D12 World (Shady, 2004) by D12

The album starts off with an incredible rapid-fire verse from Eminem which sets the tone and momentum for the entire project.  It isn't quite as dark as Devil's Night, and that makes for a well-rounded release.  from the humorous "My Band" to the serious "Good Die Young," D12 World finds the six Detroit emcees in top form.  Overall, Eminem outperforms the other five.  However, on "Get My Gun" and "40 Oz.," the late, great Proof reigns supreme.  Production-wise, the sounds are varied.  Among others, producers include Red Spyda, Hi-Tek, and Dr. Dre.  The album shows growth from their debut, and since the group is now seemingly disbanded- I feel that D12 proved themselves as what they set out to be: shocking and skilled emcees.

Cheers (Shady, 2003) by Obie Trice

I bought this album the the day that it was released.  It opened alongside Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.  I bought that too, but I started with Cheers because I didn't have time at the moment for a double album.  I really liked "Rap Name" and "Love Me" from the 8 Mile soundtrack.  However, I didn't know if he had the endurance for a full album.  After one listen, I knew that he did.  Cheers has very little filler (the only two tracks that I skip over are "Spread Yo Shit" and "Got Some Teeth"), and lyrically I thought that it was even a bit better than 50's Get Rich or Die Tryin'.  I met Obie a few years ago in Detroit, and got a chance to tell him how great I thought Cheers was.  He was real humble about it, and it was a great experience for me, as a writer, to develop my style and approach to conducting interviews.

Radioactive (Shady, 2011) by Yelawolf

Aside from the obvious common thread of race among Yelawolf, Eminem, and Kid Rock.  Stylistically, Yelawolf sounds like a combination of Eminem and Kid Rock.  And Yela's well-rounded appreciation of music extends beyond his sound as well.  He has a wide range of influences too.  If you don't believe me, listen to "Radio" where he name-drops Janis Joplin and Bone Thugs N Harmony in the same line.  This very diverse mix of taste translates wonderfully to all of his major-label debut, Radioactive.  There are no two songs that sound alike.  "Made in the U.S.A" sounds like the perfect anthem for the Occupy Wall Street movement, "Growin' Up in the Gutter" sounds just as industrial as anything Trent Reznor would put out, and "Animal" has Yela blacking out with an absolutely amazing flow at the end, and he holds his own on collabos alongside Em, Kid Rock, Killer Mike, and Mystikal ; this album is a modern hip hop classic.  And the reason I have yet to come across anyone else who recognizes this album in that same light is totally beyond me.

8 Mile Soundtrack (Shady, 2002) by various

"Lose Yourself" is a history-making song and one of the most popular records of its time.  The title track is actually one of my favorite Eminem songs and I think 50's "Places to Go" should have been his introductory single instead of "Wanksta".  The other song that I go back to a lot on this album is Gang Starr's "Battle".  A movie about hip-hop in the mid-90s without a DJ Premier beat is blasphemous.  Not surprisingly, the music supervision for this film for material that was actually made in the mid-90s is superb.  And truth be told, as a whole, the soundtrack to 8 Mile can't touch More Music from 8 Mile.  However, 8 Mile and its soundtrack helped establish Eminem as a hip-hop icon at the height of his popularity and continued to showcase his untouchable rap skills as well as his ability to find and develop new talent (50 Cent, Obie Trice).

Hell: The Sequel (Shady, 2011) by Bad Meets Evil

“He’s Evil, and I’m Bad like Steve Seagal/ Against peaceful, see you in Hell for the sequel”, and with that the final rhyme of “Bad Meets Evil”, from Eminem’s 1999 Slim Shady LP, are air-borne.  And after twelve years, the sequel has finally arrived.  Once upon a time, Bad and Evil (Royce Da 5’9” and Eminem respectively) were the best unsigned rappers in Detroit, Michigan, and this EP is a reminder as to why.  As far as lyrics and delivery are concerned, this EP is flawless. Hell’s first single, “Fast Lane”, is arguably the most memorable hip-hop duet since “Brooklyn’s Finest” in 1996. While the shock value seemed somewhat uninspired on Eminem’s 2009 album Relapse, “Fast Lane” finds Mr. Mathers back in top form.  And Royce is clearly capable of matching wits with 50’s favorite white boy (Graduated from master debater slash massive masturbator, to Michael Jackson’s activator/ Meanin’ I’m on fire off the top, might wanna back up the data) over the orchestral beat.  Other highlights include “The Reunion”, which find Eminem slowing down his flow and Royce turning down a woman for using the word ‘swagger’.  “Lighters” featuring Bruno Mars is also a good song.  As out of place on the EP as it is, the record does do a great job of breaking up the warped sense of humor and fun approach throughout the rest of the project.  Production-wise, the tracks become a bit repetitive and tiresome by the end.  But to be fair, most of the beats are sparse and tailor-made for spitting.  And in this case, more so than many, the beats are there to accentuate the rhymes.  The use of the Mike Epps vocal sample on “I’m on Everything” seems clever at first, but him saying “Ha ha huh” in the chorus comes off as obnoxious.  And for something as highly anticipated as Hell, it seems improper that the EP would close out with “Loud Noises”- the only track featuring other rappers, supergroup Slaughterhouse, alongside Bad and Evil.  Even with a great set-up for the song by Eminem on the previous number, “Take From Me”, “Loud Noises” still feels out of sequence.  Despite a few faults, Hell: The Sequel is a great release.  It is an EP which clearly aims to satisfy hip-hop purists without compromising anything to appeal to pop sensibilities.  And just because it probably won’t sell in the millions doesn’t mean that it doesn’t deserve to.  Twelve years is a long time.  But it was worth the wait.

Devil's Night (Shady, 2001) by D12

"If I could capture the rage of today's youth and bottle it/Crush the glass from my bare hands and swallow it/Then spit it back in the faces of you racists/and hypocrites who think the same shit but don't say shit/You Liberace's, Versace's, and you nazis/Watch me, cause you thinkin' you got me in this hot seat/You motherfuckers wanna JUDGE me cause you're NOT me/You'll never STOP me, I'm TOP speed as you POP me/I came to save these new generations of babies/from parents who failed to raise 'em cause they're lazy/to grow to praise me I'm makin 'em go crazy/That's how I got this whole nation to embrace me/And you fugazi if you think I'ma admit wrong/I cripple any hypocritic critic I'm sic'd on/And this song is for any kid who gets picked on/A sick song to retaliate to, and it's called.."                                                            -Eminem, "Fight Music"