Honestly, I've got a ton of issues with this album and while it isn't as bad as his previous album Revival, it also rubbed me the wrong way for completely different reasons than Revival. I want to preface this with saying that his late 90s and early 2000s records were some of my favorites and he has certainly earned his legend status, but it is getting hard to reconcile that fact with the reality that he simply hasn't put out a good record in nearly 15 years for me.

With that said, I'll say what I liked. Em is technically on point again. His flows are insane and prove why he's one of the most untouchable rappers alive from a technical standpoint. Additionally, Lucky You with the criminally under rated Joyner Lucas is amazing. Definitely a high point for him this decade.

Now, here my overarching view of why I inevitably don't like it. The concept for this album is essentially Eminem agreeing that his last record was bad, then attacking everyone who had the nerve to say it before him. It's a garbage concept for a record and it's why I can't get behind it. I'm tired of getting albums like this from him. It's designed to court controversy by attacking artists that quite frankly, are more relevant than him while failing to learn the lessons from the albums that he is defending. There is nearly zero content with longevity here. I could go into it more, but I consider tracks like Stepping Stone and Venom among the worst things he's ever written. The production is inconsistent and largely not what I would expect from an A list artist. That female vocalist on this album is awful.

And here's the thing that really gets me with this album. He frequently alludes to feeling like the only reason his last album did poorly is because the wordplay went over our heads. It didn't and frankly, it's insulting to me as a fan to say that we weren't smart enough to "get it" which just isn't the case. It was lazy and underdeveloped and now I get a whole album of him defending his awful previous album which grows old incredibly quick. By the 3rd listen, when I got past how technically untouchable he is, I found myself being almost angry with the lack of substance in this album. I can't get behind it, even though I really wanted to like this. It made me nostalgic for a time when he wrote well crafted songs instead of him whining about critics, his previous albums, and how younger rappers are making more successful music (even if the quality of that music is debatable). It feels vacuous. It feels like an old man yelling at the sky. I get why people like it, but Em is a better artist than this. I don't need a whole album of him telling me he's the best. I want an album of him showing me that he's still got it in him to write great songs with meaning and this wasn't it. 4/10 for me.