Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP - 2000 - Aftermath
If the Eminem on The Slim Shady LP was an over-the-top caricature of violence, drugs and debauchery, then the one heard here is his polar opposite. Dark, depressed, angry. This is Eminem backed into a corner by his own unexpected success and lashing out at the world around him. Though as usually the line between fantasy and reality is stupidly blurred so it's hard to make out who's voice we're hearing from moment to moment: Eminem? Slim? Marshall? Whoever it is, this is an extremely compelling album. It's an impressive follow-up that comes pretty hot on the heels of Slim's breakthrough album. It's also somewhat a line drawn in the sand - a challenge to his own fans. In a sense it's as if he tries to offend and disgust enough to lose as many listeners as possible. I mean the album opens with "Kill You," a track aimed at his own mom. And killing isn't even the only thing he does. But it shouldn't be written off as a gross-out album either. "Stan" is an obvious example with its vivid storytelling and dual roles played by Em. It's a haunting track that is goosebump-worthy, and follows "Kill You." If that isn't foreshadowing of the bipolar journey that the rest of the album will be! And that's the point. This isn't a simple album. It's got many layers and many stories being told by many voices - regardless of who's name is on the cover.
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III - 2008 - Cash Money
To truly hear Tha Carter III you need to hear everything that it isn't. What I mean by this is that the year leading up to its release was flooded with so much Lil Wayne - some sanctioned and some leaked. There was enough quality material released that an album just as strong - or stronger could have been compiled from its outtakes alone. And that's the double-edged sword here. No matter how successful the album is proper, it was prone to disappoint fans for leaving off something ("Feel Like Dying" deserved to be an album cut!). But with that inevitability admitted, it really is a successful album. Although its far less cohesive than its predecessor, Carter III is a sprawling work that varies from crazy stream-of-conscious mixtape Wayne ("Dr. Carter," "Phone Home," "Let The Beat Build"), serious storyteller Wayne ("Tie My Hands," Playing With Fire") and definitely poised for superstardom Wayne ("Comfortable," "Lollipop," "Mr. Carter"). While certainly this was the album where the cries of "sellout!" begin, it's hard to hate on the sheer pleasure that Weezy takes in playing with words throughout this album. This is at a point where his craft was so sharpened from the run of mixtapes he had been using as shadowboxing. So even the attempts at radio play here tend to have at least something interesting going on. It would be easy for him to stick to autopilot on a track like "Got Money" right? But he has fun riding the beat all over the place, switching over to Rihanna's "Umbrella" vocal melody. On the other end of the spectrum who would really think to use autotune on a track like "Ain't Got Nuthin" that features Juelz Santana and Fabolous going so hard over an Alchemist beat? This is truly a transitional album. One that works amazingly well.
