When Eminem puts his name on a project, it is bound to move units. This can best be explained by the sales of his greatest hits album, Curtain Call, released last year. With only three new songs amongst the seventeen tracks, the album was certified double platinum. Almost a year later Eminem and his roster of Shady artists return for a holiday run to the bank. Unlike a solo record however, Eminem Presents: The Re-Up, is a collection of cuts that showcase the talents of ATL-natives Stat Quo and Bobby Creekwater and Chicago-born turned West-Coast reppin’, Cashis.
The Re-Up project, which originally was intended to be a street mix tape, turned heads during numerous studio sessions. With a full backing from Shady Records parent company Interscope, the compilation album was given the green light for a major release. The unique angle taken with the Re-Up, that listeners might not know, is that the final product was complied in mix tape form. The Alchemist, Eminem’s Tour DJ and also the producer of five tracks, used cuts, rewinds, scratches, drops and drones to help give the project a street-issued feel. As a mix tape the project works. On the other hand, as an album, it falls short.
One of the two solo joints from Eminem is cut short at less than two minutes, there are an obnoxious five remixes to previously released songs (none of which are better than the original) and tracks such as We’re Back and the remix to Cry Now both believe in quantity over quality as they feature five different MC verses, none of which offer any depth.
What the Re-Up does succeed in doing is aligning several new talented artists with the winning history of both Eminem and 50 Cent. Stat Quo, the next in line for an album release shines the most as he rides solo on three cuts. Get Low, co-produced by Dr. Dre and Mike Elizondo is both hard hitting and vibrant, by far the standout track amongst the young blood.
Overall, Eminem Presents: The Re-Up is a solid listen. With in-house work from Eminem on a majority of the album, there isn’t a lack of lively and sound production. What fails to impress is the drop off in lyrical ability from one emcee to another. Obie Trice and D12 members Kuniva and Swifty offer creative rhymes and amusing wordplay, but nobody trumps Shady. Cashis, Bobby Creekwater and Stat Quo conversely fall short and illustrate their need for mentoring from their blond haired prizefighter.