The Marshall Mathers LP 2

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The Marshall Mathers LP 2
Album Information
Type	Studio album
Artist	Eminem
Released	November 5, 2013
Recorded	February 2010 - October 2013
Genre	Hip hop
Length	79:50
Language	English
Label	Aftermath, Interscope, Shady
Producer	Cardiak, DJ Khalil, Dr. Dre (also exec.), DVLP, Eminem, Frank Dukes, Frequency, No ID, Rick Rubin (also exec.), S1, StreetRunner
Eminem Chronology
Hell: The Sequel (2011)
The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013)

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is the eight studio album by American hip hop artist Eminem that is scheduled to be released on November 5, 2013, by Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records, and Interscope Records, the album is a continuation of Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP (2000). Recording and production for the album took place between 2010 and 2013, production was handled mainly by Eminem with other producers including Rick Rubin, Dr. Dre , No ID and S1. The album features guest musicians including Skylar Grey, Rihanna , Fun. frontman Nate Ruess and fellow Aftermath label-mate Kendrick Lamar.

The lead single, Berzerk, was relased on August 25, 2013 along with the title during the 2013 MTV Music Video Awards which debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200, three other singles, Survival, Rap God and The Monster  were later released.

Background

In February 2010 Eminem began record his next album to come out In Late 2013 he recorded the album for the album recording Eminem revealed that he had begun working on his next album in an interview on Hot 97's morning show with Peter Rosenberg on May 24, 2012, he also talked about the album with DJ Whoo Kid, on his own radio station, Shade 45, saying; "I usually get going and kind of start going a certain direction and just record what I'm feeling. Then I'll go see Dre and fill in some of those pieces." In February of 2013, Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg told Billboard that Eminem's eighth studio album would be released after Memorial Day, 2013. "We fully expect to be releasing a new Eminem album in 2013. He's been working on it for some time," said Rosenberg. "It's safe to say that it will be post-Memorial Day at some point, but we're not exactly sure when. We've got some dates locked in for him to perform live in Europe in August, so we're trying to see what else lines up."

Music

The opening track "Bad Guy" is produced by S1, M-Phazes and StreetRunner, with a chorus sung by Sarah Jaffe. "Survival" features a chorus sung by Liz Rodrigues and production by DJ Khalil. On the anthemic track, Eminem celebrates his return over "breakneck, arena-rock" electric guitars and "trashy" drums. "Berzerk" is produced by Rubin and pays homage to old-school hip hop. With samples from the Beastie Boys' "The New Style" and "Fight for Your Right", and Billy Squier's "The Stroke", the track is "a punchy, guitar-and-beats driven song which channels Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and Licensed to Ill-era Beastie Boys." Produced by DVLP, "Rap God" sees Eminem rapping over an EDM-inspired instrumental with varied flows. He pays tribute to many influential hip hop acts, but also proclaims himself an all-time best, with the closing line stating: "Why be a king when you can be a god?" "The Monster" is a "dark", "deamon-battling" song, produced by Frequency. The track features backing vocals from Bebe Rexha and a chorus by Rihanna.

Critical reception

• Metacritic: 73/100
• Allmusic:
• The A.V. Club: B
• New York Daily News:
• The Guardian:
• Los Angeles Times:
• Rolling Stone:
• Spin: 8/10
• Toronto Sun:
• USA Today:
• XXL: 4/5

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 received generally positive reviews from music critics upon release, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 31 reviews, indicating "generally positive reviews."

Paul MacInnes of The Guardian gave the album a perfect five star rating saying, "Eminem has engaged with his age ... decided he doesn't give a fuck and asserted himself again. There is confidence and maturity ... introspection and regret ... balanced with a clear idea of his place in rap's history. His flows are exceptional ... the wordplay is dazzling. The jokes, in places offensive, are relentless ... There is no apology ... no concession; just a virtuoso application of talent." Jim Farber of the New York Daily News stated, "the album offers a resounding return to the gory comedy and free embrace psychosis that first made Em the anti hero of our age. It's his funniest album in years, as well as his fastest, verbally. Jon Dolan of the Rolling Stone said, "Nostalgia is everywhere. [..] He's playing his best character, the demon spawn of Trailer Hell, America, hitting middle age with his middle finger up his nose while he cleans off the Kool-Aid his kids spilled on the couch". Christopher Weingarten of Spin said, "if rapping were purely an athletic competition, Eminem would be Michael Phelps and Lou Retton combined: pure ability and flexibility, like a bullet with only white-hot hate in his wake". He would go on to add that "we get rhymes ... more rhymes than some rappers manage in a whole career". Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times stated, "Eminem sounds more alive - angrier yet fully present - than he has in years ... Eminem burns with purpose on "MMLP2". And if you don't like what he (still) has to say, there's a chance he doesn't either".

