But by then, it was already apparent that he’d run out of stories to tell. By the time a sober Marshall Mathers dropped the sequel to his defining work, he seemed desperate to prove he still had the ability to shock, disturb, and amaze with his skills on the mic. The confessional nature of his storytelling, often featuring his mother, his daughter, and her mother, laid bare his deepest insecurities and most twisted fantasies. On the records that followed-his 2004 Encore, the inevitable Relapse in 2009 into Slim Shady, and his eventual Recovery-Eminem struggled to reconcile with the aftermath of his rapid ascent to stardom. The only thing the battle-tested, Oscar-winning, best-selling hip-hop artist of all time has to prove is that he’s got another classic in him, the one thing that he hasn’t proven since the curtains closed on 2002’s The Eminem Show. On Revival, his ninth studio LP, Eminem is largely fueled by his own self-doubt, a creeping fear that we might forget he was once one of the best to ever hold a mic. If Slim Shady fed on hate, what does he do now that he’s beloved? What motivates a healthy, sober, 45-year-old father with enough money for several lifetimes? The Slim Shady suit no longer fits once the outsider, he’s now the establishment.
But after more than two decades, he’s older, well-fed, and in possession of pretty much every accolade there is to acquire. In those early years, for all the controversy his lyrics caused, Slim Shady helped Mathers focus his energy, a cathartic outlet that was both messy and intensely fascinating. Dre, who spent the next five years molding him into one of the biggest pop stars in the world. It caught the ear of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. On 1998’s The Slim Shady EP, he found his unique and disturbing voice. A manifestation of Marshall Mathers’ inner turmoil, the persona served as a vehicle for his darkest, most violent thoughts and helped him step out from the shadow of his forebears to channel the darkest parts of himself. The criticism burned, and from that fire he formed his alter ego, Slim Shady.
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