By Pantho Sayed
Kamikazes are ingrained in the American psyche. Japanese pilots flew explosive-laden jets into American battleships, killing themselves and thousands of sailors while traumatizing the survivors.
The pilots were told that their sacrifices would give them and their nation honor. The truth was that kamikazes were a last-ditch attempt by the Japanese military to turn the tide of the war. However, Japan lost and the kamikazes died in vain.
The famous, perhaps infamous, rap artist Eminem helped to define American music. Fans love hits like “Not Afraid,” “Rap God” and “Lose Yourself.”
But the once proud king of rap has faded. Rappers like Drake, Kendrick Lamar and a smorgasbord of Lil’s have taken over the rap scene.
Like a kamikaze, Eminem dropped his album about a week and a half ago with no warning.
The first song starts with the sound of a plane crash. In the first few verses, Eminem explodes into fiery disses against his critics and other rappers.
He does not hold back in his mocking of Lil’ Yachty, Tyler the Creator, Lil’ Pump and many others.
Does Kamikaze herald Eminem’s return? Is it a subpar album in an oversaturated genre? Or is it the last gasp of controversy from an artist who really needs to retire?
Kamikaze is a short album. Eminem’s previous albums, Revival, Marshal Mathers LP2 and Recovery, had around 20 tracks each. By comparison, Kamikaze has 13 songs and lasts a total 45 minutes, and two of the tracks are half-minute narrations. However, it does seem fitting for an album called Kamikaze to be short but volatile.
On a track-by-track basis, Kamikaze has solid moments juxtaposed with songs where Eminem falters.
His most explosive disses featured on “The Ringer,” followed by “Greatest,” where Eminem boasts about his skill compared to his haters. “Lucky You” features Joyner Lucas, and the track ends up sounding more like Lucas’ than Eminem’s.
“Normal” takes a break from Kamikaze’s theme of incendiary assaults on haters and focuses on Eminem’s failed romance. The two narrations “Paul — Skit” and “Em Calls Paul — Skit” each detail a call between Eminem and his manager, Paul Rosenberg.
“Stepping Stone” is the most vibrant track on the album, detailing Eminem’s past with D12 with a refreshingly sentimental tone.
“Not Alike” featuring Royce da 5’9,” sounds like Migos and 21 Savage had a child. “Kamikaze” has a wilder and more frenzied sound reminiscent of Eminem’s Slim Shady days.
“Fall” features some more disses and boasting.
“Nice Guy” with Jessie Reyez is a mix of shrieking and mindless lyrics that hurts to listen to.
However, it seamlessly transitions to “Good Guy,” with Eminem and Reyez performing much better with the subject of romancing women. Kamikaze shuts off by promoting Sony with “Venom (Music from the Motion Picture),” which would have stood out far more with a different title.
It is good that Eminem hasn’t turned into a mumble rapper drowning in autotune. He keeps his signature style of extremely fast-paced intense rap, mixing in dozens of metaphors.
Eminem is just as angry as he’s always been. Homophobic slurs have appeared often in his music. Eminem has always had controversial lyrics (like about killing his wife), and no one should expect him to change that.
That said, Kamikaze has glaring flaws. The beats are uninspired and sound like those of any high schooler on SoundCloud. They don’t stand out with catchy hooks and riffs like previous hits “Lose Yourself” or “Love The Way You Lie.”
“Nice Guy” is outright terrible. “Paul – Skit” nicely comments on the album and the way Eminem disses everyone, but its follow-up negates such self-reflection.
“Stepping Stone,” “Normal,” “Kamikaze” and “Good Guy” inject real emotion and show some old school Slim Shady that could stand with his classics.
But the other songs are forgettable. It is hard to find what makes each track different. They might be slightly memorable after a dozen listens or so, but the lyrics aren’t compelling enough to warrant that.
There’s no reason to care about the album unless Eminem dissed you directly.
So where does Kamikaze stand? Like its namesake, the album delivers shock value and intensity, but the incendiary lyrics fade as its uninspired and forgettable nature shows.
Eminem spends too much time trying to boast and brag about his greatness, as if he’s trying to convince himself rather than his listeners. Eminem’s greatest work is in the past.
“Stepping Stone” is the only track that stands out on the album. All signs seem to show that this isn’t the last of Eminem, but Kamikaze won’t be the album that takes back his throne.
In his quest to fight back against the artists who usurped him, Eminem needs to be careful not to become one of them.
