Eminem comes off as a very competitive person as is all the greats in any of their respective fields. But if I was to try to pinpoint Eminems biggest flaw in the last 5 years is he's put to much emphasis on being the best rhymer rather than being the best rapper.
You know when you're so obsessed with something and you do it all day, whether it be music, drawing or whatever. Let's say you're working on a project. Sometimes you're so focused on it that you come to a point where you get lost and don't know if it's actually good or not.
Sometimes the first idea you had might have been genius but after going over it and analyzing it hundreds of times you decide to change it to something else and often times the end product is not really good.
I think that's the problem with EM.
It's often a good thing to take a step back to clear your mind, listen to different opinions and get inspired by new things. No one can really excel in something if they're just obsessed by it and don't have a certain balance.
It's like playing a videogame for hours. Let's say you're stuck on a level and can't beat the d--- thing. You've been at it for hours, you're getting tired and you keep failing. Then finally you decide to drop it.
2 lays later, you're relaxed, you pick up that game again and guess what, you beat that level on the first try.
Maybe not the best analogy, but basically when you're too devoted to something and obsess on it, things don't come as naturally as they would if you come in with a clear mind.
Drunken theories can usually be the most insightful.
I do agree with this. Sometimes you see an article and it mentions how much of a lab rat Eminem or even Dre is. Being in the studio literally all the time surely dampens creativity. At some point, that environment would get very tedious, becoming desensitised to what's good or bad.
One thing that we cannot even begin to comprehend, is the damaging effect of fame. When Eminem made his earlier albums, he was still relatively connected to the real world, had already built up a lifetime of ideas to that point and had a blank canvas to paint on. He was new to us. The world was also such a different place. I think with the Internet, the people of today are more disposable with their entertainment. Even if a great song came by now, people would listen to it a dozen times and move on. Nothing is sacred anymore.
I remember having a cassette tape of the SSLP and when the MMLP album came out, I bought it and absolutely cherished it. I cherished it more because I didn't have all these avenues of medium to access entertainment. An album in the late 90s and early 2000s had so much more value because I didn't have the Internet, no YouTube or on-demand services.
I believe that in this day and age it is increasingly harder to create something of lasting value. It's like the Compton album, it came and went. The same will happen with Revival. Of course, nothing would give me greater joy than for the album to be absolutely amazing. But even if it was, would it be appreciated in the way that pre-Internet generations appreciated entertainment?
When it comes to creativity, as I said, we should really try to picture and understand the trappings of fame. Eminem literally cannot leave his home and walk into a public domain without either being mobbed for an autograph or selfie, or an obsessive fan. It must be torturous to be famous to that level where you cannot enter into the real world. How can you expect the man's creativity levels to be at the same standard as his first three albums when his entire existence is like The Truman Show. Where can he get his ideas from if he is not amongst regular surroundings? It is impossible to stay in touch with current trends and what the next generation of people are feeling and thinking. Of course, Eminem can watch the TV or use the Internet to keep in touch with reality, but it's not actually the same as walking down the street and stacking ideas from the grimy world that inhabits us all. Eminem is in a bubble now. A fish tank. I think it's a d--- shame that he can't live as a regular civilian. The consequence of being absolutely gifted at something is fame. The ultimate torture in a way as it isolates and creates a claustrophobic conduit of travelling with minders and hangers-on.
I think Eminem and Dre spending longer and longer in the studio is a consequence of fame. What else can they do? But the music studio is not the most inspiring place if you're there all the time. I also think there is part of it where they force themselves to keep working on music, and that is where when Eminem says 'he always feels like he is hitting the mark, but then listens to it in the car and says it's garbage.' That's almost certainly a consequence of too many hours in the studio, making yourself sick with the process.
I do feel really sad for Em as you can see that he is trying everything to motivate himself and recapture what he is capable of. But circumstances change. He is older, has painted the canvas over and over, and it's not easy to try and capture an audience in the same way as 17 years ago.
But if anyone is capable of lighting up a fire once more, then it's Marshall Bruce Mathers the III.
Roll on Revival!
