saying slurs to be subversive) so there will always be stuff like Manbearpig that dates it to this continuous era of raised-eyebrow skepticism, and partially because it just seems exhausting. they had like, a COVID special a few years back, and the idea of Matt and Trey letting me know what they think about COVID using the weird PC principal character i hear tell is about as appetizing as biting my own finger off and swallowing it. i can do weird voices about things i don't like by myself, thank you. it seems exhausting to continue to subject yourself to that. all that said, i am a bit surprised there's only two South Park references on The Marshall Mathers LP, a surprisingly serviceable Cartman impression and a pretty bad one of Mr. Garrison. most of the record's comedy stems from Eminem's reaction to becoming a breakout success and immediately deciding to take a shit on stage in front of everybody while flashing two middle fingers behind your back. in a sense, your investment in the LP is dependent on your investment of Eminem/Slim Shady/Marshall Mathers as a character, and his position as a provocateur in rap. i, unfortunately, don't find this character compelling. i kind of feel like i'm just sort of listening to a guy try to stoke more media attention by saying loud, obnoxious things. its a put on, and i know its a put on, and it makes the whole thing come off as flat. i don't exactly hate it, but i'm a bit worn down by it. i feel like we only really get actual emotional development on two tracks: "Stan" and "Kim". i don't really have much to say about "Stan". rickthelai says its one of the few times on the record where the persona drops and he actually considers the effect his music has on others. i do think it's still hiding under the persona of the performer, but i do understand that it's at least a little vulnerable. it's a classic for a reason, and it sounds great. "Kim" is another story. yeah, i do think he's still "in character", but the character here betrays a deeper insecurity and anger behind the mask. he doesn't rap on this track so much as scream at himself and enact a melodramatic fantasy of enacting messy, manic revenge on his ex-wife. musically it's quite bad, with the chorus feeling really lazy, like someone trying to make a theme song for Dracula off the top of their head, but god the fucking verses. and it feels actually gross, not a fake horror movie gross about fucking a girl's slit throat or whatever. there's a sort of vent-like quality to it -- Marshall Mathers the real ass man would not have actually done this to his wife, but a part of him at least thought about it. that alone is a dark, personal thing that you'd have to be either crazy or stupid to show your friends, much less an entire record going public. that takes actual balls. the next song is him rapping "you can suck my dick if you don't like my shit" over what sounds like Scheming Weasel by Kevin MacLeod. such is the tragedy of Eminem -- there is a real person behind those middle fingers, but if he could replace his head with a fist permanently flipping the bird, he would. also, i don't care how much of an edgy asshole you are, putting a skit of Shaggy 2 Dope and Silent J double slurping your gay character's penis in stereo should be grounds for legal action. that's not cool, don't ever do that shit again.

Not for me. 2/5. Although Stan is a great song.

Ooh what a naughty boy!

it's rap, but not too bad, some decent music

I’ve liked some Eminem songs in the past, and I expected to enjoy this album (even if only as a guilty pleasure). Really, though, it just came across as cringey and juvenile. I get that that was kind of Eminem’s thing, but I couldn’t get into it and found myself looking forward to it being over.

I like the beats and the hooks for the most part, but the content here is a drag. It's very of-the-moment in a way that dates the album (not even factoring the edgelord bullshit that really sounds stupid and juvenile with 25 years of distance).

Really intense. Confirming that hip hop isn’t really a genre for me.

he's got skills but you'd swear he invented internal rhyme according to the hype. the best rapper of all time if you've never heard rap before or you don't listen to black people. if only he'd used his powers for good. instead we get more gay jokes about nsync over some of the weakest beats in hip hop history. shit sucked when it came out and its just embarrasing now. best moment is the LFO parody.

Crass, juvenile, offensive, not helped by run-of-the-mill production.

The music and beat is great. But...the lyrics, inexcusable.

