Eminem revives his image with the release of his new album

Eminem just released Revival, his ninth studio album. The album, which contains nineteen original tracks, was produced by Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records and Interscope Records.

“I cannot wait for this new album release,” said sophomore Ali Carvajal. “I am obsessed with all his work.”

After two years of  hard work, Eminem released the final product on Dec. 15. Many record producers, including Rick Rubin, Skylar Grey, executive producer Dr. Dre, and of course, Eminem himself, were responsible for creating this album. A number of well-known artists, including Beyoncé, Phresher, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, X Ambassadors, Grey, Kehlani, and P!nk, are also featured in the album.

“Eminem is one of my favorite rappers, and I am so excited for the release of his new album,” said Latin teacher Ms. Elizabeth Griffin.

Eminem first announced that he was working on a new album in Oct. 2016, when he released the song “Campaign Speech.” Immediately after the song’s release, he took to Twitter to address his fans.

“Don’t worry I’m working on an album! Here’s something meanwhile,” he tweeted.

In the months leading up to Revival’s release, rumors circulated among Eminem’s fan base, and some people even leaked fake release dates and track lists, which caused much commotions.

On Nov. 10, the single “Walk on Water” featuring Beyoncé was released through an audio video on the artist’s YouTube channel.  The video currently has over 48 million views and about a million likes.  The first performance of this song took place at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards on Nov. 12 with Skylar Grey on vocals. Grey is both Eminem’s writer and co-producer.

“Untouchable,” which was released the morning of Dec. 8, is another single that has been widely talked about since its release.  The song boldly attacks both racism and white privilege.

“I really like how he is creating albums with other artists.  I am especially excited to hear his new song with Beyoncé,” said junior Lily Lichtenstein.

Cara Lewis, Eminem’s agent, announced the news of a tour for this new album by saying: “Eminem will be touring next year on select dates, his first U.S. performances since 2014.”  Currently, an exclusive autographed album bundle is being sold to fans on Eminem’s online store at the price of $500.

Although the album was meant to be released on Friday, Dec. 15, it was leaked early a few days earlier.

It hasn’t been long since the album came out, but fans are already weighing in on Eminem’s new music. Some fans are disappointed and are concerned that Revival strays too far from Eminem’s original style of rapping.  So far, it is still unclear as to whether Eminem will win over his fan base with Revival just as he did with his other albums.

“I can’t wait to listen to the rest of the album,” said sophomore Nick Chase. “I love the songs that have been released so far.”