Great album. Here's how I'd put it...
Lyrics - 9/10... he finally came around and started talking about a variety of subjects AND the whole Proof thing, instead of playing that "I'm a killer" crap, and he addressed most subjects with great wordplay and lyricism. there are weak songs, but for the most part, the lyrics are really good imo.Â
Beats - 8/10... they're good, but nothing special, and very few stand out to me. there are only two songs that I like primarily because of the beat.Â
Flow/Delivery/Charisma/whatever - 9/10... he hit every track with energy, sounded hungry as hell and his flows were just top notch. there were times where he'd be... anti-climactic (no homo ? and throw his flow off for some reason, but for the majority of the album his presence and all that was excellent.Â
Hooks - 8/10... when they are good, they really work well with the song, but when they are bad... i just don't understand what he was going for. that being said, there are more good hooks than bad ones imo. that singing really can't be justified, and he needs to realize when it's bad.... it was alright on Cold Wind Blows and ignorable on Talkin' 2 Myself, but then on You're Never Over, he really dragged that song down a lot with the first part of the hook. like i said, though, when they are good, they really are. Love the Way You Lie, for example, is effing amazing hook-wise, as are 25 to Life and Almost Famous... he needs to rely on other people to sing his hooks. there were some in the gray area that weren't really good or bad, but not many...Â
Overall, I'd give it around a 8/10... em delivered on the rapping side and chose good beats, but he could have done a better job rooting out filler, choosing hooks and who to have sing them, and making the album flow better... the album really just sounds like a collection of some really good songs imo... Â
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Anyway, even if people wouldn't put it that high ^, I think this is a clear indication that Em is on the upswing. On Relapse, he ditched the stupid songs and weak rhyming that were present on Encore, and now on this he's ditched the accent, bland subject matter, and repetitive flows that were present on Relapse... it seems that he's realizing what isn't good and changing it, so i'm very pumped for the next Em album...
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