The Marshall Mathers LP is the third album from Detroit rapper Eminem. Widely considered by many to be his best, it reaches its 25th anniversary on May 23rd, 2025, as it was released that same day in 2000. Eminem has long been a lightning rod for controversial lyrics as well as his consistent “I don’t give a fuck” modus operandi. He’s pissed off pretty much every single group you can think of, especially on this record (which we will explore in detail in this review). He’s going after other rappers, singers, politicians, his wife, his mom, basically Mr. Nem Nem wants smoke with everyone. This album has no shortage of controversial lyrics, as there are a few that were so harsh and offensive at the time that they had to be censored, even on the explicit version. I don’t recommend listening to the clean version as it pretty much ruins the album (as most clean versions do). Anyways, it’s easy to forget how big Eminem was in his prime, which in my opinion was from 1999-2004 easily. He’s still a big selling artist now, but the guy is in his 50s and music wise, there has definitely been a decline. He’s still the same talented lyricist and wordsmith that he always has been, but some of his jokes just don’t land, and it feels like he’s really desperate to recapture the magic he had when he made his first three albums. Most importantly though, how does this album hold up 25 years later?

    After the “Public Service Announcement 2000,” skit, we truly start the album with the track, “Kill You,” which is the first of many tracks that talk about his feelings towards his newfound fame, the controversy that surrounds him, his terrible mom, and his violent fantasies towards her and women that piss him off. This album is really one of those albums that people either really love, or really hate. Eminem really uses shock value on a large portion of this album, and this one is the beginning of that, as he’s talking about killing women, including his mom. When I first heard the explicit version of this record as a edgy 12 year old I thought it was the coolest shit, but as I’ve gotten older and matured, it doesn’t wow me or offend me, I’m sort of ambivalent. I like the Dr. Dre produced beat, as well as Eminem’s zany lyrics. I think it’s clear to most people now that he’s simply playing a character (Slim Shady), but at the time people were really outraged because they felt that he was advocating for violence towards women. He was 27 years old when this album came out and throughout this record it’s very clear that he’s dealing with extreme frustration and anger about multiple aspects of his life, and that the Slim Shady persona is his way of venting and letting out that anger. Following that, we have the track, “Stan,” featuring Dido, which is considered one of his best songs. It’s a powerful and extremely disturbing track about an obsessive fan named Stan who, as the song goes on, becomes increasingly more unstable and angry, as he’s sent multiple letters to Eminem, but hasn’t heard back. Eventually, he just completely loses his shit, and ties up his pregnant girlfriend in the trunk of his car and drives the car drunk over a bridge, killing him, his girlfriend, and their unborn child. Eminem’s songwriting and haunting narrative easily make this one of the best tracks on the album, as it really shows his amazing ability to write impactful songs that linger with you long after the track is over. Eminem’s lyrical delivery as Stan, as well as the heavy rain, and his girlfriend’s seriously realistic muffled screams used to give me nightmares as a kid. The song samples “Thank You,” by the British singer, Dido, and the beat is eerie and dark. The chorus from Dido, which is actually from a happy song, takes on a completely different meaning in the context of this track. After probably the only skit that doesn’t get annoying, “Paul,” we get “Who Knew,” which is a disarmingly humorous track following the extremely disturbing, “Stan.” Eminem’s ability to change the tone of his album with the flip of a switch. Basically on this track, Eminem is saying he can’t control his fans and listeners of his music doing crazy shit to emulate Slim Shady, while also cleverly questioning the parents who bitch about his music, as they swear in front of their kids, let their young daughters wear makeup, and don’t care if their kids see movies that aren’t appropriate for them. He’s criticizing the people blaming him for mass shootings like Columbine, as instead of the parents addressing the underlying issues like gun violence, mental illness, bullying, and weak parenting, they blame him and other forms of media like video games and movies for the way their kids behave. It’s incredibly insightful and tongue in cheek, and the simple but catchy beat from Dr. Dre is a great backdrop to Eminem’s wordplay. Following another skit, we get another one of Eminem’s best songs, “The Way I Am,” which has a dark brooding beat produced by Eminem himself. This is another track where Eminem details his frustration with rabid fans, nonstop attention from the press, and an overall lack of respect for his privacy, as these things prevent him from being able to live a normal life. His lyric criticizing the hypocrisy of Middle America only caring about gun violence when it affects them, when Eminem literally grew up in one of the roughest parts of Detroit, which much of America’s citizens and their politicians blissfully ignore, for the most part. 

