Eminem
The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (Universal)

That it took Eminem 13 years to follow up his celebrated The Marshall Mathers LP with a sequel likely cocked a few eyebrows—the Detroit rapper had recorded four full albums and staged a post-addiction comeback before announcing the project earlier this year. While a nostalgic look back at his critical watermark could be seen as a welcome return to form, it could just as easily be interpreted as a hollow retread. In a nutshell, the record still has Marshall Mathers, for better or for worse, trying to shock and provoke.

The grimness is ramped up to 10 from the get-go via dour opener “Bad Guy”, a sequel of sorts to the earlier LP’s “Stan”, which had a spurned fan killing his girlfriend and then committing suicide after failing to catch Eminem’s attention. Atop a murky, malicious beat, we get Mathers rapping as the jilted “Matthew Mitchell”—(“Bitch, we even have the same initials”)—who kidnaps, gags and ultimately murders his ex-hero. A meta back-half analyzes the violent character as Eminem’s conscience hitting at all the nasty rhymes he’s heaved over the years.

The rapper likewise casts a backward glance on “Rhyme or Reason”, which, after a bizarre Yoda impersonation and a tired interpolation of the Zombies’ “Time of the Season”, sniffs out the root of his emotional problems being his dad. Running surprisingly sweet, however, is “Headlights”, a piano-driven rap-ballad that has him trying to reconcile with his mom.

Beefed-up by a Beasties-influenced rap-rock beat prepped by none other than Rick Rubin, “Berzerk” has Eminem bringing it back to that “vintage Slim”. While it means he’s in full battle mode, it also includes a dated diss to Kevin Federline. While full of insanely dexterous, tongue-flicking wordplay, the much-too-long “Rap God” sadly also has the self-professed “skill-a-holic” going retro by delivering an arsenal of homophobic punchlines.

A mix of personally profound and intentionally ugly rhymes, the Marshall Mathers LP 2 once again gives us an angry, conflicted, and complex Eminem. Same as it ever was.