Eminem - Encore

Encore failed commercially by his standards (still went 5x platinum, but “only”). More importantly, it failed as a follow-up to The Eminem Show . But burying it as “the bad album” misses the point. Encore is the sound of a genius hitting a wall so hard he forgot how to rhyme—because rhyming had become a cage.

However, to get to the gold, you have to sift through a staggering amount of filler. The primary criticism of Encore is the reliance on "accent songs"—tracks where Eminem adopts a high-pitched, nasally whine to channel a character. eminem - encore

Eminem hesitated, then began to pour his heart out to Dre. "I've been working on some new material, but it's just not coming together. I'm trying to prove something to myself, to the world, but it's not working." Encore failed commercially by his standards (still went

Despite the mess, the album ends on a perfect note. is a victory lap, and the hidden track "Curtains Down" provides a meta-ending to his career up to that point. As the crowd chants for "Slim Shady," Eminem unloads a comical, clip-emptying barrage of gunshots into the audience. Encore is the sound of a genius hitting