     Following that serious track, we’re back to humorous Slim Shady, with “The Real Slim Shady,” another classic of Eminem’s. The goofy Dr. Dre produced beat featuring the funky harpsichord and wobbly bass really give the track this carnival-like atmosphere. He goes after boy bands, his mom, Will Smith, Fred Durst, and Christina Aguilera just to name a few. The lyrics in retrospect are quite dated, but I appreciate it as a product of its time as well as Eminem’s sharp wit. His flow on this track is absolutely on point, as it is on most of the album. “Remember Me,” featuring RBX and Sticky Fingaz, is easily the second worst track on this thing as it completely kills the flow of the album. The beat is the weakest on the album, and the two featured artists are nobodies. We could’ve had a track featuring way bigger artists (which we will see on one of my favorite tracks later). I will say Eminem’s verse is solid, and the final seconds of the track make an absolutely awesome transition into the next track, “I’m Back.” “I’m Back,” has this hazy stoner vibe to it, as Eminem is basically bringing the house into saying as much fucked up stuff as he can. The beat is funky, and the most controversial line, which directly name checked the Columbine High School shooting was completely censored on both the explicit and clean versions. The wordplay throughout this song is really something to behold. I’d argue this might be one of the best songs of his on the album lyrically. He sounds hungry and like he has nothing to lose in pissing off everyone he can, especially Diddy and Jennifer Lopez. “Marshall Mathers,” is another serious track, similar to “The Way I Am,” he is looking in the mirror at his newfound fame, while also dissing Insane Clown Posse, Vanilla Ice, *NSYNC, and other boy and girl groups. His dead serious aggressive flow, basically telling people to fuck around and find out, while also detailing how infuriated he is about all of these family members and friends coming out of the woodwork now that he’s famous, when they were never there for him while he was living in poverty and washing dishes. He disses his mom and his lawyer (whose name is censored on both versions). You can hear the anger in his voice, and it’s genuine.

    The “Ken Kaniff,” skit is revolting and is something I always skip. Thankfully it’s the last one, but the skits really feel unnecessary for the most part on this thing. “Drug Ballad,” by Dina Rae, is pretty much what the title suggests, and it serves as a disturbing look into early Eminem’s struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. The chorus is catchy, and I’m glad that he got sober in 2008, as it took him nearly dying to fight the battle and get clean (see my Relapse review). Still as a track on this thing, Eminem has done much better tracks about his drug use (also Relapse), but it’s not among the worst. “Amityville,” featuring Bizarre, is another very weak song, as Bizarre’s verse is basically him trying to out-shock Eminem’s lyrics, but he lacks the charisma and humorous nature that Eminem has when he raps. With Bizarre he just sounds disinterested, and the lines are revolting, sure, but it doesn’t feel lyrically impressive or tongue in cheek. Eminem, as good as his second verse is can’t save the track, as the beat, chorus, and Bizarre’s verse bring the track down heavily. After that, we get “Bitch Please 2,” featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and Nate Dogg. The best posse cut on the entire record, I love all the verses, and Nate Dogg’s catchy chorus. It serves as a solid sequel to Snoop Dogg’s original track, as the beat is dark and brooding but groovy and all five artists flow seamlessly on this thing. Eminem, of course, completely steals the show with his verse, plus Dre shouts out Long Beach, so that easily gives it bonus points in my book. After that, we have easily the worst song on this album, “Kim,” which features Eminem screaming the entire time about how much he wants to kill his wife, Kim Mathers, and how much he hates her (spoiler alert he ends up killing her). As a concept it’s a powerful and emotionally raw track from Em, but as a song it just sounds terrible. The track is nowhere to be found on the clean version, as it actually got replaced by a better song, “The Kids.” I respect Eminem’s vulnerability on the track, but ever since I first heard this track I hated it. He also kills a toddler, as well as the boy’s father who Kim was having an affair with, but the toddler line is censored albeit pretty poorly. “Under the Influence,” which features all of Eminem’s rap group, D12, has some solid verses, but it goes on for way too long, still it’s not a bad song. The album ends on an incredibly strong note, with the closer, “Criminal.” “Criminal,” serves a final address to his critics, the first verse addressing them criticizing his violent and homophobic lyrics, by doubling down and deliberately trying to piss them off even more. Then the second verse is him joking about American societal incidents like the Lewinsky scandal, the murder of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, and Sonny Bono’s death in a skiing accident. The final verse is Eminem admitting half the stuff he raps is just to piss people off. The Bass Brothers produced beat is fun and energetic, and Eminem sounds perfect over it.

     In conclusion, The Marshall Mathers LP is definitely one of Eminem’s best albums, however as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to view it as definitely more flawed and imperfect. A big part of this album that I still like is Eminem’s ability to be the hilarious, self-aware, unrepentant asshole whose lyrics don’t only show how flawed he is as a person, but hold up a mirror to the ugly world that surrounds him. “How the fuck were you supposed to grow up when you weren’t raised?,” still rings today. However, the majority of the skits on this thing serve no purpose and slow the flow of the album. In addition, the three tracks I mentioned as my least favorites severely bring this album down, many of the references and jokes definitely haven’t aged well, not all of the beats are strong, and the majority of the features on this thing are incredibly weak. However, it’s still a solid but not spectacular album that I still enjoy for the most part today. I’m not as much of an Eminem fan as I used to be, but I’ll always feel nostalgia when I listen to this record, as it has some of his best songs.

Overall Score: 7/10

Favorite Tracks: “The Real Slim Shady,” “The Way I Am,” “Stan,” “Bitch Please 2,” “Kill You,” “I’m Back,”

Least Favorite Tracks: “Kim,” “Remember Me,” “Amityville,” and 90% of the skits

Listen: https://youtu.be/r5MR7_INQwg?si=emGb8_3N5o_V8I7D

Genres: Hip Hop/Horrorcore/Mi