Although D-12's Devil's Night managed to sell a ton of copies, most industry insiders, bloggers, and music fans attributed the success of the disc to Marshall Mathers and not to the other five members of the crew. Admirably, Eminem has been nothing but supportive of his boys in the Dirty Dozen, but, understandably, the rest of the group still felt they needed to prove themselves. In between Devil's Night and their second disc, D-12 World, the team of Proof, Bizarre, Swifty McVey, Kon Artis, and Kuniva recorded guest spots, side projects, and the like, and reunited with the white boy for another stab at the major label recording process.
D-12 World works with essentially the same recipe as Devil's Night, except kicked up a notch, thanks to far less Eminem exposure and much darker, more serious themes (although the random stupidity still manages to squeak out, especially on "My Band", the lead single that fulfills Em's deal with Aftermath/Interscope that requires him to release something stupid as his first single).
If memory serves, D-12 World sold well enough, and the six members of the crew moved on to other things, electing to reunite at a later date. Unfortunately for the group, Eminem has become best known for falling the fuck off of the face of the hip hop lyrical map, and Proof was killed during a bar fight, leaving the crew down one man (or two, if you also count original member Bugz, whom Eminem replaced after his passing). Denaun Porter (Kon Artis) found much success in the producing game, studying at the feet of Dr. Dre himself, though, so there is a bit of a silver lining.
Here we go.
1. GIT UP
Eminem and friends opt to skip the "rap album intro" bullshit and jump straight to the music. I have to tell you, other than the absurd Eminem hook, this song is a lot better than pretty much all of Devil's Night, and the members of D-12 that manage to make an appearance seem to have honed their craft in between discs.
2. LOYALTY (FEAT OBIE TRICE)
Scratch that last sentence: Bizarre still sounds as bad as ever. Even special guest star Obie Trice allows himself to be dragged down lyrically by his hosts. Oh well, I spoke too soon.
3. JUST LIKE U
Almost as if Marshall were trying to punish me for my previous comment, Bizarre gets a solo track, in which he is ostensibly talking to his kid about life, albeit in a "shocking" and "fucked up" manner. The truth is, his act turned stale years ago, and rhyming about stupid shit just to shock people doesn't really work in our desensitized world: just look at Marilyn Manson's lack of a career. Having the label censor some of the words in your verses is a nice touch, though, since it leaves an aura of mystery ("what the fuck did he say?"), but a better business move would have been to make a good song.
4. I'LL BE DAMNED
I suppose the question is: did Eminem make a conscious effort to not appear on this and the previous two tracks, in an effort to showcase his boys, or did he hear the songs and elect to not even bother?
5. DUDE (SKIT)
...
6. MY BAND
The first single. It's pretty fucking corny, as is expected. In the group's defense, though, a lot of this is pretty amusing, and none of it is meant to be taken seriously anyway, since everyone in the group is simply complaining about Marshall's success. It's not a good song, but it's not insulting to your senses, with the exception of two things: Bizarre calling himself the "popularist" guy in the group (is that really save you more time than just saying "most popular"?), and Eminem's borderline offensive outro, which apparently inspired a remix of this very song.
7. U R THE ONE
zzzz...huh? What? I'm sorry, did I just miss something?
8. 6 IN THE MORNING
Em returns with his wordy flow that has also gotten a bit stale: his random threats don't sound quite as scary when you know that the motherfucker has issues with his ex-wife, loves his daughter, and is addicted to Ambien. He does prove that he's fully caught up with not-so-current events, though, referencing both Keith Murray's assault charge and the Curtis Jackson nine-shots-from-the-grassy-knoll theory.
9. HOW COME
Marshall's hook can be interpreted as an olive branch to a certain Royce da 5'9", albeit one which is quickly snatched away by the line "we're family, ain't a damn thing changed/unless it's you". This isn't that bad, to be honest. There's a much longer version on the Interweb somewhere that includes all six members of the crew, but this shorter version appears on D-12 World for a reason.
10. LEAVE DAT BOY ALONE
I just heard this song, and I can't recall anything about it.
11. GET MY GUN
Although this song is (probably) intended as a gangsta rap parody, it still blows a monkey's paw.
12. BIZARRE (SKIT)
...
13. BITCH
The fuck is this shit?
14. STEVE'S COFFEE HOUSE (SKIT)
Please refer to the above comment.
15. D-12 WORLD
I wasn't very impressed with this Kanye West production, but I did find it strange that this is, in fact, a Kanye West production, so that has to count for something. I do have to admit that Bizarre's threat to drop an adversary "like an Aftermath artist" was pretty fucking funny, though.
