Kamikaze
by Eminem
  • Record Label: Atlantic
  • Release Date: Aug 31, 2018
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 1419 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,144 out of 1419
  2. Mixed: 127 out of 1419
  3. Negative: 148 out of 1419
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  1. Chit
    Sep 12, 2018
    9
    There are some songs I don’t like but the album itself was amazing. To the people who are saying that it just rap with no content, he was doing that with revival and it was trashed. I personally liked revival so I don’t know what you guys want him to do. Time have change and people don’t like his style no more. Mumble seems to be the new thing, though Eminem is still the Goat.
  2. DamonAubergine
    Sep 21, 2018
    9
    Kamikaze is a showcase of what Eminem is really capable of. The lyrical flow and content that has always made him a standout figure in Hip Hop has returned for this album. With features from Joyner Lucas, who has an extremely bright future, and Royce Da 5"9, who brings a nostalgic tone from the Bad Meets Evil era. Jessie Reyez also brings a new type of voice to Eminem's music, with anKamikaze is a showcase of what Eminem is really capable of. The lyrical flow and content that has always made him a standout figure in Hip Hop has returned for this album. With features from Joyner Lucas, who has an extremely bright future, and Royce Da 5"9, who brings a nostalgic tone from the Bad Meets Evil era. Jessie Reyez also brings a new type of voice to Eminem's music, with an equally rough tone as the man himself, but in the female version.

    The main criticism of this album has been that Em sounds like hes 'wining' instead of firing back. But the 'come and get me attitude' from the old Slim Shady era has returned and overrides any sense of 'wining' that people may focus on.

    This album is not the best hip hop album of the year but it is probably the most lyrically impressive, and certainly Eminem's best for a while.    … Expand
  3. DoomMidget
    Dec 28, 2018
    9
    I've never particularly been an Eminem fan beyond enjoying the odd track, but I very much liked this album and was compelled enough to purchase it (high praise, I don't remember the last full album I bought).
    I appreciated the anger and aggression mixed with some great beats, in addition to the rapping and lyrical skills on display. In particular, I would say The Ringer, Lucky You, Not    I've never particularly been an Eminem fan beyond enjoying the odd track, but I very much liked this album and was compelled enough to purchase it (high praise, I don't remember the last full album I bought).
    I appreciated the anger and aggression mixed with some great beats, in addition to the rapping and lyrical skills on display. In particular, I would say The Ringer, Lucky You, Not Alike, and Fall stood out for me as personal favourites.    … Expand
  4. SHantanubhati_3
    May 19, 2019
    9
    This album was a great comeback for Eminem lyrically it's the second best album of the year behind drogas wave production was superb it was short and very good
  5. amansultan100
    Jun 14, 2019
    9
    Superb. We got the old Eminem back, major respect for this man and he should continue on making music like this.
  6. ARONAR
    Jul 8, 2019
    9
    I am very pleased that Marshall returned his alter ego - Slim Shady! It was a very good decision in this situation!
    This album is clearly better than "Revival"!
  7. Kyle_Peake
    Jan 23, 2020
    9
    Awesome album with Eminem taking a step up from that noise known as Revival, only thing stopping it from being a 10 is his defenses of the latter album
  8. anikpramanikcse
    Oct 30, 2019
    9
    raw, beautiful, fierce. Great comeback after revival. wish he keeps this vibe on next album
  9. PawelSyska
    Jan 17, 2020
    9
    Amazing. VENOM at the end blew my mind. I'm addicted.
    9/10 because ten is only reserved for The Eminem Show
  10. yusifs
    May 7, 2020
    9
    Kamikaze has clever word-plays,impressive flows and flow changes,aggressive,entertaining and direct disses,impressive rhyme schemes.It has also a heartwarming song Stepping Stone and .the only issue with the album is the weak hooks in a few songs.An album from the master of craft.
  11. KBzinho
    Jan 22, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Solid album. He should’ve gave us this one instead of giving us revival. But anyways… Expand
  12. DABBINGBOI
    Jun 22, 2020
    9
    It is an extremely good album, this angry Eminem is so much better than REVIVAL Eminem and MMLP2
    His writing is amazing and lands every time, the beat is more modern which is good, it shows he is evolving and how he uses these beats better than the new gen of rappers, Best songs are all of them except for normal, Nice guy and good guy. I am tired of the relationship songs, He says sorry    It is an extremely good album, this angry Eminem is so much better than REVIVAL Eminem and MMLP2
    His writing is amazing and lands every time, the beat is more modern which is good, it shows he is evolving and how he uses these beats better than the new gen of rappers, Best songs are all of them except for normal, Nice guy and good guy. I am tired of the relationship songs, He says sorry D12 in stepping stone which is amazing, destroys everyone in The ringer, Greatest is just him flexing his lyrical prowess, has an amazing collab with Joyner in "Lucky you" "not alike" is the an fantastic collab with Royce and "Kamikaze" is a diss on ghostwriting, amazing album, extreme replay value, Must listen to. (Not better than MMLP)    … Expand
  13. flametail23
    Jul 13, 2019
    8
    A great return to form after 'Revival'. The lyrics are sharp, the beats aren't amazing but are a big step up and those flows...Some of the best flows of Eminem's whole career end up on this album.
  14. Jonsnow123
    Aug 31, 2018
    8
    Eminem is back with a response album after the utterly disappointing and infamous Revival. He is certainly more hungry and hits the mark more often than not this time around. Eminem is at his best writing with his back against the wall. However people should be able to criticize revival which Eminem clearly hasn't understood, u don't have to be a hater to understand revival is wack.Eminem is back with a response album after the utterly disappointing and infamous Revival. He is certainly more hungry and hits the mark more often than not this time around. Eminem is at his best writing with his back against the wall. However people should be able to criticize revival which Eminem clearly hasn't understood, u don't have to be a hater to understand revival is wack.

