The
Slim Shady
LP announced not only
Eminem
's arrival, but it established that his producer
Dr. Dre
was anything but passe, thereby raising expectations for
2001
, the long-anticipated sequel to
The Chronic
. It suggested that
wouldn't simply be recycled
Chronic
, and, musically speaking, that's more or less true. He's pushed himself hard, finding new variations in the formula by adding ominous strings, soulful vocals, and reggae, resulting in fairly interesting recontextualizations. Padded out to 22 tracks,
isn't as consistent or striking as
, but the music is always brimming with character. If only the same could be said about the rappers! Why does a producer as original as
Dre
work with such pedestrian rappers? Perhaps it's to ensure his control over the project, or to mask his own shortcomings as an MC, but the album suffers considerably as a result. Out of all the other rappers on
, only
Snoop
and
--
's two great proteges -- have character and while
's jokiness still is unpredictable,
sounds nearly as tired as the second-rate rappers. The only difference is, there's pleasure in hearing
's style, while the rest sound staid. That's the major problem with
: lyrically and thematically, it's nothing but gangsta cliches. Scratch that, it's ueber-gangsta, blown up so large that it feels like a parody. Song after song, there's a never-ending litany of violence, drugs, pussy, bitches, dope, guns, and gangsters. After a full decade of this, it takes real effort to get outraged at this stuff, so chances are, you'll shut out the words and groove along since, sonically, this is first-rate, straight-up gangsta. Still, no matter how much fun you may have, it's hard not to shake the feeling that this is cheap, not lasting, fun. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine