• ' Released: August 27, 2013 • ' Released: October 8, 2013 • ' Released: October 15, 2013 • ' Released: October 29, 2013 • ' Released: February 5, 2014 The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is the eighth studio album by American rapper. It was released on November 5, 2013 by, and.

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP2 [iTunes Matched].zip. #Kings Never Die. Saransk, Russia. 2# The Marshall Mathers LP - ©2000.rar. Marshall Mathers.

It serves as a sequel to (2000). The album's and its recording sessions were conducted from 2012 to 2013, involving Eminem himself, along with several including,,, and. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 features from singers,,, and rapper. The album title was revealed during the on August 25, 2013, alongside a preview of the ', which subsequently peaked at number 3 on the US. It was followed by two more singles: ' and '. The former debuted at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the latter debuted at number 7 and became certified triple platinum by (RIAA) in the United States.

' featuring Rihanna, was released as the album's fourth single on October 29, 2013. It went number one in several countries and was certified triple platinum in the United States.

The album's fifth single, ' featuring Ruess, was released on February 5, 2014. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 received positive reviews from, who praised Eminem's technical rapping abilities and production choices. The album marked an improvement in reception over some of Eminem's previous three albums, and was named on multiple 'Albums of the Year' year-end lists. It also debuted at number one on the US and was the second-best selling album sales of 2013. As of early 2014, the album has sold 3.8 million copies worldwide. The album won the at the.

'Calling it The Marshall Mathers LP 2, obviously I knew that there might be certain expectations. I wouldn't want to call it that just for the sake of calling it that. I had to make sure that I had the right songs – and just when you think you got it, you listen and you're like, 'Fuck, man. I feel like it needs this or that,' to paint the whole picture.

So there's not gonna be, like, continuations of every old song on there or anything like that. To me, it's more about the vibe, and it's more about the nostalgia.' — Eminem, speaking about the album's title with On May 24, 2012, Eminem revealed that he has been working on his next album, during an interview on Hot 97's morning show with Peter Rosenberg.

On June 30, 2012, Eminem talked about the album with, on his own radio station,. He stated that the material was taking shape, and that will be involved in some way. Eminem explained: 'I usually get going and kind of start going a certain direction and just record what I'm feeling.

Then I'll go see Dre and fill in some of those pieces.' On August 1, 2012, Nick Craig interviewed Eminem on, where he explained that he was working on the album, but was focused on finishing 's Shady Records debut, On August 10 however, Eminem appeared on Shade 45 and told: 'We actually just finished the [Slaughterhouse] album last week. Now I've got time to be able to start doing things for my own project.'

Appeared on 's RapFix, hosted by Calloway, with his group Slaughterhouse, on August 30, 2012, and talked about Eminem's album. Royce confessed: 'Marshall is the studio right now, laying the most awesome lyrics in the world. I'm not so sure how the world is going to respond from some of the things that I've heard from him.' On February 8, 2013, president and Eminem's manager told that Eminem's eighth studio album would be released after, 2013 (May 27). 'We fully expect to be releasing a new Eminem album in 2013.

He's been working on it for some time,' said Rosenberg. 'It's safe to say that it will be post-Memorial Day at some point, but we're not exactly sure when. We've got some dates locked in for him to perform live in Europe in August, so we're trying to see what else lines up.'

On March 22, 2013, during an interview with, Dr. Dre said that he was working with Eminem, and that Eminem was 'finishing up his project.' On June 17, 2013, Shady Records producer appeared on RapFix Live, and tweeted to shadygodz (One of the Stan fans aka Sanket Kale Mathers) about Eminem's upcoming album: 'That's my boss. I DJ for him and I'm not at liberty to speak on much, but you know his caliber and what he does. Clearly going to further territories. I think what you would expect, especially after the last go-round.

He was just getting his feet back on and then Recovery just came with the smash hits and everything and I think now — he's Eminem.' Prior to the announcement of the album's name, it was named to multiple 'Most Anticipated Albums of 2013' lists; including MTV, where it was listed in sixth position (and later on in second); and, where it was listed in fifth. Recording and production [ ].