Edna Gundersen of USA Today said, Eminem "recaptures the original releases wild, clever, emotional brilliance in a flurry of caustic, brazenly honest, rapid-fire rhymes and aggressive beats". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe gave the album a positive review saying, "If anything, the sequel is more intense than the original, as the Detroit rapper explodes like an M-80 ... many memorable ones to be heard here, as Eminem doubles down on his manic flow, bursting with analogies, jokes, illusions, and ingenious wordplay with dizzying speed and skill". The Washington Post gave the album a positive review saying, "It's satisfying on every level - as a story, as poetry, as a performance ... One thing is immediately clear though: Eminem is the only rapper to survive a guest appearance from the cutthroat Kendrick Lamar. And really, what more do you need to know?" Dan Rys of XXL gave the album a rating of XL saying, "the thing that carries Em through is the diversity of his flows, and his ability to rap over anything ... you're getting one with more perspective, a version which has seen 13 more years and has a different outlook on some of the same topics that he first visited in 2000". Darryl Sterdan of the Toronto Sun gave the album a perfect four star rating saying, "...one of his most enjoyable albums in years ... hilariously shocking and wicked, skewering everyone in his path (including himself)." and "It's the Eminem you know and love (and love to hate)." Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club gave the album a B rating, saying "...after years of stagnancy and tedious anger, he shows real growth on The Marshall Mathers LP. Eminem has always rapped with forceful determination out of compulsive drives to prove himself to doubters, cut down his enemies, and retain his commercial foothold. For the first time in far too long, he sounds like he's rapping because he enjoys it, too." Jon Carmanica of The New York Times gave the album a positive review saying, "His lyrics are best viewed under a microscope ... to see how he gets from one rhyme to the next in unexpected ways ... he'll dominate almost any sound ... but he still has some old habits, still heavy-handed with homophobic slurs ... Eminem is still rapping from deep inside his cave, as if he's had no new experiences to draw from." David Jeffries of AllMusic spoke of the album saying, it is a "vicious, infectious, hilarious triumph ... a super villain so familiar with hate and depression, he's powered by all shades of anger ... most of the best moments on MMLP2 are just as angry and just as irresponsible ... Eminem at his very best." Luke Fox of Exclaim! gave the album an eight out ten rating praising the albums "astounding wordplay and creative beat choices".

In a mixed review, Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune gave the album two out of four stars saying, "it reaffirms his prodigious agility with rhymes ... Eminem still crunches together syllables, silliness and storytelling flights of ridiculousness with acrobatic skill" and "The sense that we've all been here before, twice, is exacerbated by tired samples and interpolations. [..] Eminem tries to cover up his retreat by doing cartwheels and back-flips with his rhymes". Craig Jenkins of Pitchfork Media gave the album a mixed review saying, "Eminem is a titan with wordplay, but MMLP2 once again finds him at a loss for how to apply his talents." Nick Catucci of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a C+ criticizing Eminem's use of slurs on the album, saying "Eminem wouldn't be Eminem ... if he didn't allot some of his whizbang homophobic slurs and misogynistic fantasies ... rightly considered a rap great for his technical prowess, wicked humor, and tenacity ... which make his flashes of hatred for women and gay men all the more alarming."

Accolades

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 was ranked at number 24 on Rolling Stone's list of the 50 best albums of 2013.

Commercial performance

In the United States, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 792,000 copies in its first week, becoming the second-biggest debut of 2013 and the second-largest sales week of the year, only behind the debut of Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience, which bowed at number one with 968,000 in March. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 logs the sixth-biggest sales week of the past five years. The album also marks Eminem's seventh No. 1 album - all consecutive, and all debuts at No. 1. His only album to miss the top slot was his first release, 1999's The Slim Shady LP, which debuted and peaked at number two.