Eminem is undoubtedly a clever lyricist with a knack for wordplay and the talent to deliver his rhymes so quickly and with such enunciation is very impressive. Many of the beats on this album are very good and the features are good as well. At times there are some genuinely interesting and thought-provoking musings on the burden of fame and whether public figures have a responsibility to be role models. “Stan” is a great track and a deserved classic. That is all to say, I can find quite a bit of merit in this album. Unfortunately, the heinous shock jockeying with gratuitous, graphic and puerile descriptions of physical and sexual violence are just really too much and too off-putting for me. I get that it’s a persona and that that’s the point, and there are some other horrorcore rappers that I do like, but this is just beyond the pale for me. I’m a bit conflicted on how to rate this because I think its biggest flaw for me is that it set out what intended to do, which is to offend my delicate sensibilities. I’d give it 2.5 ⭐️ if I could but im gonna round down because I will absolutely not be listening to any of these songs again except for “Stan”.

why do i actually ... like this? kind of sick and twisted . definitely better than slim shady LP i mean he still should die but the sampling is excellent and there are so many hits on here its hard not to get sucked in. i didnt even realize stan was SEVEN MINUTES long

Strongly dislike

I did not use a private session for Spotify. There are a couple of treasures on this album, but dear lord, so much anger, misogyny and homophobia. I have nothing against angry music, but this was over my limit. Get help. Why must hip hop albums have skits?

Oh ho boy. Here we go. Untalented angry white boy listens to talented angry white boy from a quarter century ago. I’ve worn a sideways hat or two in my day. No stolen valour here. Man. Apparently Slim Shady is going to kill me. There are so many skits in rap albums. I hate it. Yeeesh. These lyrics are so cheesy. I can almost feel being 12 again and thinking I wasn’t supposed to listen to this. I probably shouldn’t have to be fair. This is trying too hard. Every slur in the book for no reason. Lame. Stan is a good song. The hook is fantastic, the rapping is excellent and multi-faceted. It lays it on a little thick, but at least there is an attempt to address some level of emotional depth. I do like to think that Eminem only writes in rhyme. Addressing letters to the PhD committee on behalf of prospective Dr, “Dre.” Hi it’s ME, Dearest committEE, it’s imperaTIVE that you GIVE my homIE Dre this doctorate, this PhD. Uhh. That’s all I got. He really does make fight music for high school kids. I also have to say. This is Christina Aguilera for boys. Same era too. If that crushes some souls, it might be time to put down the monster energy and go outside. Ooh boohoo oh no Marshall. Nooo. He has fans??? That. I can’t say it. Want to *sob* talk to him?? How does this appeal to the destitute middle schooler in Winnipeg or some shit. None of us care about your fame. Be relatable or at least less annoying. This is WAY overdramatic. Bad. This is “My Name Is” part 2. I remember this shocking me as a very young fellow. I would much rather hear this irreverent, goofy Eminem, than the hyper aggressive school shooter hoodie Eminem. This has some level of attitude and subversion. Remember Me? Huh? Me??? Who? If you’re asking if I remember “Sticky Fingaz” or “RBX,” the answer is no. They weren’t bad though. This one wasn’t bad overall apart from that bone-headed chorus. I’m Back is pretty entertaining. Again, fewer slurs. Less drywall punching. A little more of that self-deprecating, yet somehow sinister vibe that made early Eminem interesting. School shooting bars don’t age well, but hey, when you’re American, you rap about what you see. What a dump. Man, the homophobia is BRUTAL. Like why was being gay the worst fate that could befall a human? I mean I hate ICP like any rational human, but the bevy of material there before you have to bring up homosexuality is dizzying. This sucks. One of the worst songs I’ve heard on this entire list. What is happening? Aside from the LOUD eh “aural” scene, the next song “blows” too. Terrible circus beat (that’s a coincidence hey?) and an even worse flow. Booooooring. Oooh the most shocking lyrics of all time. Who cares? ADULTS released this. It’s not even accompanied by a cool tone. I love death metal which has a horror atmosphere. Anger distilled into abrasive sounds. This? There’s no atmosphere here. The second Eminem verse is decent. At least it’s about something kind of real. I don’t think “Bizarre” (who are these morons?) did any of the things he laid out in his verse. Thankfully. Big features here. I don’t think Dr. Dre will say anything about raping everybody or whatever. At least I hope not. Nathaniel Dogg is a Hoss and Xzibit just threatened to fill my Toyota Corolla with mud flap monitors that exclusively play this song. This one is a highlight at this point. Are we supposed to cheer for Eminem? This is like the end of “Down with the Sickness,” extended over 6 endless minutes. Terrible. Torturous. D12 as a squad has a better flow than most. I have to say. I almost chuckled at the line “it’s going to cost $300 dollars to get my pit bull an abortion” but upon review, it’s apparent that this rapper is NOT a pro-choice queen, and was rapping about impregnating dogs to be edgy. This is devoid of brain cells. I feel like I’m being chirped by dimwit hockey players again. I’m surprised “heterophobic” hasn’t caught on in the intellectually dull online sector. This song floated by. I think I lost IQ points. Maybe I’ll start defending billionaires online. Maybe the conspiracy theorists are right and whatever is in the food or the “chemtrails” (see jet streams) are making me a woke moron (see not misogynistic/homophobic), but this thing sucks for the most part. I felt embarrassed listening to it. This feels like the soundtrack for teen couples who are 38 now and instead of drinking heavily and rallying against the system, they’re drinking heavily and posting misinformation on Facebook or pining for the “good old days” when you could say slurs. Listen, some of these were good songs that had a rebellious tone, but most of the Marshall Mathers LP is ham-fisted drivel intended to piss off middle class moms rather than say anything of substance. Tastes evolve and this is at the bottom of that evolution wallowing in primordial ooze. 1.5-2 HIGHLIGHTS: Stan, The Real Slim Shady, I’m Back, Bitch Please II