(left) and (right) served as the album's executive producers. On June 17, 2013, producer told: 'I've been working on Eminem's new album and I'm very excited about that.' The track list reveal showed ' as the opening track, and S1 confirmed that he and vocalist, one half of S1's duo The Dividends, are featured on the song. He also credited Aussie and Streetrunner as co-producers.

M-Phazes himself confirmed this in an October 2013 interview. Tim Riley, vice president of music affairs at, explained to Billboard in August 2013 that he was contacted by Eminem's manager Rosenberg in March to partner Eminem with.

In June, Riley and members of his team flew to Detroit to meet Eminem and Rosenberg. The team was showcased a 'handful' of songs, while Eminem was shown early concept art and gameplay footage of Ghosts. 'Survival' was picked as the best-fitting song, but the final version differed vastly from the earliest version of the track. Over the next couple of months, Eminem turned in five successive versions of the song, each one 'bigger and more anthemic sounding than the last.'

– The final version was turned in only a day before its reveal on August 14. In a behind the scenes video for 'Berzerk', released in October 2013, Rubin explained that he met Rosenberg a few years back and that they had discussed the possibility of him and Eminem working together.

He stated that the idea of 'throwback' song to earlier hip hop recordings was an idea conceived later in the creative process of the album. He noted that initial sample the song was built around ended up not being used, and that the final product differs greatly from the original. In an October 2013 interview with MTV, said that the instrumental for 'Rap God' had been in the making two years prior to the track's release. While the instrumental had been offered to rappers such as and, the producer didn't feel the record fit their music. He estimated that Shady Records got hold of the instrumental around Fall 2012, and DVLP himself did not hear 'Rap God' until Eminem phoned him after its release.

The idea of a sequel to The Marshall Mathers LP came about after Eminem recorded a handful of songs in the early stages of the creation of the album that reminded him and his friends, namely Rosenberg, of Eminem's earlier recordings; ' The more I listened to it, the more it made sense to call it that,' said Eminem. Eminem also wanted to experiment with 'retro, vintage' sounds such as beatbreaks and scratches, and he felt that Rubin could help him 'take that to another level.' Is featured on the track 'The Monster', marking the pair's fourth collaboration following the worldwide hit, ', its sequel ' and '., with whom Eminem previously collaborated on ' from Eminem's previous studio effort, (2010), was featured on the song 'The Monster'. On September 11, 2013, she hinted at the collaboration on Twitter: 'Just left the studio. Recorded a #monster hook for one of my favorite artists!

And that's all I can give you. Upon the track list announcement, Staten Island singer Bebe Rexha revealed on Twitter that she had co-written the Rihanna collaboration featured on the album. Rexha recorded 'The Monster' in November 2012 in Harlem's Stadium Red studio while working on her debut album. The producer of the track,, auditioned records for Shady Records VP of A&R Riggs Morales, who 'freaked out' upon hearing 'The Monster', instantly requesting for the verses to be stripped and sessions sent to Eminem. Eminem added his own verses and tweaked the instrumental, while keeping Rexha's backing vocals. The song was revealed to be a part of the album with the reveal of the track listing. In an October 2013 interview, Rexha claimed that she said 'This is an Eminem record, y'all' while standing in the booth after she recorded the chorus, and that she 'know[s] when [Eminem] heard it, it spoke to him.'

Rapper and fellow Aftermath Entertainment artist, who toured with Eminem in 2013, was featured on 'Love Game', while the frontman of the band was featured on '., a frequent Eminem collaborator since Recovery was featured on the song 'Asshole'. In an October 2013 interview with, 'Love the Way You Lie' producer revealed that he has submitted further beats for Eminem, but said 'you never know what they're going to use or not going to use.' He would later be confirmed as the producer of 'Asshole' and two of the deluxe edition bonus tracks.

'Asshole' was initially created during a studio session with Alex and Eminem in Detroit in 2012. Grey was writing songs for her Eminem-executive-produced album in Detroit, and visited Eminem to exchange song ideas and hooks.

