100 Best Albums of the 2000s: Eminem, 'The Eminem Show'

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Eminem, 'The Eminem Show'

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On his third album, Eminem shifted from provocation to introspection, mulling fame, fatherhood and the psychic toll of being America's biggest pop star and – according to scolds on both ends of the political spectrum – number one moral menace. The rhymes were as densely packed and virtuosic as ever ("When I speak, it's tongue in cheek/I'd yank my fuckin' teeth before I'd ever bite my tongue"), but they were also poignantly confessional; the beats largely jettisoned perky hip-hop to embrace the power chords and grandeur of Seventies rock.

Related:
• Rolling Stone's Original 2002 Review

• Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Eminem's 'The Eminem Show'

• Eminem: A History in Photos