If he had just stuck to politics, posers, and positively neurotic fans this would be a great album. Unfortunately, the ultra homophobic and misogynistic songs weigh too heavy and sway my vote.

Not a fan. Maybe if his lyrics weren't like a 13 year old trying to be provocative?

As with his other album I reviewed, looking back on this it comes across as so juvenile, edgy, and embarrassing. I didn't realise he could mine so much content from being violent towards women, raping people, and slagging off gay people. Were people in the studio down with it, or were they cringing while he laid the tracks down? I guess the sales speak for themselves, but jeez. Stan is arguably the most accomplished song on here, but after the Dido bit came in, I kind of wanted that to continue and sing along with that song instead. That kind of shows where I'm at these days, compared with listening to this as a kid, where it had more appeal. It gets some points because the beats and lyrical skill are there.

Very rarely do I connect with Eminem's lyrics, but like nearly everyone living in my time and place I've heard a lot of his records. The Marshall Mathers LP is no exception. Listening to it today, it's even more difficult to enjoy despite one or two standout tracks. And that's likely going to be a significant factor in this review: I have reached the point where I want to enjoy what I'm listening to. The rough edges don't need to be sanded down for that to happen. I enjoy challenging music. I enjoy provocative lyrics and themes. I enjoy sonically interesting production including decisions that most might call harsh or extreme. But I'm not shy about wanting to be hooked into a landscape of sound, rhythm, texture and imagery that I find compelling. I want music I hunger to listen to on repeat. This record ain't it.

Eminem is a very talented rapper, but a lot of this hasn’t aged well. He does seem to have the self awareness to know that it’s an act and what he’s saying is horrible, but he still says it. It probably had more impact when this was everywhere, but with the separation of time, the album is left alone to stand on its own merits. Unfortunately, it’s a very abrasive experience, and not an enjoyable one or a good listen. Not only is it hateful, it’s also so long. The 90s references in “The Real Slim Shady” are hilarious in retrospect.

This was better than the Slim Shady LP on this list. I can’t really see listening to it again, but there were some good moments. Stan in particular stands out as brilliant. I realize there the case is made for “artistic merit,” but it’s just too much profanity, misogyny, violence, hatred, etc. as a whole for me. And for a civilized society. At the same time, a lot of the rap on this list falls into the same category. Ice Cube and 50 Cent have both been on this list so far, and both were too full of misogyny, et al for me to continue to listen to them. Why should Eminem get a pass? Does he have better hooks? Yeah, probably. I think some of his stuff is better written even. But the hate is still the hate and the violence is still the violence. I just don’t need it and I can’t imagine the world would be better off if we didn’t have people glamorizing such attitudes and actions. Maybe Marshall needs to write this stuff to get his demons out and if it helps him, that’s fantastic. But we shouldn’t be idolizing him. I think that’s part of why I like Stan so much. Even Eminem kind of gets it. Ultimately I guess I’ll go with 2/5 because it’s actually more listenable than a lot of the other albums of its ilk. And I just really think Stan is fantastic. But it probably deserves less for the hate mongering. And while I assume it’s part of his creative expression, I can’t imagine anyone actually enjoying listening to Kim. That’s just disturbing. Maybe identifying with the emotions or something, but if that song makes you happy? Seek counseling. Fast.

