True that: Eminem’s entourage, D12, released their second album “D12 World” – and a lot of people don’t even know yet who I’m writing about. Eminem’s shadow is huge, and people buy D12 records ‘cause they wanna hear Marshall Mathers give ‘em some more sick lines. It’s true, Eminem clearly is “the leadsinger of my band”. Whether they deserve more than that or not? Read on…
In fact, Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva, Proof are pretty good rappers, and there for sure way better than a lot of the other superrapper’s groups (e.g. the St. Lunatics etc.) Those guys can do a lot better than a lot of other rappers – but when you’re with Eminem, you gotta prove that on each and every track you release! “D12 World” seems to be a record where you just wait for Eminem’s bars and allow Bizarre and Co. to interrupt Marshall in his solo show, ‘cause as already mentioned, those guys are good rappers, and that’s why you permit them to do so, but besides that, it’s just Eminem at his best (as usual) and one waiting for him.
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The best example is “American Psycho II” – a supertight production by none other than Dr. Dre and all members of D12 spitting perfectly. You can’t stop bopping your head as long as the guys rap, and just when you think hey, this track is dope, Eminem drops about 8 bars that just kill it all! “How Come”, a Witt & Pep production, proves that D12 can become topical and not only discuss the usual subjects, and everybody of D12 gets his shine, again though, it’s Eminem that gets a little more, at least in my ear. “6 In The Morning” is produced by Eminem himself and brings us razor sharp rhymes that just can’t be beaten by anyone, word up!
This alone would make the album very dope, ‘cause Em’ at his best and D12 supporting him in a good way would make “D12 World” one of the best albums of the year. Unfortunately, there are a couple of shortfalling cuts on this album: I don’t know why “U R The One” or Bizarre’s wack (!!!) solo joint “Just Like U” on a nice Hi-Tek beat even appear on this record, it’s got 21 tracks! Kanye’s production on the title track is not able to save the track – the whole cut sounds uninspired due to the rhymes.
Bottom line: A good album that proves three things: 1. D12 is a good rap group that deserves more shine than they got back in Eminem’s shadow. 2. There’s a reason for the shadow – he’s just one of the best rappers alive. 3. The album is worth checking out, but too less Eminem to buy it only ‘cause he’s on it. It needs to be checked out.
D12 World
