Well, Eminem is back again, and this time he brought some friends. Devil’s Night is the debut CD from Slim Shady’s group comprised of the ‘six illest MC’s from Detroit’. Over the course of this 19 track album, Proof, Bizarre, Swifty, Kon Artist, Kuniva and Eminem try to prove this statement. But unfortunately they come up a little short.
All six MC’s have adopted Eminem’s shock rap, drug abuse, rhyme style, but it seems only the originator can use it effectively. The other five rappers seem to just blur into one, boring rapper, who bit Em’s style worse then Cage. Songs like “Ain’t Nuttin’ But Music”, “Shit Can Happen” and “Pimp Like Me” are uninspired, and repetitive. Spitting lyrics like “I’ll kill you in ways you couldn’t fathom” and “we all fart and piss and cuss out our bitch” just don’t cut it in rap nowadays. Eminem has almost beaten the steez to death so hearing his lackies spit the same shit doesn’t help
Now, D12 aren’t the worst rappers out, sometimes they can even come across as dope, but it seems that every member has at least one thing wrong with them. Proof has a tight flow, and a nice mic presence but his lyrics pale next to every other member. Swifty Mcveigh has slightly better lyrics but his flow never changes and he jus fades into the background. As for Kuniva and Kon Artist, it’s hard to distinguish between the two. Both has similar flows, lyrics and even voices. This leads us to Bizarre…
Bizarre probably has the best lyrics in the whole group (yes, even better then Eminem, on occasion), but they all go to waste as soon as he opens his mouth. His retarded flow, or lack thereof, just plain sucks, and ruins his mic time. This guy should seriously think about ghostwriting for Proof. Another problem with him is his consistency. Sometimes he’ll have you laughing with punchlines like “Ten years is what I’m facin, Police breakin in my house, Lil’ Bow Wow in the basement” or ” My love is like thunder and lightning, After it’s over, I’m lookin like I got my ass kicked by Tyson” on the S&M inspired “Nasty Mind.” But other times his lyrics are either just disgusting or stupid: “My grandmother sucked my dick and I didn’t come.”
And then there’s Eminem. It seems after the Slim Shady LP this guy just gave up. Not to say he’s wack, but every time he spits you feel a little letdown. His lyrics are never bad, but they aren’t that good either. Still despite these pitfalls he remains the best rapper in the group. This causes a problem that has been appearing in hip hop a lot these days. Rappers get signed then bring their less skilled friends along with them. It happened to DMX with the Ruff Ryderz, Juvenile with Cash Money, Nelly and the St. Lunatics, and now Eminem and the Dirty Dozen. When listening to the album you find yourself fast forwarding to Eminem’s verse and consequently cutting each song into a 50 second freestyle.
The beats on the album are suffice and surprisingly produced by Eminem, but don’t think he’s turning into DJ Premier, coincidently almost all of the Eminem produced tracks are also co-produced by Jeff Bass the man responsible for the Slim Shady LP’s beats. Dr. Dre laces a handful of tracks, but only one or two of them turn out any good. It seems the good doctor heard the group rap and only gave them some throwaways.
Overall this album is a disappointment. Save a few truly dope tracks, “Revelation”, “Purple Pills”, “Nasty Mind”, most of the songs are only average. This album seems tailor made for ‘rich white kids’ as Eminem himself claims, and will probably sell well within the demographic. As for the true hip-hop fans, pass on this one, you’ll hear enough of it from passing SUVs.
Reviewed By RhymeLife.Com for HipHopHotSpot.Com
