Eminem - King Mathers (2007)

After releasing 'Encore' in 2004, Eminem planned to take some time off from recording his own music to become a hip hop producer for other rap acts, especially for the artists signed to his own label Shady Records. However, after cancelling the European leg of the Anger Management Tour in the summer of 2005 because of exhaustion and an addiction to prescription sleeping drugs, he entered something of a hiatus and this was put on hold. The following year, the rapper's remarriage to his former wife Kimberly Scott lasted only eleven weeks before a second divorce, while his best friend and fellow rapper Proof was later shot and killed during an altercation outside a Detroit nightclub. Devastated by both these events, Eminem relapsed into prescription drug abuse and became increasingly reclusive. Speculation on an upcoming album had been reported since mid–2007, both from announcements made by artists 50 Cent and Stat Quo, and also by rapper Bizarre, who stated that the release of his group D12's third studio album was on hold because Interscope Records wanted to release Eminem's album first. With all the problems going on in his life, and with him being more miserable than ever before, it's no surprise that this was reflected in the content of his music, with the songs sounding more serious, and often quite depressing. During a call to the radio station WQHT Hot 97 in September 2007, Eminem stated that he was in limbo and was not sure whether he would release any new material in the near future, although he was constantly working in the recording studio. He said that he had come to terms with his personal issues, but in December 2007 he was hospitalized following an overdose of methadone, and in early 2008 he began a 12-step program to recover from his addiction. The album that he had been working on was scrapped while he recovered, and by mid 2008 he was ready to start recording again with Dr. Dre producing, and following his recovery he'd started writing verses at such a pace that he often took more time to record the lyrics than to write them. There was therefore no need to revisit the music that he'd recorded in 2007, and it remained unheard until YouTuber John Banana assembled various leaks and songs known to be recorded at that time, and put together a possible 'King Mathers' album. If the album had been released in 2007, it could well have divided fans, as it could be considered an improvement on parts of 'Encore', but was nowhere near the quality of his first three albums. Luckily he found his groove again for 2009's 'Relapse', so just enjoy 'King Mathers' for what it is - an album that he needed to make to come back with 'Relapse'. 

Track listing

01 Intro
02 Careful What You Wish For
03 I Get Money (Remix)
04 Everything
05 Cut Back (Freestyle)
06 50 Ways
07 Paul (Skit)
08 Syllables (feat. 50 Cent, Ca$his, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Stat Quo)
09 Give Me The Ball
10 Ballin' Uncontrollably
11 The Apple
12 Difficult (feat. Obie Trice)
13 G.O.A.T.
14 Hip-Hop (Freestyle)
15 It's Been Real