    Anyways Eminem tries to drop multiple bombs on his Kamikaze mission, most are funny and hit the mark while some fall flat and feel unjust. The Tyler diss was uncalled for, he is probably not offended by the slur, but Tyler deserves more respect than "Tyler create nothing" flower boy was a masterpiece miles better than revival. Tyler called out revival but previously defended relapse, Em seems weak.

    But all in all em blasts through with much better beats and production values, putting more or less the choppy robotic flow aside, and puts his heart into dropping lyrical bombs and entertaining hardcore fans. To say that Eminem won't make any new fans after this is an understatement. Props to em for bringing the old skits back, and i liket that he addressed the D12 inner circle beef in stepping stone.

    Favorite tracks: Kamikaze, The Ringer, Stepping Stone, Fall, Lucky you

    Least favorite: Venom(although it is for a soundtrack), Normal, Good/Nice guy    … Expand
  15. eva3si0n
    Sep 24, 2018
    8
    Excellent album from the best white turnips performers. Of course the best composition is Venom. But also Greatest with Humble echoes is other than Kendrick Lamar. And so I didn't expect from Eminem новго an album in 2018.
  16. Joel_Freecheck
    May 29, 2020
    8
    This is the roaring comeback fans have wanted. "The Ringer" is Eminem's best track in years.
  17. fireyose
    Sep 30, 2018
    8
    Is it a perfect album? No. But it is a representation of some of the best MC'n I have ever heard from Eminem. This man needs a fire under his ass to really fuel his core skill set. Makes sense looking back at his career. Always the target, and his albums, the good ones, are a shot back at the criticism. Anyway, Loved it.

    Favorite Songs: - The Ringer - Greatest - Lucky You - Not    Is it a perfect album? No. But it is a representation of some of the best MC'n I have ever heard from Eminem. This man needs a fire under his ass to really fuel his core skill set. Makes sense looking back at his career. Always the target, and his albums, the good ones, are a shot back at the criticism. Anyway, Loved it.

    Favorite Songs:
    - The Ringer
    - Greatest
    - Lucky You
    - Not Alike
    - Fall
    - Kamikaze    … Expand
  18. rynotbraun
    Aug 31, 2018
    8
    Enjoyed it more on the first listen than Revival. Wish their was more Slim Shady on this album though.
  19. jeddi222
    Sep 1, 2018
    8
    This is a big improvement from Revival! Its urgency, anger and lyricism is at its greatness here. Although it fallen short by the end with the unneccesary collab and a trash soundtrack. Still this is a return-to-form for the G.O.A.T.
  20. GustavoMizanin
    Sep 4, 2018
    8
    The best version of Eminem we got in a while. Apologies accepted for the trash "Revival" was. Those two were the phrases that came to my mind. After listening to this album for the third time in two days, I can say that he didn't disappoint me this time. Favorite tracks being "Lucky You", "Stepping Stone" and "Fall". Get ready to hear a lot of dissing going after almost every rapper you know.
  21. nbro
    Jan 22, 2020
    8
    This is a good album with very good songs, such as The Ringer, Lucky You, Normal, Fall, Good Guy and Venom.
  22. AnyThingWorx
    Aug 31, 2018
    8
    Although personally I didn't hate "Revival", I still think Em needed a return to form, especially after how unfocused "Revival" was, thankfully, "Kamikaze" does exactly that.