I find the lyrics on this album overly violent and problematic. Eminem most certainly has a style that he has developed and this is worth listening to. But it is far darker and less introspective than others that I like more.

Lyder virkelig barnlig! Har faktisk aldrig hørt albummet før. Stan fungerer ikke nær så godt når den er omgivet med den slags sange, han præsenterer som satire i Stan. Eminem er en god (overvurderet imo) rapper, han er dygtig men virkelig begrænset. Det er meget at lytte på i 70+ minutter. Ok beats, kunne bare godt tænke mig noget mere variation der også

Svær at rate, for han rapper virkelig godt og jeg synes beats'ene er virkelig fede, men teksterne har godt nok ældet som et franskbrød der har ligget ude i regnen. Havldelen er ekstrem misogyni og homofobi, og den anden halvdel er KAN I IK TA EN JOKE ELLER HVAD / whiner som en lille baby over den offentlige reaktion på hans tekster. Jeg ka som udgangspunkt godt ta en joke, men der er en begrænset mængde offentlige "jokes" du kan lave på en time om hvor meget du har lyst til at myrde bøsser før jeg begynder at tro at du måske ikke er helt cool med bøsser.

This was way to long.. it had that one good song

Very clever.

Second Eminem album within the space of a week. Production is once again ridiculously on point. And again I can't help but feel that a lot of the controversy about his lyrics at the time had to do with insufficient listening comprehension. Or lack of willingness to pay attention. Which isn't to say that there isn't stuff in there that isn't up to scratch. But for a lot of the big items at the time, there's mostly a very obvious second layer. Most obviously in Stan, where it's clear the artists doesn't condone quite a lot of what he's expressing in his lyrics. I also realise it's a - welcome? - change to listen to the uncensored version rather than the cleaned up edits that MTV used to play all the time. Overall, though, this is a bit too aggressive compared to the Slim Shady album (which I gave a 4/5), and not as melodic/playful, and I was kind of glad when it was over. So... As I kind of feel like I'd listen to the Slim Shady album again, while I'd give this a pass, we got a 2/5 on our hands here.

2.75

i think if i discovered eminem today i wouldnt have listened to the whole thing 3 good songs cause they remind me of my teenage years, otherwise the beats are repetitive and meh, slim shady is a self-fulfilling prophecy, whatever

Nah. This isn't it for me. I like hip-hop and rap, but I made the mistake of listening to the words and realising it was just not it. A lot of "if you're offended by me saying this you're a moron who doesn't get it"... I think the issue was I understood it, but it just didn't have a lot more to say beyond "ooh aren't a scary tough homophobe". Production was good, but it genuinely bothered me enough that it's the second album I've tapped out of, should be a 1 if this wasn't so subjective.

It's Eminem. It's all the same.

Not really my sort of thing but a couple of half decent tracks. After a while gets very dull listening to Eminem constantly whinging.

Obviously Eminem is good at what he does, but I feel like the Slim Shady character was so acclaimed in his time and I listen back and it's just... an angry man. Like it's not that deep, it's just an angry dude. An angry dude who I feel falls into the same category as Homelander from the Boys and Fight Club of "appeals to men who kinda miss the point". Idk I haven't done a deep dive, I've just listened to it. 3.5 / 10 Alright track: Stan (Dido a nice palate cleanser here)

Musically interesting, but lyrically abrasive.

The rapping is immaculate and there are some good songs. But oh my god, the immaturity that permeates throughout every track - you don't need to say 'I don't give a fuck' and 'I give people the finger' four times every song. And that doesn't even deal with the violence aspect, which we can say in hindsight was actually problematic.

