Eminem Hits Back At His Naysayers In "Kamikaze"

If there's one person you don't want to piss off, it's Eminem. The proclaimed king of hip-hop is back and ready to clean off and reclaim his throne with his surprise new record. Eminem hits back at his naysayers in Kamikaze, his vicious new record that drops all the pop and digs right into the core of his enemies.

"Revival didn't go viral!" shouts Eminem, mocking Kendrick Lamar on the vicious, brooding 'Greatest,' going full Slim Shady mode as he roasts pretty much every other rapper in the game above the dark, crunchy beat. Kamikaze is Eminem proving he's not done with being the world's best rapper, and 'Greatest' is the first track to really see him confidently take that on. While acknowledging the backlash for last year's Revival, Em isn't the type to just take that. 'Greatest' itself chants that he's the "Greatest in the world" as its hook, and angrily hitting back with lines like "So you sold 10 million albums, eh? Only problem is, you put out 10 million albums, eh?" and "Oh yeah and one more thing I want to mention is you're one dimension / I'm a monkey wrench and I can flunk detention." As damning as it is, 'Greatest' is him taking it easy. You can tell he's genuinely pissed when he completely (and hilariously) annihilates Lil Yachty in the 'Em Calls Paul' skit. You know you're screwed when the skits bring that much heat.

If 'Greatest' is the start, title track 'Kamikaze' is where Eminem takes off the safety. He calls out everyone, from Tyler, The Creator to Logic on this track, sometimes destroying careers and other times telling everyone who the real ones are. You really can't mess with Eminem - not only is his delivery unmatched, but his versatility is emphasized in this record, too. 'Lucky You' shows that even the features on the record pop off, Joyner Lucas going off in the first verse. 'Stepping Stones' delivers a cool beat where Em soars over, while he does equally as well as the more filthy, dirty 'Not Alike' with Royce Da 5'9". The hook is a bit much on 'Nice Guy,' but the rest of the song rolls, while it's follow up 'Good Guy' is chiller, Jessie Reyez taking a more critical roll. Em's classic reckless attitude returns above the dope, Die Antwoord-meets-Death Grips type beat of 'Fall.' The record ends on a huge note with the cinematic, dramatic 'Venom' from the film of the same title. It's like Recovery on steroids. Em delivers from start to finish.

If there's one thing you take away from this record, it's this: don't fuck with Slim Shady. Eminem hits back at his naysayers in Kamikaze, destroying every critic of his music with the same vicious deliveries they claimed he lacked on his last record. This is Eminem in prime shape, and while Revival was great in its own right, Kamikaze shows where Eminem really shines.

Favorite Tracks: Greatest, Venom, Kamikaze, Not Alike, Fall

Least Favorite Track: Normal

Rating: 86 / 100

Stream or buy Kamikaze on Apple Music, and follow our 2018 Playlist on Spotify: