Album of the hour, more like. It's definitely better than Relapse/Recovery but does not deserve the title.
I would put it on the same level as Recovery, but it definitely doesn't live up to the name. Not with tracks like The Monster or Survival.
For everyone who is saying it doesn't live up to the name of the MMLP, in my opinion he named it MMLP 2 because of the lyrical content as a lot is related to MMLP. So for me, there was nothing it had to live up to..
Some issues with the album that bothered me: A lot of repetitive lyrics topic. It runs thruout the album. A lot of the content on here were extensively covered in many of his previous projects already. Lack of ability to produce a good SONG. Most of the songs are inconsistent as fuck... there is always something missing: lyrics, flow, a good hook, better production... Sometimes all of them. His pen game took a dive too. He just can't write songs like Mockingbird, When I'm Gone, Lose Yourself, Sing for the Moment anymore. Those songs had a flow to them in terms of lyrics and came together nicely in a concise manner. Most of his new songs don't have that at all and that's a huge problem. He over-complicates his flow. I get it, you're Eminem and your flow is bananas. But he takes it toooo far on a lot of songs. The flow comes off as forced and disjointed and takes away from the overall experience. The production is utterly disappointing + the lack of original hooks. Well that's your way of looking at it. But don't expect people to not draw parallels between the albums, especially when its named MMLP 2 and has the same house as the album cover.
^Did you seriously just list Mockingbird and When I'm Gone in the list of songs he should sound like and then go on bashing the album?
I don't think it is a bad album, but, it sure looks like there is something missing on it. I do expect more of Eminem. I think it is better than Recovery, but I think Relapse is better. Favourite songs are: Bad Guy, Evil Twin, Rap God, Rhyme or Reason and Brainless. Berzerk, Legacy and So Much Better are good. Asshole, The Monster, Love Game and Headlights are terrible. And I just heard the bonus tracks and I really like Groundhog Day. It should definitely have been included in the album. I don't know why it is a bonus track. It is much better than half of the album. Baby is good and I kind like Beautiful Pain too,much better than The Monster in my opinion. Both should also be included in the album I think. I would easily replace The Monsters, Survival, Love Game, Asshole or Headlights with these 3 bonus track. They would have made the album much better.
Don't get me wrong, those are all personal songs, I get that. BUT they are not on the same level as songs like Mockingbird and When I'm Gone etc. Like I said, those songs were good SONGS not just a collection of bars stacked on top of another (that's how these new personal songs sound to me). It doesn't evoke any emotional response from me like the older songs did. And that's why in my original post I said that he lost his ability to construct SONGS in a concise manner and that his pen game took a nose dive. I agree with mostly everything you said.
When I'm Gone and Mockingbird have not just horrible beats but sound horrible overall. And his voice on them is so fucked.
You cannot be serious. Both are considered to be quintessential Eminem songs. How old exactly are you and how long have you been listening to Eminem? edit: Just to drive home my point further, here are some more great introspective/serious songs by Eminem: Rock Bottom, Cleaning Out My Closet, Sing for the Moment, If I Had, Deja Vu and heck.. even Going Through Changes from Recovery.
Hah, sure the content might be jarring but it's serious song nonetheless. I was gonna put in 97 Bonnie & Clyde in there too
Personally I feel like that album (and the Eminem Show) has some of the most horribly produced beats (a lot of self produced stuff) of his career, but some of his best songwriting. I can sympathize with where the poster is coming from. I love the message and the rhymes but good lord that song deserves a remix. Later in his career I think it's reversed, he gets a lot more fire beats but doesn't truly own them with his actual storytelling ability like he used to. He's on lyrical overkill now but that doesn't always translate to a great story.
I said "Personally I feel like that album (and the Eminem Show)..." as in the album Mockinbird is on AND the Eminem show have some of Em's worst beats but best songwriting. I didn't comment on any other song. I just was supporting why the OP may not like Mockingbird. The beat sounds like something I made in middle school. As do most of the beats on those two concurrent albums.
Unfortunately I couldn't disagree with you more. I'd take any beat from TES and Encore over any shitty Alex Da Kid and DJ Khalil beats.