Eminem releases surprise album

WASHINGTON • Less than a year after his last album was panned by critics and snubbed by some fans, American rapper Eminem caught the entertainment world off guard with the surprise overnight release of a new album called Kamikaze.

It was the Detroit rapper's 10th solo album, and it came just eight months after Revival, which had his worst sales to date.

The eight-month gestation of Kamikaze was the quickest in which Eminem has recorded any album.

Revival had both critics and fans grumbling that the rapper had gone too commercial. The artists collaborating with Eminem on Kamikaze are less well-known, but they lend the short album (13 titles) greater coherence and restraint.

In the album's expletive-laden introduction, an irritated-sounding Eminem says he wants to "punch the world" in the face.

The 45-year-old rapper again lashes out at his favourite targets: the critics, rappers who have shunned him and United States President Donald Trump.

The album, recorded in secret and produced by Eminem and his long-time mate Dr Dre, was released last Friday on streaming platforms.

The record's cover illustration, showing an album crashing into a mountain, pays tribute to the 1986 Beastie Boys album Licensed To Ill, a rap classic.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 03, 2018, with the headline Eminem releases surprise album. Subscribe