2004 Eminem: Just Lose It

There's a school of thought that suggests Eminem's first three albums marked the highpoints for the white rapper and anything good after them were slim pickings from a series of diminishing returns. It's not a view that I particularly subscribe to, but on the evidence of 'Just Lose It' then the prosecution case is a strong one. The jaunty ringmaster bounce suggests that this is going to be one of Eminem's more 'comic' songs, and sure enough it is, but the opening "Guess who's back, back again. Shady's back, tell a friend" acts not only as a call back to 'Without Me', but it also inadvertently provides a high bar point of reference that 'Just Lose It' never comes close to clearing. Put simply, what I hear in 'Just Lose It' is Eminem lite (or even the work of a talented impersonator); the targets are more barn door, the humour is less sharp, the misogyny is nastier and the controversy more contrived until its constant 'Eminem themed' regurgitation blends itself into four flabby minutes of forged banknotes that are missing all the watermarks that designate quality. The cover says it all - 'Just Lose It' is cartoon bangs in place of real bullets and the late in the day 'Lose Yourself' quoting "Everything looks like it's 8 Mile now, the beat comes back and everybody lose themselves. Snap back to reality, look it's B.Rabbit" predictably (for this) fails to hit the parody target its aiming for and instead only serves to remind me of past highs and, with this, just how far from them he's fallen.