    The opening tracks have some really solid rapping abilities and great wordplay with the lyrics, especially THE opener; "The Ringer" with great brag rap and critical of the double standards of criticism and mumble    Although personally I didn't hate "Revival", I still think Em needed a return to form, especially after how unfocused "Revival" was, thankfully, "Kamikaze" does exactly that.

    The opening tracks have some really solid rapping abilities and great wordplay with the lyrics, especially THE opener; "The Ringer" with great brag rap and critical of the double standards of criticism and mumble rap, and has an incredible flow. And leads into the incredibly fast track "Greatest", which criticized all of the rapper who have achieved "so much" when in reality all they have done is over-saturate their content into the mainstream, which ALSO leads into "Lucky You" with Joyner Lucas, with Lucas infuriated that he doesn't have any mainstream awards, even though he's arguably the best out of the breakout rappers lately, with Em switching it up and talking about although he's arguably the greatest, he's being ignored by the mainstream in favor of the **** mumble rap we have today, and with, again, an incredible flow and speed from both artists.

    Next is a Paul Rosenberg skit, which has Paul concerned over Em about the subject of the album, and asking if he doesn't get his way, if he'll do the exact same thing for the next album, and after the next song, Em responds with an angry call and actually going to a Yahoo user's house because he didn't understand a part of Revival, both of which are funny as hell.

    Anyways, between those skis include a song named "Normal" which Em goes into account as to why he can't have a normal relationship, but goes into conclusion that he's also the same and will always have to deal with it.

    But, after the second skit, comes an emotional song called "Stepping Stone", which delves into Em's relationship with D12, why he feels bad for them, but also why he feels some resentment against them. In the end, he calls to their fans that D12 is indeed over, but at the end of the day, everybody in D12 still love each other and are still friends.

    This next song, actually goes direct with Em's criticism with mumble rap, by taking the beat to "Look Alive" and mimicking the Migos flow and the "Bad and Boujee" hook and having Royce da 5'9" provide a verse that's incredible at him failing to understand why mumble rap is so popular, which is supported by Em's verse as he calls out many rappers, including Lil Xan, Lil Yachty, and others who ride off of other rappers' success or are too afraid to go deep into the genre, overall, a great song.

    The title track, "Kamikaze" goes over Em's reaction and everybody else's reaction to the reception of "Revival", going as far as comparing to "FACK", which is widely regarded as Em's worst song. However, the execution is a bit off, as the beat is pretty bad, and although a catchy hook and a solid flow, I feel as if the lyrics could've been better, but, overall, not a terrible song. The next song "Fall" continues with this tone, but he also calls out other rappers such as "Tyler the Creator", whom he actually calls a **** which has been met with some dumb backlash online for no reason, especially considering that, A. Em CENSORS the line, even on the explicit version, and, B. Em has said "WORSE" things with the word **** so, to say the very least, people are overreacting. The beat, though, again, isn't stellar, but the flow and lyrics are much better than the previous song.

    The next two songs: "Nice Guy" and "Good Guy" both feature a "duet" of sorts with Jessie Reyez, with "Nice Guy" being sluggish as hell with insufferable vocals from Reyez, and one of Eminem's worst performances (Excluding most of "Relapse"). The subject matter is actually good, though, as it focuses on Em's struggle with relationships despite being as good as he can. "Good Guy" is, thankfully, much better, with a better performance from both artists, with the same general subject matter, though with better writing, flow, and overall execution with the production as well.

    Unfortunately, the closing track; "Venom" (the title track from the Marvel movie of the same name) isn't all that good, with less than stellar performance from Em, and non-interesting subject matter of being the best, with decent wordplay and good production, far from terrible, but it's just average to bad.

    Overall, though, a great album from Em, with an inspiration in his vocals that we haven't seen in a while (save for "Nice Guy" and "Venom"), amazing rap speed and wordplay, (again, save for "Nice Guy" and "Venom"), great features, (AGAIN, save for "Nice Guy"). and funny as hell skits that don't come so abundantly, this album is a great return to form, rivaling the quality of "Recovery", my main complaint has to be the production, which sounds clunky and lazy. But, again, a great album that I recommend you listen to.

