Not Afraid? The Road to Recovery

Eminem is, for lack of a better word, a genius.  I may not love all poetry, but Eminem takes my perception of "poetry" to another level.  Eminem stands among the ranks of Tupac and Biggie, far above those self-proclaimed rappers that mar the modern era.  As far as I see it, Eminem is one of the leaders of the lyrical poetry, and is holding the genre of rap together with his raw talent.  There is a very obvious maturation displayed in his album, Recovery.  For years Eminem has only had his pain and anger from the problems with his mother and ex-wife to rap about. Now that he has gone through the hardships of life and gotten all of that out of the way he's rapping about real things. I have been a lifetime fan of Mathers, I have never fully hated any of his albums yet at the same time I felt he was just dragging on his effort.  Eminem in my humble opinion is now better than he ever has been and it shows in the production and effort he put into this album.

I chose to display "Not Afraid," for I feel as though it was the song that proved Eminem had reached the top again.   Though this was not my favorite track on the album, I find that the lyrics have an inspirational nature and are easy to relate to.  Anyway, I had planned on adding a short review of every track on the album, as a sort of ode to my favorite rapper.

1. Cold Wind Blows 8/10: This track is absolutely hysterical.  It was the first song that I had heard off of the album, and absolutely loved it.

2. Talkin' 2 Myself ft. Kobe 10/10: This song is very engrossing. I had never heard of this "Kobe" character before, but the track was very effective, and most importantly enjoyable.

3. On Fire 7/10: Awesome lyrics, and that's really all I have to say.

4. Won't Back Down ft. Pink 6/10: This song is a very good collaboration between the two artists (both of whom I love). However, I found the pairing between Pink and Eminem to be sort of awkward, but it's a decent song regardless.

5. W.T.P. 7/10: This is old school Slim Shady.  I can definitely tell that he put a lot of effort into making his rhymes meaningful.

6. Going Through Changes 11/10: This song was simply amazing. It was a suprise to me, but it melds pefectly and makes the track flawless.

7. Not Afraid 9/10: This song has been played heavily on MTV and other music networks. I felt this song was a very good way to put the new song and feel out there for fans to know Eminem was back and ontop once again.

8. Seduction 5/10: Not one of my favorites. It is alledgedly about Mariah Carey?

9. No Love ft. Lil' Wayne 9/10: The only reason I did not make this a 10/10 is because I had mixed emotions about this song from the start. At first I did not like it feeling the two didn't really mix, but then after listening more closely I found myself listening and singing along.  I may be a bit biased though, seeing as I completely despise Lil' Wayne.

10. Space Bound 10/10: One of my absolute favorites on the album. This song is totally out of the norm for Eminem, and to be completely honest, it makes him sound like a softy.  It's different yes, but it works and he set the track on fire.

11. Cinderella Man 11/10: The only other song I rate 11/10 because it has such a flow that you just can't help yourself but listen. I love the rhythm and his rhymes are sick. Great track.

12. 25 to Life 9/10: This song has a good feel and it seems he put alot of emotion into it while recording. The female vocals are a nice touch, and ultimately add more feeling to the track.

13. So Bad 6/10: Decent lyrics, yet for some reason the song doesn't quite feel the same as the rest of the album.  I cannot help but think that it might have been a filter track.

14. Almost Famous 10/10: This track just makes me want to get up and start moshing. The beat is sick, so mad props to the producer. The lyrics are very good as well as he takes many shots at himself for his previous failures in music.

15. Love The Way You Lie ft Rihanna 6/10: This may be an unpopular opinion, but there is just something about Rihanna that I despise.

16. You're Never Over 10/10: This gets a 10 because it is a very heart filled and melodic tribute to Proof of D12. Eminem made an effort to tribute Proof every chance he had. This song was not at all hard to listen to and may possibly have meaning to others.

17. Untitled (Here We Go) 5/10: I'm not actually sure why this track was added to the album.  I feel as though Eminem should have ended the album with "You're Never Over," but that is just my opinion. 

Eminem is a truly talented, truly inspirational artist, and I hope that his career and works continue to flourish.