On the one hand I really liked the pop influences and the rapid, clever wordplay. A lot of the songs are really quite catchy. On the other hand, I found the misogyny and violence directed towards women really off-putting to the point that it really detracted from the album for me.

Iconic songs along with additional filler with anger and misogynistic lyrics.

At one time I would have argued Eminem was a master. Others will do that nowadays. But listening to this with fresh ears it’s hard to get past the sophomoric humour which basically boils down to raping women and being scared of homosexuals. The skits are bad. The rhymes are fine but I’ve heard better rappers. What I still do believe is that “Stan” is a great examination of a superstar trying to reckon with the responsibility of influencing the younger generation. It still works for me. But the rest of it is best forgotten. 2/5

So honestly this isn't my thing. A couple of the songs weren't band so I'm not giving it a 1, but I hope that I don't get any more Eminem albums lol

I just can't get into this. The Real Slim Shady is catchy and fun in a nostalgic way, but most of the rest is boring and the lyrics are just garbage. Does not need this many tracks. A couple of almost-interesting ones arrive in the 2nd half, but I almost didn't make myself listen that much... This really won a Grammy?

No thanks

But why's he so angry??? I used to listen to this a lot in college. It hasn't really aged that well. He's massively talented but it's pretty hard to make it through an entire album.

there's a scene at the beginning of the music video for the Bloodhound Gang's "The Bad Touch" where the band stares in faux-shock/amazement at a monkey fucking on TV. In spite of how much he wants me to believe in his rhyming prowess, what the Eminem of 2000 really wants is for me to make that expression every time he drops a well-timed "fuck" or "faggot", but all i can do is roll my eyes. He's extremely fucking lucky he gets one extra point for "Stan".

Yeah, I'm at the point in my life where I'll side eye people who listen to this for enjoyment now

ja, eminem, je bent boos... we weten het ondertussen... werk het uit op een ander

Never liked Eminem. Even as a lover of hip-hop I just don't get him. Can't stand his whiny nasal voice and it just feels like he's trying too hard to be controversial to get attention. There's some great beats on here, but that's all down to Dre. Stan is a classic and one of the few times this rises above the puerile shock factor shit on the rest of the record.

Not into rap. Didn’t like the consistent use of profanity. Depressing music.

His toxic masculinity makes him sound like a little bitch.

Fast and furious lyrics with some pretty fun flow and awesome backing music cannot save this album from the really trashy lyrics. I know Eminem was young and rebellious and a lot of his lyrics are his method of lashing out, but damn this is pretty vile at times. I do like most of the music and if I zone out and don't focus on the lyrics, it works pretty well. But then when I snap back to it, I can't possibly listen to this on good faith on a normal listen.

I must admit, I’ve avoided this artist as much as possible. He always struck me as an overrated, wannabe edge lord. His whole brand is insufferable. The misogyny, violence and bigotry are pervasive and oppressive. It’s an onslaught of words, like Bob Dylan, but few of them are pleasant. I get that there was a big audience for this. It’s just miserable to listen to. The music is pretty good. I just wish he’d stfu and let me enjoy it.

tough one to rate… really enjoyed the production, plus a lot of the songs are catchy, but i just can’t rate it higher due to the lyrics. dunking on women and gay people for laughs and shock value was the best he could do i guess.

As much as there are some excellent songs on here, ultimately there are a lot of vile, somewhat contradictory lyrics and this album is also just far, far too long. Eminem does not have the musical chops to carry off an album of this length.

Lot’s of homophobic slurs. Had to skip a couple tracks because of it

I dunno. Shock music? Not my favourite era of slim. he's trying to be dark, and it kinda works, and I'm not into it. His controversy works best when it's got a bit of a comic edge, a bit like in the melody on real slim shady. All the like.. rape stuff and language about women.. nah. How many times and in how many different ways can someone say they don't give a f**k before it becomes apparent that they really do? Also.. he can't sing. so why? He annoys me more than he really should, and I know that's kinda the whole point. Maybe it's just aged really badly? this is a 2.

Thought it was misogynistic, homophobic and not great when it was released but it has aged poorly.

so cringe omg

eh

This guy is incredibly talented, but I don’t ultimately need this in my life. I can and suppose I will, in fact, die without it. 2 for the talent, minus 3 for making the world so much less beautiful