She wrote the hook for 'Asshole' during the trip, while in her hotel room. ' was written approximately two years ago during a session between Russian singer-songwriter and songwriter David Brook in New York. A few months later, Polina visited Interscope executive Neil Jacobson, who, upon hearing the song, commanded her: 'Don't play this for anyone. It's an Eminem record.' The following week, Polina and Brook joined Emile in the studio where he produced the song and then sent it to Eminem. Eminem added his own verses to the song, but left Polina's vocals untouched. In July 2012, Eminem's close friend and label-mate stated that he was involved in the recording for Eminem's upcoming album and would probably appear on the or second single, but ended up not being featured on the album at all.

Music and songs [ ] The opening track 'Bad Guy' is produced by S1, M-Phazes, and Streetrunner, with a chorus sung by Sarah Jaffe, the song has been described as a sequel to Eminem's ' from. 'Survival' features a chorus sung by Liz Rodrigues and production. On the anthemic track, Eminem celebrates his return over 'breakneck, arena-rock' electric guitars and 'trashy' drums. 'Berzerk' is produced by Rubin and pays homage to.

With from the ' ' and ', and 's ', the track is 'a punchy, guitar-and-beats driven song which channels ' ' and -era Beastie Boys.' Produced by DVLP, 'Rap God' sees Eminem rapping over an -inspired instrumental with varied flows. He pays tribute to many influential hip hop acts, but also proclaims himself an all-time best, with the closing line stating: 'Why be a king when you can be a god?' 'The Monster' is a 'dark', 'demon-battling' song, with the production that was handled and provided by Frequency. The track features backing vocals from Bebe Rexha and a chorus by Rihanna.

Packaging [ ] The artwork was revealed on September 20, 2013 on Eminem's Twitter account. The cover features a picture of the house Eminem lived in during his teenage years, although now the house is in a dilapidated state. It is very similar in design to the cover of the artwork from The Marshall Mathers LP; which also features a picture of the house, but with Eminem sitting on the porch, the windows uncovered and the door replaced by a screen door. On October 25, 2013, the artwork for the deluxe edition was revealed. The deluxe artwork is a variation of the standard artwork, in which the house is being looked at through a car window.

On the internet, there are many other covers. For example, Eminem sitting at the doorstep of the house and on the door it is written, '19946'.

In November 2013, the house went up in flames for unknown reasons, damaging the upper portion of the home. As of 2014, the house had been demolished and plans to rebuild are in progress. The deluxe edition comes with two discs, one being the standard album, and the other containing bonus tracks. The discs' artwork is designed after the Detroit city seal and, respectively. The album's artwork direction was handled by Mike Saputo, with photography by Kevin Mazur.

In December 2013, the album cover was named the tenth best of 2013 by Complex. Release and promotion [ ] On October 29, 2012, the 'Eminem Baseball Tribute Champ Hat' was made available on the official Eminem online store, with a side panel 'dedicated to the landmark Eminem solo albums,' and the final date being 2013, hinting at the release year for Eminem's eight studio album. On August 25, 2013, two commercials aired during the revealed that Eminem's eighth studio album would be titled The Marshall Mathers LP 2 and would be released on November 5, 2013, with previews of the lead single 'Berzerk' and its music video, where Eminem was shown with his hair dyed blond again. On September 5, 2013, it was announced that 'Berzerk' would be used as the featured song for the 2013 season of on from September 14 to December 7, and that a sneak peek for the song's music video would premiere during halftime of No. 14 Notre Dame at No. 17 Michigan on September 7; Eminem was interviewed by and during the halftime, and the clip, described as 'awkward' and 'bizzare', became a viral online video.

Announced on September 9, 2013, that players who preordered Call of Duty: Ghosts would receive a bonus track in addition to 'Survival'. The track listing was revealed on October 10, 2013. On October 17, 2013, pre-order bundles featuring a deluxe CD and various merchandise options were made available on Eminem's website. During August 2013, Eminem performed four concerts in. The group of shows featured supporting acts Slaughterhouse, Kendrick Lamar, ( & ),, and.

