#L2H – Starring @JimmyxBoi @TDOUBLE & Sean P
If Eminem’s 2009 album Relapse was any indication, Marshall Mathers was still working to exorcise his demons. Long plagued by depression and an addiction to painkillers, Em avoided pushing past his problems, instead hiding behind foolish accents, soaking his lyrics in a bath of pop culture and making references to his drug addictions to painkillers while still working through them.
On his seventh album, Recovery, Em finally sees himself for the way he was and rises above his issues like a phoenix from the ashes. Throughout this darkly shaded album, the Detroit emcee consistently acknowledges that Relapse was far from his best work, using a spread of beats from Just Blaze, Boi1da and DJ Khalil as a background for his lyrical 12-step program. Em nimbly darts his way through tales of remorse, acceptance and forgiveness as if each track is its own therapy session, doting on his afflictions with drugs, suicidal thoughts and depression brought on by the death of his best friend Proof.
Consider it an album where Eminem uses lyricism as his own personal 12-step program. Here, we take a look at the lyrics of Recovery and break them down according to the 12-step program of Narcotics Anonymous, a process that Em may or may not have known he followed.
1. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.
Some of Recovery’s most hard-hitting moments are when Em is at his most vulnerable, addressing just how deep a hole he had dug for himself. The album is packed with “rock bottom” moments, most notably on “Going Through Changes”, where he describes waking up in a hospital after an overdose.
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
For Em, that higher power takes a literal sense on the track “Cinderella Man”, where he knowingly raps, “Shit I ain’t even supposed to be here by the grace of God / By the skin of my teeth and the hair on my nuts I skated by.” But he also sees inspiration in his daughters on much of the album, rapping, “Haley this one is for you, Whitney and Alaina, too,” on “Going Through Changes.”
3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Though he doesn’t turn directly to God, he admits to making his decision to turn his life around.
“It was my decision to get clean, I did it for me / Admittedly, I probably did it subliminally for you,” he confesses on “Not Afraid.”
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
“Going Through Changes” fits the script, bravely facing his issues. “When inside, I’m dying, I am finally realizing I need help,” he raps. “I can’t do it by myself, too weak, two weeks I’ve been having ups and downs.”
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
The exact nature of his wrongdoings is the driving force of Recovery, getting to the root of his problems on the telling “Going Through Changes” (“I’m poppin Vic’s, Perc’s and Methadone pills”).
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Not exactly in the religious sense, Em knows it’s time to change his ways on “Not Afraid.” “This fucking black clouds still follows me around / But it’s time to exercise these demons These motherfuckers are doing jumping jacks now!” he growls.
7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Again, this takes the literal sense on his touching ode to Proof, “You’re Never Over,” where he raps, “So God just help me out while I fight through this grievin’ process / Tryna process this loss is makin’ me nauseous.”
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
The closest to Em gets to identifying specific people is on “Talkin’ to Myself,” where he admits to jealousy of Kanye West and Lil Wayne over their success and, in the end, encourages them to “keep ya head up.”
9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
For Em, it’s about apologizing to the fans by promising to never again turn his back on them. “I’ve got something to prove to fans I feel like I let em down / So please accept my apology,” he requests on “Talkin’ to Myself.”
10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
Like Step 4 and 5, Em uses “Going Through Changes” to take personal inventory and admit his wrongs, which culminates in Em taking pill after pill to rid him of his thoughts.
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Em’s breakthrough doesn’t happen through prayer, but through pleading. “Lord I’m so thankful, please don’t think I don’t feel grateful, I do / Just grant me the strength that I need, for one more day to get through,” he states on “You’re Never Over.”
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
The lyrical venom that Em spits on Recovery is proof enough that he’s wrestled with his problems and overcame them. “I’m alive again / More alive than I have been in my whole entire life / I can see these people’s ears perk up as I begin / To spaz with the pen, I’m a little bit sicker than most,” he raps on the Lil Wayne -assisted “No Love.”
Recovery complete.
@JimmyxBoi & @TheRealSmitty featured on @WEGOINGINUK (UK Version * World Star Hip Hop)
@50cent in GUN RULE for the movie premiere of Caught In The Crossfire.
Photo courtesy of @JimmyLe1.
Kerri over at @GoodWoodNY just finished my custom L2H piece today! She always does amazing work. Very reasonable prices too, check out her online store out at www.goodwoodnyc.com
GoodWood are the people that make the Black Jesus Piece.
@JimmyxBoi & @TheRealSmitty have won @DJVlad‘s Twitter Contest. After sorting through 30-40 videos that had been submitted, Vlad still hadn’t found a single video worthy of being featured. JB & I happened to catch this and submitted the video instantly via Twitter. Within 10 minutes we got a DM saying he found what he was looking for.
Good looks to VladTV – The TMZ of Hip Hop. Thanks for the support!!
Sean P. from the YoungBloodz is flying in for the “Million Dollar Dreams” video shoot that’s taking place in a week or 2. Stay tuned for behind the scenes footage & more…
Become a fan of DJ Farm on Facebook!
Illuzion’s new hip hop album… produced and mixed by DJ Illuzion
DJF Presents..
Illuzion-New_Beginning_(iMIX_NL_ENT)-2007-DJF
Artist……..: Illuzion
Album………: Illuzion-New_Beginning
Label………: IMixDjs / NL.Ent / sRk
Quality…….: 128kbit CBR
Genre………: Hip-Hop
Tracks……..: 18
Size……….: 58,1 MB
Source……..: WEB
Runtime…….: 1:02:09
Rip Date……: Nov-26-2007
Release Date..: Nov-26-2007
URL………..: http://myspace.com/qetoffdanutz
Tracklist:
01. illuzion – Intro (iMIX NL ENT) (1:13)
02. illuzion – My Drink & My 2 Step (Cassidy) (2:49)
03. illuzion – It’s Goin Down (Yung Joc) (3:50)
04. illuzion – 40oz (D12) (2:42)
05. illuzion – B-Boy Stance (Cassidy) (3:49)
06. illuzion – Do Ya Thang (Joe Budden) (3:36)
07. illuzion – Touch It (Busta Rhymes) (3:16)
08. illuzion – Girl With The Boom (Proof) (3:45)
09. illuzion – Thought U Knew (2Pac) (2:50)
10. illuzion – For My Clique (Pitbull) (3:26)
11. illuzion – Kick In The Door (B.I.G.) (4:07)
12, illuzion – You Don’t Know (Eminem) (3:53)
13. illuzion – One Shot (Game, 2Pac, Eminem) (3:49)
14. illuzion – That’s Nasty (Pitbull) (5:05)
15. illuzion – Ride On Our Enemies (2Pac) (2:38)
16. illuzion – Lose Control (Missy Elliott) (2:36)
17. illuzion – When I’m Gone (Eminem) (5:10)
18. illuzion – 4 Minutes (Avant) (3:35)
Comments:
All beats are original and copyrighted
DOWNLOAD:Illuzion-New_Beginning_(iMIX_NL_ENT)-2007-DJF.rar
The servers of OiNK.cd – one of the most popular private BitTorrent trackers – was raided today and the admin, a 24-year-old man from Middlesbrough, was arrested. This is a very sad day. Read more at TorrentFreak.
According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, Oink was the largest source of leaked albums in the world, claiming that it was responsible for leaking more than 60 major album releases in 2007 alone.[2] However, Oink is usually not the source of such leaks, as most leaks stem from the private FTP servers of the scene, which then trickle down to other forms of distribution. Due to Oink’s popularity, releases were often posted there hours before other private and public torrent sites.
