Hot take: Relapse is extremely overrated
Now I’m not saying it’s bad. I like Relapse, but I like it in a guilty pleasure kind of way. I used to compare this album to 808s & Heartbreak as they were both experimental albums that people didn’t fw at the time but grew a cult following and were influential (Even though Relapse wasn’t as influential as 808s, it gave us Tyler and inspired other artists to use accents like Nicki & Kendrick). In terms of content, it’s more like Yeezus whereas I like the style even though there’s not as much substance underneath. There are some truly great songs on here like 3AM, Same Song & Dance, Stay Wide Awake, Deja Vu, & Beautiful (even Music Box on Refill). But other songs he’s not really saying much of anything and just BSing around like Insane, Bagpipes from Baghdad, Hello, Medicine Ball, & Must be the Ganja. Of his first 3 post hiatus albums, Relapse is definitely the weakest and I only feel like people lump Relapse in with the SSLP, MMLP, & TES is because it has the most in common with them like the skits and the stereotypical Eminem lead single. So for that reason, I get why people prefer it over Recovery but for me Recovery is a much more consistently good album even if it is a departure from Em’s usual style. Some people go as far as to say Em sold out with Recovery due to the backlash of Relapse which while I do think it’s true, I don’t really mind because I was never in love with Relapse like that anyway and wouldn’t want that to be his main career trajectory moving forward. So overall I’d rate Relapse a 6.5 out of 10. Some really high highs but a whole lotta mid in between.
Now I’m not saying it’s bad. I like Relapse, but I like it in a guilty pleasure kind of way. I used to compare this album to 808s & Heartbreak as they were both experimental albums that people didn’t fw at the time but grew a cult following and were influential (Even though Relapse wasn’t as influential as 808s, it gave us Tyler and inspired other artists to use accents like Nicki & Kendrick). In terms of content, it’s more like Yeezus whereas I like the style even though there’s not as much substance underneath. There are some truly great songs on here like 3AM, Same Song & Dance, Stay Wide Awake, Deja Vu, & Beautiful (even Music Box on Refill). But other songs he’s not really saying much of anything and just BSing around like Insane, Bagpipes from Baghdad, Hello, Medicine Ball, & Must be the Ganja. Of his first 3 post hiatus albums, Relapse is definitely the weakest and I only feel like people lump Relapse in with the SSLP, MMLP, & TES is because it has the most in common with them like the skits and the stereotypical Eminem lead single. So for that reason, I get why people prefer it over Recovery but for me Recovery is a much more consistently good album even if it is a departure from Em’s usual style. Some people go as far as to say Em sold out with Recovery due to the backlash of Relapse which while I do think it’s true, I don’t really mind because I was never in love with Relapse like that anyway and wouldn’t want that to be his main career trajectory moving forward. So overall I’d rate Relapse a 6.5 out of 10. Some really high highs but a whole lotta mid in between.