eminem has always been near the top of the list of rappers with the potential to take it to the next level and break through that ceiling that rap and hip-hop have always had, separating it into an inherent folk form. every other 20th century form has broken through that barrier, and it's kind of puzzling why rap can't/won't. this is some kind of industrial music, but it's slow and repetitive. if he could get the music running at the same kind of syncopation as the vocals this would be very compelling; i'm talking 240 bpm bass beats intersecting with busy basslines and off the wall synths. a collaboration with flying lotus. he can keep his blunt aesthetic, it may even be an asset in driving the aggression.

my hypothesis has been that rap tends to reject this because it wants to make space for the vocals. but, it's long past time for somebody to move into this space. eminem, specifically, has matured enough that i think he can find a way to get his vocals to not just co-exist with a more developed musical approach, but help it transcend.

as it is, i'm walking away from this with the same feeling that i've been walking away from every hip-hop record that i've heard since 1991 - it's just not reaching it's potential.