Eminem’s Surprise-Released Kamikaze Album Lashes at President Trump, the Media, and New-School Rappers

Old habits die hard, and Eminem is a living testimony. You would think that his old habit of hopping in the booth to dig up dirt on other celebrities or releasing diss tracks had died completely. Well, that was until Thursday Midnight when he released a surprise album duped Kamikaze.

Back then when he released consecutive albums that were diamond-certified, The Marshall Mathers LP and 2002’s The Eminem Show, he exploited his flaws and imperfections as well as his ticking-bomb character tendencies alongside Dr. Dre’s sounds to drop savage lines that served its purpose to the core.

Now he’s back. A decade had passed and we hadn’t much of him, at least what we heard wasn’t living up to his own legacy. In fact, some were beginning to think that the reign of this undisputed rapper was slowly dying for some of his singles failed to impress the lot out there.

Clearly, Em didn’t like the negative vibe he was getting and to square it all up, he released Kamikaze the midnight of August and his tweet read “Tried not 2 overthink this 1 … enjoy.” Not an hour after, Twitter was a madhouse. The out of nowhere release drew a range of emotions including excitement and disbelief to confusion and shock. One thing, however, remains clear, Shady is back.

Executive produced by Dr. Dre, it features some of the biggest names in the industry. The 13-track album features Royce Da 5’9 and Joyner Lucas among others and it expressly addresses the negative reaction his last album Revival received as well as the dissolution of D12.

That is not all, the tracks voice his opinions on mumble rap while lashing at the Grammy’s, U.S President Donald Trump, and journalists. It aspires to be the sort of a mix-tape that is impossible to match after its release.

The Ringer, the first track in the album follows lines that after his 2017 freestyles where he castigated President Trump, he (Trump) “sent the Secret Service to meet in person / To see if I really think of hurtin’ him / Or ask if I’m linked to terrorists”. He then goes ahead with a line that says “I empathize with the people this evil serpent sold the dream to that he’s deserted.”

New-school rappers must be restless right now. The master is back and he has dismissed them. Lil Pump, Lil Xan, and Lil Yachty are on the receiving end just like the media for the negative reviews Revival got. Now here is the funny part, he even made reference to vice president Mike Pence’s scrotum! Oh boy!

Machine Gun Kelly and Joe Budden alongside other rap peers were on the receiving end of his ire across the 13 tracks.

Stepping Stone, another track in the album talks about the dissolution of the D12 and the death of Proof, his former bandmate whereas Not Alike addresses the Weinstein scandal: “I Harvey Weinstein, a bathrobe hanging open / My code name is groper, I roleplay with lotion / I fucked on the world then I throw away the Trojan.”

There is also another track, Venom, which is retrieved from the soundtrack of Marvel’s upcoming movie of the same name.

Eminem is proving why he matters. His rap across the whole album proves that he can never be written out of history and that he is capable of showing the world that he can make yesterday’s chart-toppers old news.

The tracks are available on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, and other digital providers.

The full track listing is as follows:

1. The Ringer
2. Greatest
3. Lucky You (feat. Joyner Lucas)
4. Paul – Skit
5. Normal
6. Em Calls Paul – Skit
7. Stepping Stone
8. Not Alike (feat. Royce Da 5’9′)
9. Fall
10. Kamikaze
11. Nice Guy (feat. Jessie Reyez)
12. Good Guy (feat. Jessie Reyez)
13. Venom – Music from the Motion Picture