Eminem's Peak (In Every Sense)...

[danny-mcf]

Slim Shady LP the greatest
The Marshall Mathers was a classic
The Eminem Show was fantastic
But Encore just didn't have the caliber to match it

[EminemBase]

^ It had more inventive concepts but the premise and execution of MMLP steamrolls SSLP ten times over. It's a much bigger and more important album.

The Slim Shady LP is a GREAT album but it's not a masterpiece, MMLP is.

Don't see how you can say it's bigger/more important...it's the more famous and popular album amongst the mainstream, but SSLP is what got him big. It was the catalyst to his entire career (well, actually the EP was...but the EP was the framework for the LP).

SSLP is a masterpiece. MMLP is an album targeted at all the fallout from the SSLP. It's Eminem becoming a target that shoots back.

Without the SSLP, there would be no MMLP...in ANY way you want to look at it.

It's bigger and more important in every way.

As an album, as a piece of art - historically, musically. It's more coherent, more focused, has more of an aim and means more due to it being reactionary.

SSLP is not a masterpiece. A masterpiece has to have some directive aim. SSLP is a collection of creative, edgy songs. MMLP is a masterpiece.

He consumes every criticism and becomes it for an entire album. It's a powerhouse of an album, a single-vision, complete (wonderful) bigotry on record. It's more aware, more political, more assured. It's a better album and an incredible achievement and by far the biggest and most accurate example of Eminem's genius in one offering.

It's everything about it too. Aside from just the music / lyrics, it's the timing of it also. It was like its own movement, as a single album. SSLP wasn't that. SSLP was him embodying certain ideas and mindsets and creating edgy music, just to create it.

MMLP, he has a world-stage focusing on him. The entire premise of the album, of him becoming whatever you say he is, the way he did that for a whole album in that way, it blows SSLP out of the water. It's not just a collection of songs, it's a masterpiece.

I remember seeing a critic say MMLP was the first hip-hop album to 'assume World Wide attention' too, which is a brilliant point. The fact that he assumed the world was listening - Which they were, but partly because he acted like they were. Because he wasn't HUGE after SSLP. He was getting there, but the fact he knew he would be THAT huge by album #2, and assumed all that and created MMLP in that way speaks volumes of his astuteness as an artist. Very calculated.

[NicoleEM]

He does look a bit tired or smth,but considering he had a live band backing him up ,instead of a cd,i think he did very good.Plus at the end the band kind of messed it up

[Elision]

Not lyrically.

And I fucking hate how dead-silent the crowd is in this

[shadysecret]

I really can't wait for the biggest song in 10 years this Christmas.

Please.

[EminemBase]

I was never a fan of this performance, the audience did fuck all with regards to responding to the epicness of that song.

Lmao why do people always focus on the audience.

Whenever I see performance comments it's nearly always with people bitching about the audience. I couldn't give a fuck about the audience, in fact it wouldn't bother me if there wasn't one lmao.

Also that was the Grammy's, it's more of a reserved vibe. You're not going to have people climbing over cages and screaming. It's an award ceremony, they acted as you'd expect them to act. To anything. And the performance was intentionally laid back, kind of stripped down and 'lecture-like'.

I like the performances for... the performances. Not for annoying screaming fans.

[EminemBase]

I really can't wait for the biggest song in 10 years this Christmas.

Please.

Am pretty sure Alex was referring to "I Need a Doctor".

I hope not as, saying that song would be the biggest or even one of the biggest of the last TEN YEARS is a fucking absurd statement.

It's a good song but that's ridiculous, it's not even close. But, hopefully he was referring to something else. But the fact Em is working on Detox and Alex Da Kid produced that song, and then it leaked and... Had that big chorus etc. - Seems likely he's referring to that.

[EminemBase]

^ That was the Grammy's, it's more of a reserved vibe. You're not going to have people climbing over cages and screaming. It's an award ceremony, they acted as you'd expect them to act. To anything. And the performance was intentionally laid back, kind of stripped down and 'lecture-like'.