In February 2014, Eminem toured and on the. The four shows also featured Kendrick Lamar,,,, and. Eminem reportedly handpicked the artists to join him on tour. Singles [ ] On August 25, 2013, he revealed that the first single ' would be released on August 27, 2013 in the US. The song was premiered on Shade 45 the day before its retail release.

The single debuted at number two on the, number three on the US, and among the top 40 in many other countries. On September 9, 2013, the music video for 'Berzerk' premiered on. The video featured cameo appearances from Kendrick Lamar,, Slaughterhouse,, Yelawolf, Rick Rubin and Paul Rosenberg.

On August 14, 2013, a song titled ' featuring Liz Rodrigues, with production by was premiered in the multiplayer trailer for the video game. A following press release revealed the first single from his eighth studio album would be released soon. On October 8, 2013, 'Survival' was released on for digital download as the album's second single along with its music video. 'Survival' has since peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On October 14, 2013, the audio to ' premiered on Eminem's channel. It was then released to iTunes the following day, as the album's third single. It debuted at number seven on the. On November 27, 2013, the music video was released for 'Rap God'. On October 24, 2013, it was revealed that the Rihanna collaboration ', would be released as the album's fourth single. The Frequency-produced song premiered on October 28, 2013.

The song was then released as the album's fourth official single the following day. The song became Eminem's fifth single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. On December 16, 2013, the music video was released for 'The Monster' featuring Rihanna. ', which features American singer, was released as the album's fifth single in Australia on February 5, 2014. 'Headlights' has since peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Critical reception [ ] Professional ratings Aggregate scores Source Rating 6.5/10 72/100 Review scores Source Rating B C+ 4.7/10 8/10 4/5 (XL) The Marshall Mathers LP 2 has received generally positive reviews from. At, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72, based on 33 reviews, indicating 'generally favorable reviews.' Paul MacInnes of gave the album a perfect five star rating saying, 'His flows are exceptional, the wordplay is dazzling. The jokes, in places offensive, are relentless. There is no apology; no concession; just a virtuoso application of talent.'

Jon Dolan of the said, 'Nostalgia is everywhere. He's playing his best character, the demon spawn of Trailer Hell, America, hitting middle age with his middle finger up his nose while he cleans off the Kool-Aid his kids spilled on the couch'. Christopher Weingarten of stated, 'If rapping were purely an athletic competition, Eminem would be Michael Phelps and Lou Retton combined: pure ability and flexibility, like a bullet with only white-hot hate in his wake'. He would go on to add that 'we get rhymes more rhymes than some rappers manage in a whole career'. Mikael Wood of the said, 'Eminem sounds more alive – angrier yet fully present – than he has in years Eminem burns with purpose on 'MMLP2'. And if you don't like what he (still) has to say, there's a chance he doesn't either'. Of said, Eminem 'recaptures the original release's wild, clever, emotional brilliance in a flurry of caustic, brazenly honest, rapid-fire rhymes and aggressive beats'.

Sarah Rodman of gave the album a positive review saying, 'If anything, the sequel is more intense than the original, as the Detroit rapper explodes like an M-80. Many memorable ones to be heard here, as Eminem doubles down on his manic flow, bursting with analogies, jokes, illusions, and ingenious wordplay with dizzying speed and skill'.

Dan Rys of XXL gave the album a rating of XL saying, 'the thing that carries Em through is the diversity of his flows, and his ability to rap over anything. You're getting one with more perspective, a version which has seen 13 more years and has a different outlook on some of the same topics that he first visited in 2000'. Evan Rytlewski of gave the album a B rating, saying 'after years of stagnancy and tedious anger, he shows real growth on The Marshall Mathers LP. Eminem has always rapped with forceful determination out of compulsive drives to prove himself to doubters, cut down his enemies, and retain his commercial foothold.

For the first time in far too long, he sounds like he's rapping because he enjoys it, too.' Jon Carmanica of gave the album a positive review saying, 'His lyrics are best viewed under a microscope. To see how he gets from one rhyme to the next in unexpected ways.

He'll dominate almost any sound. But he still has some old habits, still heavy-handed with homophobic slurs.

