- Kevin Winter, Getty Images
It’s been 4 long years since Eminem dropped his last official album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2. We say ‘official’ because, if you remember, Eminem and his fellow Shady Records artists dropped Shady XV in November 2014, celebrating the label’s 15th anniversary and its 15th project. The double disc project was a hit, and featured new music from artists like Yelawolf, Slaughterhouse and Royce da 5’9, and featured existing tracks from past Shady artists like 50 Cent, Obie Trice, Bobby Creekwater, Ca$his and Stat Quo.
Earlier this year, Eminem released Campaign Speech in a tweet, announcing that he was working on a new album…
Don’t worry I’m working on an album! Here’s something meanwhile. https://t.co/QX3cdpqFD2
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) October 19, 2016
The song was confirmation that Eminem had been busy behind the scenes, working on improving his lyrical ability and wordplay – something he seems to be addicted to.
The Marshall Mathers LP 2
Arriving in 2013, the Marshall Mathers LP 2 was the Rap God’s 8th studio album. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and later became the second-best selling album of the year. It seemed Eminem had perfected the art of combining skilful, serious lyricism with light (or not so light) humour. Previous to this album, it seemed Marshall would pick one or the other. He had spoken about a previous album, Relapse, on The Jonathan Ross show in the UK, and noted that, when reflecting on the album, he had realised that whilst the humour made his songs entertaining, they would become meaningless once the joke had been and gone, and wouldn’t receive the same respect as his more thoughtful, emotional work.
After receiving yet another Grammy Award, Marshall seemed to go quiet again, focusing on Shady Records behind the scenes. But, as always, he was busy. Marshall soon executive produced the sports drama Southpaw and the crime drama, Motor City. He also made an appearance in the 2014 film, The Interview, alongside James Franco and Seth Rogen.
But back to 2017…
Who’s producing the new album?
It appears Mr D.R.E is going to doing at least some of the producing on the album. This was revealed by Allan Hughes who, earlier this year, directed The Defiant Ones – a documentary series that reflected on the friendship between Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. “Dre still records,” The Defiant Ones director, Allan Hughes said in an interview. “People don’t know this: Dre records every day. Literally, he’s in there recording songs every day. He’s like Picasso in that way. He’s always painting. Right now he’s producing, in the 11th hour, a track for Eminem’s latest album. So Dre’s still real active in music, you know? But I hear what you’re saying. It’s the truth.”
We’re yet to be informed of any other official producers.
Who’s featuring?
So far, we’re pretty sure 2 Chainz will be on the album, after the rapper posted a few snaps of him with the Rap God in June…
No other artists are officially confirmed, but there are a number of names circulating, including Adele, Xzibit, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, The Weeknd, Vince Staples, Kid Cudi and Mastein Bennett. If just a few of these rumours are true, we can be sure to expect something great. We were also teased with what is supposedly leaked footage of one of the hook’s being recorded for the album…
Producer FredWreck and singer Jenn Em posted this footage from the studio. The video was posted originally to FredWreck’s Facebook page back in March 2017, with the caption, “The talented Jenn Em layin down vocals for another for Em.”
What’s the track list?
There has been no official tracklisting confirmed as yet, however a Reddit user recently posted a list of songs that is apparently meant to reflect the tracks on the record. See those tracks below:
- ‘This is It’
- ‘Superstar’
- ‘Imprisonment’
- ‘Take Me Away’
- ‘Everyday’ (feat. Chance The Rapper)
- ‘Looking For Freedom’
- ‘Something Has Changed’ (feat. Kid Cudi)
- ‘Confused’
- ‘Rain’
- ‘Success’ (feat. Adele)
- ‘Fighter’
- ‘Sins Of A Prayer’
- ‘Bulletproof’ (feat. Master Bennett)
- ‘Sunshine’
- ‘Black Roses’ (feat. The Weeknd)
- ‘Nightmare’
- ‘Ladies And Gentleman’ (feat. Vince Staples)
- ‘Hurts Really Bad’
- ‘It’s Hard’
- ‘Lie Down’
- ‘Rest’
There’s no doubt that this isn’t exactly accurate, but it looks like it’s the best we’re going to get until the album is released…
When will it be released?
The answer we’ve all been looking for. When’s the big day? Well… we’re not exactly sure, but we know it’s aiming for ‘this fall’, so we should expect to see it before the end of December. For now, check out Eminem’s 10 minute documentary Partners in Rhyme: The True Story of Infinite.