When have you ever seen an audience in an environment like that yelling and going nuts lmao? they're not all there to see Eminem. It's a general audience, AND a higher class audience. Or at least a more reserved audience / environment. It's a ceremony with an air of class, not a concert.

[EminemBase]

lol Yeah I know, I guess he shouldn't perform such good songs at events like that

I don't mind it, I prefer it.

I'd rather see a respectable response like that, people bobbing along with all the focus on the performance as opposed to annoying as fuck 12 year old girls with Eminem painted faces screaming and crying. And guys awkwardly half-mouthing as the camera swings by them.

[Emadyville]

Very much at his peak, tho I would have argued then that no matter what em did in the future reaching that level of respect, popularity, sales, etc. would forever be unattainable to that level.

[AJS2050]

I've always seen Nov 2002-Feb 2003 as Eminem at his peak.

I don't think the world has ever or will ever see a musician as big as Eminem was during that period of time. How can anyone compete with the #1 Album, #1 Movie & #1 Single. Not to mention The Eminem Show still in the top 10 after months plus an Oscar and many Grammys.

I think this video of him on TRL in late 2002 speaks for itself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ter92m9e2JY

[EminemInsider]

^ It had more inventive concepts but the premise and execution of MMLP steamrolls SSLP ten times over. It's a much bigger and more important album.

The Slim Shady LP is a GREAT album but it's not a masterpiece, MMLP is.

Don't see how you can say it's bigger/more important...it's the more famous and popular album amongst the mainstream, but SSLP is what got him big. It was the catalyst to his entire career (well, actually the EP was...but the EP was the framework for the LP).

SSLP is a masterpiece. MMLP is an album targeted at all the fallout from the SSLP. It's Eminem becoming a target that shoots back.

Without the SSLP, there would be no MMLP...in ANY way you want to look at it.

It's bigger and more important in every way.

As an album, as a piece of art - historically, musically. It's more coherent, more focused, has more of an aim and means more due to it being reactionary.

SSLP is not a masterpiece. A masterpiece has to have some directive aim. SSLP is a collection of creative, edgy songs. MMLP is a masterpiece.

He consumes every criticism and becomes it for an entire album. It's a powerhouse of an album, a single-vision, complete (wonderful) bigotry on record. It's more aware, more political, more assured. It's a better album and an incredible achievement and by far the biggest and most accurate example of Eminem's genius in one offering.

It's everything about it too. Aside from just the music / lyrics, it's the timing of it also. It was like its own movement, as a single album. SSLP wasn't that. SSLP was him embodying certain ideas and mindsets and creating edgy music, just to create it.

MMLP, he has a world-stage focusing on him. The entire premise of the album, of him becoming whatever you say he is, the way he did that for a whole album in that way, it blows SSLP out of the water. It's not just a collection of songs, it's a masterpiece.

I remember seeing a critic say MMLP was the first hip-hop album to 'assume World Wide attention' too, which is a brilliant point. The fact that he assumed the world was listening - Which they were, but partly because he acted like they were. Because he wasn't HUGE after SSLP. He was getting there, but the fact he knew he would be THAT huge by album #2, and assumed all that and created MMLP in that way speaks volumes of his astuteness as an artist. Very calculated.

Blah blah blah blah blah. What a load of crap. "More coherent, more focused, more *insert raving term of critical acclaim here* this, more *insert another raving term of critical acclaim here* that"...huh? Meaningless dribble.

Yeah, MMLP was a bigger album; of course it was. Eminem had established himself as a new star prior to that release. SSLP was the debut of a white rapper nobody had ever heard of. He couldn't respond to media criticism on SSLP because nobody was criticizing him yet...and yet...he unknowingly did with "Role Model" anyway, which is pretty telling. I think he knew what was going to happen in the back of his mind.

SSLP is better lyrically and has a variety of concepts. MMLP is mostly based on a single premise that wouldn't even exist if not for SSLP. MMLP may be considered "more important" to popular music history, but to Eminem, no way.