Eminem is back in the studio working on a new album. Photo / Supplied by Universal Music
Eminem's been missing in action for four years. Now comes word of the comeback. David Smith reports
You know the world is going crazy," the comedian Chris Rock said, "when the best golfer is a black guy and the best rapper is a white guy" - whatever next, a black President? The golfer was Tiger Woods. The rapper was Eminem. Remember him?
It is not so long ago that Eminem was being praised as a rapper of literary genius and decried as the greatest cultural menace in America. His mastery of a musical form invented by African-Americans drew comparisons with Elvis Presley and his linguistic vitality won unlikely fans such as poet Seamus Heaney and novelist Zadie Smith. At the same time his lyrics, accused of glorifying misogyny, homophobia and violence, saw him branded Public Enemy Number One.
Then Eminem went missing in action. Devastated by the loss of his best friend, DeShaun "Proof" Holton, shot dead outside a club two years ago, he became increasingly reclusive. The vacuum was filled by unhappy rumour and revelation. His remarriage to his ex-wife lasted only 11 weeks before a second divorce. His estranged mother published a memoir calling him a liar.
There were still parallels with Presley, but this time in the years of Graceland decadence: he was said to be depressed, crippled by writer's block and bingeing on junk food in his Detroit mansion. With his health failing and weight ballooning, one US tabloid claimed Eminem was "starting to look like an M&M".
Little wonder, then, that news of his first album for four years has electrified the ailing music industry and the rapper's persistently loyal fan base. Just when it seemed he was effectively retired, the 36-year-old is re-energised and at work in the studio. Now it is rumoured that the album, named last week as
Relapse
, is due to be released by Christmas.
Early word suggests that he is back at the top of his game, though of course the hype would hardly say otherwise. But there is no questioning the massive expectations generated by the second coming of the one who took rap from the ghetto to the suburbs.
A taster,
I'm Having a Relapse
, has already been leaked to the internet and begins teasingly, "Guess who's back". The ensuing lyrics show it doesn't take much guessing. What remains to be seen is whether Eminem still has the power to shock.
"He's been gone for four years, which is an aeon in rap time,' said Sean Fennessey, music editor of Vibe magazine, whose readers have just voted Eminem the best rapper alive despite his long hiatus. "He's the consummate rapper, incredibly skilful and thoughtful with a tremendously compelling story to tell. He was the first rapper who transcended racial consciousness to become a pop star. He's one of the most iconic musical artists for a long time, so his comeback is going to be big."
His star began to wane with his last solo album,
Encore
, described as formulaic by critics. An alleged addiction to sleeping pills led to a spell in rehab. But it was the murder in Detroit of his sidekick, Proof, that stopped him in his tracks, as he recounts in an autobiography,
The Way I Am
, published this month. Andy Greene, assistant editor of
Rolling Stone
magazine, who has seen a preview copy, said: "He talks about Proof's death - it was just devastating. He says he took to his bed for a year and couldn't write and couldn't rhyme. He said he couldn't tour again without Proof."
He reportedly spent four days in hospital last Christmas with pneumonia and heart problems, and also put on 30 kilos. But recent public appearances suggest all that is behind him. Greene added: "There was a lot of confusion because he was off the grid completely. But he's one of the last true superstars of the music industry. If, as is reported, Dr Dre is producing most of it [
Relapse
], it will be a very big deal."
Along with Dr Dre, Eminem is reportedly working with fellow hip-hop star 50 Cent on the new album. He was recently quoted as saying: "For a while, I didn't want to go back to the studio. I went through some bad times but I'm coming out of those. It feels good ... I'm writing and producing again, banging out tracks - and the music just gets better and better."
It will have to be. Hip-hop has endured a decline in popularity since his self-imposed exile. The wider fall in CD sales, under pressure from the internet, means it will be hard to measure
Relapse
against Eminem's previous albums.
Can he still sound remotely edgy, or will even his profanities now seem contrived and safe? Will it be worth the four-year wait? The music world holds its breath for the biggest comeback since the Spice Girls. It is safe to say the parallels end there.
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