Music: Eminem - Kamikaze

[Eye of Ra]

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Release hype and all that worn off now. Probably going to settle on a 7/10, MAYBE a weak 8. Not really going back and listening to much or keeping stuff in my rotation even though it’s real good for what it is. His wordplay and rhyme schemes are still top notch and after Revival it’s great to hear an actual flow from him again.

It doesn’t touch a TA13OO, Daytona or KSG though imo.

 

[Mach85]

Release hype and all that worn off now. Probably going to settle on a 7/10, MAYBE a weak 8. Not really going back and listening to much or keeping stuff in my rotation even though it’s real good for what it is. His wordplay and rhyme schemes are still top notch and after Revival it’s great to hear an actual flow from him again.

It doesn’t touch a TA13OO, Daytona or KSG though imo.

KSG and Daytona are EPs IMO and should be evaluated differently. Take the strongest 7 tracks from any album and they look a lot different.

If Kamikaze were:

The Ringer
Greatest
Lucky You
Stepping Stone
Not Alike
Fall
Kamikaze/Venom (take your pick)

Normal, Nice Guy, and Good Guy were all filler tracks and didn't really fit the theme.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

KSG and Daytona are EPs IMO and should be evaluated differently. Take the strongest 7 tracks from any album and they look a lot different.

If Kamikaze were:

The Ringer
Greatest
Lucky You
Stepping Stone
Not Alike
Fall
Kamikaze/Venom (take your pick)

Normal, Nice Guy, and Good Guy were all filler tracks and didn't really fit the theme.

Even then, it still doesn’t touch TA13OO, and I still haven’t listened to all of Redemption yet so it may not even touch that, or Book of Ryan, and I’m going back-and-forth on where to put Wayne’s drop.

It’s been a stupid strong year for the genre in terms of releases.

 

[Mach85]

Even then, it still doesn’t touch TA13OO, and I still haven’t listened to all of Redemption yet so it may not even touch that, or Book of Ryan, and I’m going back-and-forth on where to put Wayne’s drop.

It’s been a stupid strong year for the genre in terms of releases.

Doesn't touch it is hyperbole IMO, even if you prefer Denzel. And that's just it; at this point, we're getting into preference. They were both strong releases. Kamikaze is right up there with anything else - we're not talking about Revival here. I also liked Book of Ryan and think it's being slept on.

 

[RickP]

Yeah I'd give it an 8 too I think. Basically no complaint other than the 3-4 filler tracks... the rest is fire. It was a necessary album to put Eminem back on top of the game, so to speak. But I don't think that album (Kamikaze) will be super relevant in a few years. People won't even know who all those people Eminem name-dropped are, aside from MGK who will probably remain infamously famous.

And the album is missing 1-2 radio singles. Lucky You is a hit, and there are a few other catchy tracks, but they're not real radio-singles like Eminem usually makes.

Now I think Eminem needs to take advantage of the buzz around him since Kamikaze and Killshot, and release another album in 2019. He can keep it short once again if needed, to make sure it's all fire. But he needs to make sure the album has 2-3 potential hit songs, some uplifting songs like Lose Yourself, Sing For The Moment, Till I Collapse, or even Not Afraid. Those are the tracks that stand the test of time and that everybody love. Of course they're not easy songs to top, but now is the best time to release more music like that. And Eminem should probably work with Dre for a couple tracks, now is the right time, not when he's 60 lol. When's the last time Dre actually produced a track that's available to the public?

 

[YNWA14]

I've got a few songs on the list from Kamikaze in rotation that I think I'll always like. Lucky You, Kamikaze, Fall and Stepping Stone are all great and will last IMO. I ranked Kamikaze pretty high on my list of his albums actually.

 

[Mach85]

I've got a few songs on the list from Kamikaze in rotation that I think I'll always like. Lucky You, Kamikaze, Fall and Stepping Stone are all great and will last IMO. I ranked Kamikaze pretty high on my list of his albums actually.

I don't like doing album rankings until a couple years after the fact so that the effects of time can take place (Encore looks better to me since it came out and the extreme disappointment over Puke/My 1st Single/Big Weenie wore off some and I was able to recognize them as a result of a rush/troll job over the leak of what became the bonus tracks). But I think it's safe to say it's gonna be in tier 2 for me. My rankings, in order:

TES
MMLP
SSLP

Relapse
Kamikaze
MMLP2 (including bonus tracks)

Recovery
Encore (this is in tier 2 if we replace above tracks with bonus tracks)

Revival

Not that I think Revival is trash, I liked it more than most, it's just clearly my least favourite of his albums.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

I find it hard to rank Kamikaze as his albums have always been so personal, and this album was so unlike any one he’s done before. Other than Stepping Stone.