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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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The Marshall Mathers LP
by Eminem
MUSIC:
The second full-length from Eminem (aka Marshall Mathers) garnered two Grammys for the rapper and became the fastest-selling rap album in history.
| LABEL: |
Interscope |
| RELEASE DATE: |
23 May 2000 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rap |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
Disable your prejudgment button and you'll hear a work of art whose immense entertainment value in no way compromises its intimations of a pathology that's both personal and political, created by one of those charming rogues you encounter so much more often on the page...
100
Vibe
Eminem has crafted the best album of the year so far with The Marshall Mathers LP and it comes dangerously close to being a classic.
100
All Music Guide
A fairly brilliant expansion of his debut, turning his spare, menacing hip-hop into a hyper-surreal, wittily disturbing thrill ride.
91
Entertainment Weekly
''The Marshall Mathers LP'' is indefensible and critic-proof, hypocritical and heartbreaking, unlistenable and undeniable; it's a disposable shock-rap session, and the first great pop record of the 21st century.
90
New Musical Express
Gruelling assault course of lyrical genius that pours itself into the 18 tracks on this album-
90
Village Voice
The ever increasing variety in Eminem's voice (drawled Southern-bounce cadences, impatiently curt throaty staccatos, flat Beck-like deadpans, crying and screaming) somehow feels completely conversational, and the musical backdrop (calypso/Caribbean, Gothic etherea, jiggy disco evolving into P.M. Dawn) is frequently, of all things, beautiful.
80
Rolling Stone
He is, simply, better than any other MC in hip-hop except for Jay-Z.... The Marshall Mathers LP is a car-crash record: loud, wild, dangerous, out of control, grotesque, unsettling. It's also impossible to pull your ears away from.
80
Salon.com
An airtight masterpiece of rhyme-
80
Wall of Sound
It's smartly crafted black comedy from hip-hop's greatest white MC, a strong storyteller and a master of the metaphor, who produces staggeringly popular music that's mostly meant to be enjoyed with both a pained grimace and a smirk.
80
CDNow
The words are now injected with a new industrial strength venom that make the last album seem like Hanson's Christmas disc.
80
MTV.com
What's most pure is Eminem's liberating fearlessness in taking hip-hop left turns and acting the fool. The best hip-hop stand-up comic since Biz Markie; all that and a bag o' chronic.
70
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Mathers is frequently brilliant and unique, if extremely flawed.
70
New York Magazine
Aside from the horrifyingly detailed stalker narrative of "Stan" and the homicidal fantasy of "Kim," nothing on Marshall Mathers rises above the level of locker-room insults -- nearly every song seems to feature Eminem's giving someone the finger.
70
Checkout.com
There are songs on Mathers that are very, very good; as a result, when Eminem misses the mark, it feels incredibly frustrating, because you know what he's capable of.
60
Q Magazine
True, even misdirected, Eminem's disaffection sucks you in and the wholesale nihilism can still provoke shivers. But it all used to be more fun.
60
L.A. Weekly
It just isn't as much fun this time around, no matter how fresh Dre's beats are or how many worthy targets get shot down along with the innocent.
60
Spin
Funny how so much controversy can spring up over an album that is, musically, not all that noteworthy.... what could have been a brilliant statement, instead elevates Eminem to the rarified air of true platinum rappers: ie, those that drop outstanding rhymes over frustratingly mediocre beats.
50
Sonicnet
The problem is, as the album drags on, young Master Mathers wastes his considerable wit and opts to grouse in the guise of a rampaging reactionary. Song after song finds Eminem viciously baiting real and imagined enemies, as if that's all he knows how to do.
40
HOB.com
The problem is that he's just not that funny. For someone who takes such pleasure in spouting off on everything and everyone, from fans and critics to boy bands and label executives, Eminem really has nothing to say.
40
Dot Music
The production, however, is first rate, Dre proving that he really is on fire at the moment. Eminem's microphone skills are similarly beyond question ' though a little too shouty on occasion. It's just that his self-indulgent and irritatingly stupid rants will prove too much for any audience that recognises irony in Beavis and Butthead.
The average user rating for this album is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 218 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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