Introduction

Pretty much everyone knows who American rapper Eminem is. He is at the forefront of rap and is considered by many to be one of the greatest ever in his genre. The Marshall Mathers Lp was his sophomore studio album and was released back in the year 2000.

Tracklisting

1. "Public Service Announcement 2000" (skit performed by Eminem & Jeff Bass)
2. "Kill You"
3. "Stan" (featuring Dido)
4. "Paul" (skit performed by Paul Rosenberg)
5. "Who Knew"
6. "Steve Berman" (skit performed by Eminem & Steve Berman)
7. "The Way I Am"
8. "The Real Slim Shady"
9. "Remember Me?" (featuring RBX & Sticky Fingaz)
10. "I'm Back"
11. "Marshall Mathers"
12. "Ken Kaniff" (skit)
13. "Drug Ballad" (featuring Dina Rae)
14. "Amityville" (featuring Bizarre)
15. "B***h Please II" (featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit & Nate Dogg)
16. "Kim"
17. "Under the Influence" (featuring D12)
18. "Criminal"

The cd begins with a public service announcement which states that slim shady does not give a f**k what you think. We can hear straight away why we have the parental advisory sticker on the front of the cd. The first real track is 'kill you' in which he gives an insight into his upbringing if you call it that and his anger and hate towards his mother. Stan is track about a stalker style super fan who writes to him and doesn't get a reply until it's too late. The chorus by Dido (sampled from Thank You), works well with the lyrics from Eminem to produce a top tune which became a hit.

'Who knew' is another top song as he raps "I don't do black music, I don't do white music,I make fight music, for high school kids I put lives at risk, when I drive like thisI put wives at risk with a knife like this." It is a bit about his perceived influence on kids and he his hitting back at those that say his music is negatively affecting those of the younger generation. He also raps about how he didn't really know that he would become this big star.
"Cause I never knew I, knew I would get this big
I never knew I, knew I'd effect this kid"

'The way I am' was another single and is a more serious track in which he shows his angst and frustration towards media executives, bosses and fans who expect him to be at the top of the charts and be good towards them all the time by signing autographs and such. He raps "I'm tired of all you, I don't mean to be mean but it's all I can be
It's just me. "

The real slim shady is one of the most well known tracks of the album. It is a catchy song which was another big hit. He also insults many celebrities in this song. He says that other people can try to imitate him but there is only one real slim shady (himself).

The next top and controversial track of the album is Kim which features his love and hate for his now ex wife. He imitates Kim's voice so she is in effect appearing on the track. This track is not on the clean version and for good reason. The song portrays Eminem murdering Kim.

I also liked the track criminal which is the final song on the album and it has some comedy elements to it. He talks about how what he says in a record doesn't mean he would do it in real life.

Overall

This is a top album from Eminem. The skits on it don't actually add much to the album but the rest of the tracks and the ones mentioned above in particular are top quality and helps this album get into the realms of greatness. Rolling Stone placed the album at number 7 on its list of the best albums of the 2000s. It also won a grammy for best rap album and deservedly so. I would give it 5/5 stars.