16. 40 OZ.
A weirdly misguided attempt to appeal to Southern rap fans, which failed miserably, although I find it oddly appealing. Be forewarned, though: you may actually feel your brain cells dying while this song plays.
17. COMMERCIAL BREAK (FEAT YOUNG ZEE)
Young Zee, from Em's old crew Tha Outsidaz (and Rah Digga's baby daddy) fills the spot that Obie Trice had on the first D-12 album. Was Young Zee ever truly a part of the Shady/Aftermath family, though? Because, aside from this interlude and one song on the 8 Mile soundtrack, we never heard from this dude again.
18. AMERICAN PSYCHO II (FEAT B-REAL)
Dr. Dre still seems to be obsessed with spaghetti western-slash-James Bond theme music (see also: Jay-Z's "The Watcher II"). B-Real serves absolutely no function on here whatsoever, which is always a great thing. While the original "American Psycho" was a legitimate bid for the horrorcore title, this lackluster sequel is simply pedestrian. Patrick Bateman would be ashamed.
19. BUGZ 97 (SKIT) (FEAT BUGZ)
While it's interesting to consider an alternate universe where D-12 remained underground and Eminem retained his solo status, this verse isn't enough to determine if Bugz would have been successful in the game. He sounds alright, though.
20. GOOD DIE YOUNG
The five members of D-12 that aren't named Marshall pay their respects to their fallen comrade Bugz, in a touching effort that is a nice change of pace for the crew. It's a case of "too little, too late", though.
The following is listed as a bonus track.
21. KEEP TALKIN'
Meh.
FINAL THOUGHTS: D-12 World is a conceptual mess. The issue that I had with Devil's Night, in which the white boy was the most distinguishable artist that wasn't named Bizarre, returns tenfold, as it seems that the other four rappers blend together even more so than ever before. The beats have been upgraded, and the themes are darker and more mature, but it's hard to sit through this disjointed effort. D-12 World is ultimately a disappointment.
BUY OR BURN? You don't really need to have any version of this album, whether it be in a physical form or as data on your hard drive, but if you feel differently for some godforsaken reason, a burn is sufficient. I wouldn't go out of my way, though.
BEST TRACKS: "Git Up"; "How Come"; "40 Oz."
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Eminem and D-12's previous adventures can be found by clicking here.
D-12 World works with essentially the same recipe as Devil's Night, except kicked up a notch, thanks to far less Eminem exposure and much darker, more serious themes (although the random stupidity still manages to squeak out, especially on "My Band", the lead single that fulfills Em's deal with Aftermath/Interscope that requires him to release something stupid as his first single).
If memory serves, D-12 World sold well enough, and the six members of the crew moved on to other things, electing to reunite at a later date. Unfortunately for the group, Eminem has become best known for falling the fuck off of the face of the hip hop lyrical map, and Proof was killed during a bar fight, leaving the crew down one man (or two, if you also count original member Bugz, whom Eminem replaced after his passing). Denaun Porter (Kon Artis) found much success in the producing game, studying at the feet of Dr. Dre himself, though, so there is a bit of a silver lining.
Here we go.
1. GIT UP
Eminem and friends opt to skip the "rap album intro" bullshit and jump straight to the music. I have to tell you, other than the absurd Eminem hook, this song is a lot better than pretty much all of Devil's Night, and the members of D-12 that manage to make an appearance seem to have honed their craft in between discs.
2. LOYALTY (FEAT OBIE TRICE)
Scratch that last sentence: Bizarre still sounds as bad as ever. Even special guest star Obie Trice allows himself to be dragged down lyrically by his hosts. Oh well, I spoke too soon.
3. JUST LIKE U
Almost as if Marshall were trying to punish me for my previous comment, Bizarre gets a solo track, in which he is ostensibly talking to his kid about life, albeit in a "shocking" and "fucked up" manner. The truth is, his act turned stale years ago, and rhyming about stupid shit just to shock people doesn't really work in our desensitized world: just look at Marilyn Manson's lack of a career. Having the label censor some of the words in your verses is a nice touch, though, since it leaves an aura of mystery ("what the fuck did he say?"), but a better business move would have been to make a good song.
4. I'LL BE DAMNED
I suppose the question is: did Eminem make a conscious effort to not appear on this and the previous two tracks, in an effort to showcase his boys, or did he hear the songs and elect to not even bother?
5. DUDE (SKIT)
...