In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling over 143,000 copies, becoming Eminem’s seventh consecutive No. 1 album in the UK. By achieving such a feat, Eminem became the first American act to score seven consecutive UK Number 1 albums and is now on par with The Beatles in second place for the most chart-topping U.K. albums in a row. In Australia, the album debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, with only three days of chart sales, becoming his seventh No. 1 album in the country. In New Zealand, the album went atop of the albums chart, being certified gold in only three days of its release.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Bad Guy"	Part 1 written by Marshall Mathers, Larry Griffin, Mark Landon, Sarah Jaffe, Walter Murphy Part 2 written by Mathers, Nicholas Warwar, Vinny Venditto, S. Hacker, M. Aiello, Gian Reverberi, Laura Giordano	Part 1 produced by	7:14
2.	"Parking Lot" (skit)	Mathers	Eminem	0:55
3.	"Rhyme or Reason"	Mathers, Rod Argent	Rick Rubin, Eminem	5:01
4.	"So Much Better"	Mathers, Luis Resto	Eminem, Luis Resto	4:21
5.	"Survival"	Mathers, DJ Khalil, Erik Alcock, Liz Rodrigues, Pranam Injeti, Mike Strange	DJ Khalil	4:32
6.	"Legacy"	Mathers, Polina Goudieva, David Brook, Emile Haynie	Emile	4:56
7.	"Asshole" (featuring Skylar Grey)	Mathers, Alexander Gran, Holly Hafermann, Resto	Alex da Kid, Eminem	4:48
8.	"Berzerk"	Mathers, William Squier, Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch, Rick Rubin, Joseph Modeliste, Arthur Neville, Cyril Neville, Vincent Brown, Anthony Criss, Keir Gist	Rick Rubin	3:58
9.	"Rap God"	Mathers, DVLP, Matthew Delgiorno, Hacker, Doug E. Fresh, Richard Walters, Dania Birks, Juana Burns, Juanita Lee, Fatima Shaheed, Kim Nazel	DVLP, Filthy	6:03
10.	"Brainless"	Mathers, Resto	Eminem, Luis Resto	4:46
11.	"Stronger Than I Was"	Mathers, Resto	Eminem, Luis Resto	5:36
12.	"The Monster" (featuring Rihanna)	Mathers, Bryan Fryzel, Aaron Kleinstub, M. Athanasiou, Robyn Fenty, Jon Bellion, Bebe Rexha	Frequency, Aalias	4:10
13.	"So Far..."	Mathers, Joe Walsh, Jesse Weaver	Rick Rubin	5:17
14.	"Love Game" (featuring Kendrick Lamar)	Mathers, Kendrick Duckworth, Clint Ballard, Jimmie Grier, Coy Poe, Pinky Tomlin	Rick Rubin	4:56
15.	"Headlights" (featuring Nate Ruess)	Mathers, Nate Ruess, Haynie, Jeff Bhasker, Resto	Emile, Jeff Bhasker, Eminem	5:43
16.	"Evil Twin"	Mathers, Tavish Graham, Joey Chavez, Resto	Sid Roams, Eminem	5:56
Total length:				78:13

Call of Duty: Ghosts bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Don't Front" (featuring Buckshot)	Mathers, Kenyatta Blake	Katalyst	4:44
Total length:				82:57

Deluxe edition bonus disc
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Baby"	Mathers, Resto, Strange	Eminem, Luis Resto	4:23
2.	"Desperation" (featuring Jamie N Commons)	Mathers, Jamie Commons, Grant	Alex da Kid	3:56
3.	"Groundhog Day"	M. Mathers, Carl McCormick, Adam Feeney, T. Brenneck, J. Tankle, H. Steinweiss, D. Guy, L. Michels	Cardiak, Frank Dukes, Eminem	4:53
4.	"Beautiful Pain" (featuring Sia)	Mathers, Haynie, Sia Furler, Resto	Emile, Eminem	4:25
5.	"Wicked Ways" (featuring X Ambassadors)	Mathers, Grant, Josh Mosser	Alex da Kid	6:32
Total length:				24:09

Notes

• Track listing and credits from album booklet.
• ^{^a}  signifies a co-producer
• ^{^b}  signifies an additional producer
• "Bad Guy" features vocals by Sarah Jaffe.
• "Survival" features vocals by Liz Rodrigues.
• "Legacy" features vocals by Polina.
• "Love Game" features vocals by Keira Marie.
• "The Monster" features background vocals by Bebe.

Sample credits

• "Bad Guy" contains samples of "Hocus Pokus", as performed by Walter Murphy; "Soana", written by Gian Piero Reverberi and Laura Giordano; and "Ode to Billie Joe", as performed by Lou Donaldson.
• "Rhyme or Reason" contains samples of "Time of the Season", written by Rod Argent and performed by The Zombies.
• "Berzerk" contains samples of "The Stroke", written and performed by Billy Squier; "Fight for Your Right", written by Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch, and Rick Rubin, as performed by the Beastie Boys; and "Feel Me Flow", written by Joseph Modeliste, Art Neville, Cyril Neville, Vincent Brown, Anthony Criss and Keir Gist, as performed by Naughty by Nature.
• "Rap God" contains interpolations of "The Show", written by Douglas Davis and Richard Walters, and "Supersonic", written by Dania Birks, Juana Burns, Jaunita Lee, Fatima Shaheed and Kim Nazel.
• "So Far..." contains samples of "Life's Been Good", written and performed by Joe Walsh; and "P.S.K. What Does It Mean?", as performed by Schoolly D.
• "Love Game" contains samples of "Game of Love", written by Clint Ballard, Jr., as performed by Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders; and interpolations of "The Object of My Affection", written by Jimmie Grier, Coy Poe and Pinky Tomlin.