By the general consensus of music experts, Eminem faces a rocky road in getting his latest release to live up to the enormous impact his past projects have had on the industry. Judging by the mix of reactions to the project, it would also appear that the once unwavering loyalty of his fanbase has come into question. And as though having music critics and followers doubt his future wasn't enough, the Detroit rap legend didn't exactly sound confident in his own will to continue, as the final minutes wound down on Revival.
"They can take this fame back, I don't want it/ I'll put out this last album then I'm done with it/ One-hundred percent finished/ Fed up with it, I'm hanging it up, fuck it," Em spits on track number 18.
Hate him or love him, Eminem's success in the music business is unparalleled by any other hip-hop artist and it will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. But with sales on a steady decline since he reached his pinnacle with the popularity of the Marshall Mathers LP (2002) and The Eminem Show (2004), and with listeners having grown disengaged from his more recent content, question as to when the 45-year-old lyricist will finally hang up the mic, is one that has lingered for some time.
Over the weekend NPR released an interview it did with Em, which concludes with him being asked to expound on how serious his day-ones ought to take the last verse on "Castle."
"I don't know. I'm at a funny place, you know? Hip-hop has been around for a long time but I don't know if it's really been around long enough to see how long someone could actually go for," Em said, citing Jay-Z and Redman as two emcees who can still rhyme with the best of them. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do next, but I'm still passionate about music, and hip-hop," he said.
Source: npr.org