6. MY BAND
The first single. It's pretty fucking corny, as is expected. In the group's defense, though, a lot of this is pretty amusing, and none of it is meant to be taken seriously anyway, since everyone in the group is simply complaining about Marshall's success. It's not a good song, but it's not insulting to your senses, with the exception of two things: Bizarre calling himself the "popularist" guy in the group (is that really save you more time than just saying "most popular"?), and Eminem's borderline offensive outro, which apparently inspired a remix of this very song.
7. U R THE ONE
zzzz...huh? What? I'm sorry, did I just miss something?
8. 6 IN THE MORNING
Em returns with his wordy flow that has also gotten a bit stale: his random threats don't sound quite as scary when you know that the motherfucker has issues with his ex-wife, loves his daughter, and is addicted to Ambien. He does prove that he's fully caught up with not-so-current events, though, referencing both Keith Murray's assault charge and the Curtis Jackson nine-shots-from-the-grassy-knoll theory.
9. HOW COME
Marshall's hook can be interpreted as an olive branch to a certain Royce da 5'9", albeit one which is quickly snatched away by the line "we're family, ain't a damn thing changed/unless it's you". This isn't that bad, to be honest. There's a much longer version on the Interweb somewhere that includes all six members of the crew, but this shorter version appears on D-12 World for a reason.
10. LEAVE DAT BOY ALONE
I just heard this song, and I can't recall anything about it.
11. GET MY GUN
Although this song is (probably) intended as a gangsta rap parody, it still blows a monkey's paw.
12. BIZARRE (SKIT)
...
13. BITCH
The fuck is this shit?
14. STEVE'S COFFEE HOUSE (SKIT)
Please refer to the above comment.
15. D-12 WORLD
I wasn't very impressed with this Kanye West production, but I did find it strange that this is, in fact, a Kanye West production, so that has to count for something. I do have to admit that Bizarre's threat to drop an adversary "like an Aftermath artist" was pretty fucking funny, though.
16. 40 OZ.
A weirdly misguided attempt to appeal to Southern rap fans, which failed miserably, although I find it oddly appealing. Be forewarned, though: you may actually feel your brain cells dying while this song plays.
17. COMMERCIAL BREAK (FEAT YOUNG ZEE)
Young Zee, from Em's old crew Tha Outsidaz (and Rah Digga's baby daddy) fills the spot that Obie Trice had on the first D-12 album. Was Young Zee ever truly a part of the Shady/Aftermath family, though? Because, aside from this interlude and one song on the 8 Mile soundtrack, we never heard from this dude again.
18. AMERICAN PSYCHO II (FEAT B-REAL)
Dr. Dre still seems to be obsessed with spaghetti western-slash-James Bond theme music (see also: Jay-Z's "The Watcher II"). B-Real serves absolutely no function on here whatsoever, which is always a great thing. While the original "American Psycho" was a legitimate bid for the horrorcore title, this lackluster sequel is simply pedestrian. Patrick Bateman would be ashamed.
19. BUGZ 97 (SKIT) (FEAT BUGZ)
While it's interesting to consider an alternate universe where D-12 remained underground and Eminem retained his solo status, this verse isn't enough to determine if Bugz would have been successful in the game. He sounds alright, though.
20. GOOD DIE YOUNG
The five members of D-12 that aren't named Marshall pay their respects to their fallen comrade Bugz, in a touching effort that is a nice change of pace for the crew. It's a case of "too little, too late", though.
The following is listed as a bonus track.
21. KEEP TALKIN'
Meh.
FINAL THOUGHTS: D-12 World is a conceptual mess. The issue that I had with Devil's Night, in which the white boy was the most distinguishable artist that wasn't named Bizarre, returns tenfold, as it seems that the other four rappers blend together even more so than ever before. The beats have been upgraded, and the themes are darker and more mature, but it's hard to sit through this disjointed effort. D-12 World is ultimately a disappointment.
BUY OR BURN? You don't really need to have any version of this album, whether it be in a physical form or as data on your hard drive, but if you feel differently for some godforsaken reason, a burn is sufficient. I wouldn't go out of my way, though.
BEST TRACKS: "Git Up"; "How Come"; "40 Oz."
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Eminem and D-12's previous adventures can be found by clicking here.
A bullshit album, nothing works ok in there. Why are you reviewing an album like this?
ReplyDeleteNobody in planet Earth needs to get a taste of this.
This album sucks almost more balls than you do, bu not quite enough to beat your record, fag!
ReplyDeletei remember listening to this back in the day and its still awesome, just wish they'd release another album soon, but with proof gone i dunno if they will.
ReplyDelete