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In the past decade or so, critics have suggested Eminem has been outpaced by new young rap talent. But the only emcee Marshall Mathers has really been competing against is his younger self. The Slim Shady alter-ego behind his 1999 breakthrough LP and the many hits that followed – most notably the brattish, bombastic “I’m Back” – was Mathers’ id, minus the ego. A malevolent clown persona through which the Detroit rapper felt free to indulge every forbidden thought that crossed his transom, every misogynistic fantasy, homophobic zinger, and drug-addled boast. The sort of thing, we’re told, you couldn’t get away with today. Though not for lack of him trying.