    Best Songs: Greatest, Not Alike, Lucky You, Stepping Stone, Normal, the Paul skits.
    Worst Songs: Nice Guy, Kamikaze, Venom.

    Rating: 8/10    … Expand
  23. flagflayer
    Aug 31, 2018
    8
    Pretty good album I'd say, definitely had fun listening to it. Some songs are better, others are more "meh".

    Overall an 8/10 if you ask me.
  24. Llargotta
    Sep 1, 2018
    8
    Eminem delivered a pleasant surprise with this album, albeit falling short on a couple of songs. It is evident he applied much of the criticism from Revival, as the contrasts in sound and content are enormous, but in a positive way.
  25. MrNotMatthew
    Aug 31, 2018
    8
    As a fan, I'd say it's his best work since Relapse. In terms of lyricism and production it's not quite on the same level as his first 3 albums, but definitely makes a change from the generic breakup themes (although some tracks still include a hint of this) and rock rap samples from Revival, MMLP2 and Recovery. Still has the same few tracks that lower the standard of the rest of the album,As a fan, I'd say it's his best work since Relapse. In terms of lyricism and production it's not quite on the same level as his first 3 albums, but definitely makes a change from the generic breakup themes (although some tracks still include a hint of this) and rock rap samples from Revival, MMLP2 and Recovery. Still has the same few tracks that lower the standard of the rest of the album, Nice Guy is a good example of this. However, The Ringer, Greatest, Stepping Stone and Venom are the most enjoyable songs I've heard from him in a while. Was also nice to see a return of the Paul Rosenburg skits. If this turns out to be his last album, which is expected, then I'm glad he went out with what we know Eminem best for - speaking his mind and showing little mercy for his critics, instead of a sub par output with Revival.… Expand
  26. KodiakPL
    Aug 31, 2018
    8
    The only songs on this album NOT worth even clicking on and trying out are Nice Guy and Good Guy, both with Jessie Reyez. They are just bad and her vocals are really unpleasant to listen to.
    Otherwise, it's a really good and enjoyable album, I can give it about 8-.
  27. tr4xx
    Sep 1, 2018
    8
    This album is an improvement from "Revival" in the categories of production, content, delivery, and variety. I'm not sure where this album ranks in his discography, but it's worth a listen by any fan or person who generally enjoys Eminem's music. My highlighted tracks are Lucky You, Stepping Stone, Not Alike, and Fall.
  28. BigCFranchise
    Sep 4, 2018
    8
    His best album since Recovery (which I would give a 7/10). Beats are great, hes angry, hooks are good. Great gym album as well.
  29. tommyxx
    Sep 10, 2018
    8
    Eminem makes a thankfully quick return to the world of hip-hop, and after going through the motions last year, he is back, with beats, lightning quick bars, and smart wordplay and lyrics that is for the most part, an entirely fresh and admittedly fire album from him.
  30. orangeDoorhinge
    Sep 23, 2018
    8
    Em needed to bounce back after Revival and he did just that with Kamikaze. He comes out swinging with bars that remind me of vintage Shady. I've seen people saying that he came off as petty for taking shots at the younger generation but Em is at his best when he's **** on other people. Going forward I'd like to see more emphasis on the musicality but overall I was very pleased.
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Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Most Discussed Album of 2018
7
#7 Most Shared Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. The Observer (UK)
    Sep 10, 2018
    60
    Kamikaze finds Marshall Mathers revelling in his Slim Shady rabid underdog role, fulminating at critics, boggling at Lil Yachty, and sneering at the Migos flow on Not Alike. How riveting all this finger-wagging is probably depends upon your birth date.
    Read full review
  2. HipHopDX
    Sep 7, 2018
    78
    Fans clamoring for the old Marshall Mathers should stream the old album or hell, rent it from the library or something. After being faced with nothing to prove as the highest-selling rapper of all-time, Eminem’s found another challenge in perfecting the new style he’s put on display.
    Read full review
  3. AllMusic
    Sep 7, 2018
    40
    As sheer performance, Eminem's vocals remain a thing of wonder, which is why it's so dispiriting to hear him circling the drain, relying on old tricks instead of expanding his worldview. He has the musical skills to mature; he's just refusing to let himself act his age.
    Read full review
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