Revival (Eminem album)

Did You Know?

• Revival is Eminem's eighth consecutive album to top the US Billboard 200, debuting with 267,000 album-equivalent units.
• The album entered atop the UK Albums Chart with 132,000 album-equivalent units, becoming the year's second largest opening behind Ed Sheeran's ÷.

Background

Eminem first indicated he was working on an album when he announced the song "Campaign Speech" on his Twitter in October 2016, writing, "Don't worry I'm working on an album! Here's something meanwhile." Rumors about the release date began in late 2016, suggesting the album would be called Success and released in January 2017, and a fake tracklist was leaked at the same time. Further rumors emerged in February and March 2017 when Eminem announced he was headlining three shows in Reading, Glasgow, and Leeds, with news articles speculating he would need to release new material for those performances. On October 10, 2017, Eminem performed a freestyle titled "The Storm" at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards, criticizing President Donald Trump; the freestyle went viral. On October 25, 2017, Paul Rosenberg posted a photo to Instagram of Yelawolf's Trial by Fire, in the background of which a billboard ad promoted a drug called "Revival". Fans noticed the 'E' in "Revival" was reversed, similar to Eminem's previous logos. Visiting the website listed on the billboard revealed a promotional video referencing Eminem's song "Lose Yourself" and other tracks, and the website described "Revival" as treating "Atrox Rithimus", a nonexistent medical condition whose Latin translation is 'terrible rhyme'. The website was registered to Interscope Records, and calling the phone number played the background music of Dr. Dre's "I Need a Doctor", leading fans to believe the new album was titled Revival.

Release

The first single, "Walk on Water," came out on November 10, 2017, and Eminem debuted it live at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards two days later, with Skylar Grey singing on the track. She also joined him for a medley of "Stan" and "Love the Way You Lie" on Saturday Night Live on November 18. The album's release date was hinted at several times before being set for December 15 via posts from Dr. Dre and Eminem on social media on November 28, which also unveiled the record's fake drug campaign. On December 5, Eminem posted the full 19-track list on Instagram, including an interlude and guest spots from Phresher, Ed Sheeran, Skylar Grey, Alicia Keys, X Ambassadors, Pink, and Kehlani. The cover art was shown on December 7, projected onto a building in Detroit, and the song "Untouchable" dropped as a promotional single. Two days before its official release, on December 13, Revival leaked online. "Walk on Water" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 14, marking the 57th chart entry for both Eminem and the featured artist.

Content

Eminem has said the album's title works on two levels: it signals a personal comeback and also hopes for a national one. The record is packed with attacks on Donald Trump's campaign and presidency. On "Like Home," he expresses regret for a past collaboration where Trump endorsed his Slim Shady persona, while also praising American civil liberties and wishing for a "brand new America" without Trump. On "Heat," he sarcastically notes one point of agreement with the then-president: grabbing women by the "pussy." "Untouchable" tackles racism and police brutality, blaming Republicans and mocking the "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" idea by asking, "where the fuck are the boots?" "Nowhere Fast" addresses gun violence, pointing to the National Rifle Association as the main culprit. Two lighter tracks, "Remind Me" (which samples Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' "I Love Rock 'n' Roll") and "Heat" (which samples the film Boogie Nights), are joke-filled songs about new romance and sex. "Framed" takes inspiration from horror movies. The final three songs shift to Eminem's personal life. "In Your Head," built around a sample of The Cranberries' "Zombie," shows regret for some of his early Slim Shady lyrics. "Castle" is a series of letters to his daughter Hailie, leading up to his 2007 overdose and his struggle with fame. "Arose" imagines his final thoughts to his family during that near-death experience, then rewinds to the moment he considered quitting rap, before moving forward to his sobriety and the success of his later work, ending with hope for this album.

Critical reception

Revival generally received mixed reviews from music critics. Don Needham of The Guardian criticized the production and focus, stating that if Eminem thinks his verbal box of tricks can overcome the weakness of any backing track, his recent albums demonstrate otherwise. In a positive review, Andy Gill of The Independent complimented the lyrical themes, particularly the berserk self-assessment on "Offended". Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph stated that Revival represents Eminem on top form, which is to say unstoppable, unbeatable yet often indefensible. The Irish Times concluded that Revival is mildly more admirable than previous outings but no more enjoyable, and that a chance to bust out of the slump has passed Eminem by. In a mixed review, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times remarked that while it was probably the best of his recent albums, he criticized Eminem's apparent lack of awareness to the evolution of hip-hop's sound. Consequence of Sound gave Revival an "F" rating, calling it ugly, arthritic, and pleasureless. Matthew Ismael Ruiz of Pitchfork stated that musically, Revival is no different from previous work, chock full of piano ballads and pop-star features, and concluded that it does little for his legacy. Writing for Vice, Robert Christgau found it much cleverer than lemmings claim, bluntly and intelligently political, but so received in its cartoon misogyny and pop grandeur that he felt irrelevance bearing down even before #MeToo killed this album on the vine; he named "Untouchable", "Chloraseptic", and "Like Home" as highlights.