Returning to his bleached blonde hair for “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” album, Eminem not only returns to his old sound but his alter-ego Slim Shady.

The first single “Berzerk”, which is much like the songs “The Real Slim Shady” or “My Name Is” from MMLP, gave fans a taste of what this new album would be like, a re-visitation of 2000. But don’t be fooled, it’s not the same content lyrically as MMLP. While the album is well played, it’s a summation of his triumphs and struggles in the past 13 years.  

Leave it to Eminem to completely defy expectations with lyrics in “Bad Guy” like “I’m the bad guy who makes fun of people that die / And hey, here’s a sequel to my Mathers LP / Just to try to get people to buy / How’s this for publicity stunt? This should be fun.”
In his last Grammy-winning album “Recovery”, he took fans along on his battle with drugs and depression and reclaimed his lyrical dominance, which closed that chapter of his life.

Now he comes back to a more confident and familiar Marshall Mathers. Eminem is at his best through story telling. The opening track, “Bad Guy” is a sequel to “Stan” written from the point of view of Stan’s younger brother Matt, who is seeking revenge. The second half of “Bad Guy”, which is in Mather’s point of view, makes this one of the most meaningful songs on the album.

With Eminem and Rihanna’s third song together, “The Monster” ranks at 37 on the iTunes Top 100. With an alternating chorus, Rihanna sings the lyrics, “You think I’m crazy/ you’re trying to save me/ stop wasting your breath”. Both artists accept their inner demons as they continue to grow.  Eminem parallels back, “I am nuts for real but I’m okay with that.”  

 With his 20-second verse, Mathers makes himself known to be a “Rap God”. Besides his amazing speed, Eminem fires his pure talent and lyrical power to cement his legacy as a rap genius.

Finally, after all the years of hateful lyrics toward his mother, Mathers shocks the listeners with a song apologizing to her.  The song “Headlights” refers to their last meeting together. As he becomes fixated on the headlights of her car he raps “Ma, I forgive you/ so does Nathan yo/All you did, all you said, you did your best to raise us both.” The song features Fun’s Nate Ruess for an incredibly powerful duet.

MMLP2 is a huge milestone in Eminem’s career. It shows the maturity he’s gained over the years. Not only has he shown how he’s grown up but he no longer has to put down others for entertainment.