Eminem is still rapping from deep inside his cave, as if he's had no new experiences to draw from.' David Jeffries of spoke of the album saying, it is a 'vicious, infectious, hilarious triumph. Download Liga 1 Fifa 2007 Transferuri 2012 Honda on this page. A super villain so familiar with hate and depression, he's powered by all shades of anger. Most of the best moments on MMLP2 are just as angry and just as irresponsible.

Eminem at his very best.' Luke Fox of gave the album an eight out ten rating praising the albums 'astounding wordplay and creative beat choices'.

In a mixed review, of the gave the album two out of four stars saying, 'it reaffirms his prodigious agility with rhymes. Eminem still crunches together syllables, silliness, and storytelling flights of ridiculousness with acrobatic skill' and 'The sense that we've all been here before, twice, is exacerbated by tired samples and interpolations. Eminem tries to cover up his retreat by doing cartwheels and back-flips with his rhymes'. Craig Jenkins of gave the album a mixed review saying, 'Eminem is a titan with wordplay, but MMLP2 once again finds him at a loss for how to apply his talents.' Nick Catucci of gave the album a C+ criticizing Eminem's use of slurs on the album, saying 'Eminem wouldn't be Eminem. If he didn't allot some of his whizbang homophobic slurs and misogynistic fantasies. Rightly considered a rap great for his technical prowess, wicked humor, and tenacity.

Which make his flashes of hatred for women and gay men all the more alarming.' Accolades [ ]. See also: Closing out the year, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 was ranked in multiple 'Albums of the Year' lists.

XXL named it the second best album of the year. They commented saying, 'Three years after his widely praised album Recovery, Em tapped into his former self for Marshall Mathers LP 2. Slim Shady, along with the characters and stories from the first installment, are peppered throughout his latest effort. The Rap God also displays his lyrical prowess on songs like “Love Game” with Kendrick Lamar, the tribute to his mother in “,' and the old school rap-rock ode 'Berzerk.' Em also supplies the world with another Rihanna collaboration that ups the expectations for fans every time their name is paired together. Overall, Eminem proves once again that his second wind is just as good as his glory days.' Complex ranked the album number six, on their list of the 50 best albums of 2013, praising it as Eminem's best album since The Eminem Show.

Music critic named it the seventh best album of 2013 in his year-end list for. Placed it at number 14 on their list of the best albums of 2013. It was placed at number 24 on Rolling Stone's list of the 50 best albums of 2013.

Also ranked it at number 28 on their list of the 50 best albums of 2013, saying 'His eighth solo album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, is an unwieldy beast; an imperfect yet mostly thrilling verbal-gymnastics routine that sticks the landing in the zone of Bad Taste with arms proudly raised.' It was also listed at number 48 on the list of the best albums of 2013. It was positioned at number 64 on 's list of the top 100 of the year. • Aalias – producer • Erik Alcock – guitar • Maurice 'Malex' Alexander – vocal engineer • Maki Athanasiou – instrumentation • Bebe – • Jeff Bhasker – producer • Delbert Bowers – mixing assistant • Phillip Broussard Jr. – assistant engineer • Tony Campana – • Larry Chatman – project coordinator • R.J.

Colston – mixing assistant • David Covell – assistant engineer • Dennis Dennehy –, • Jeremy Deputat – cover photo, • DJ Khalil – producer • DJ Mormile – • Dr. Dre –, • DVLP – instrumentation, producer • Eminem – producer,, primary artist • Filthy – producer • John Fisher – A&R • Frequency – producer • Chris Galland – mixing assistant • Brian 'Big Bass' Gardner – • Alicia Graham – A&R • Skylar Grey – featured artist • Emile Haynie – producer • I.L.O.

• ' Released: August 27, 2013 • ' Released: October 8, 2013 • ' Released: October 15, 2013 • ' Released: October 29, 2013 • ' Released: February 5, 2014 The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is the eighth studio album by American rapper. It was released on November 5, 2013 by, and. It serves as a sequel to (2000). The album's and its recording sessions were conducted from 2012 to 2013, involving Eminem himself, along with several including,,, and. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 features from singers,,, and rapper. The album title was revealed during the on August 25, 2013, alongside a preview of the ', which subsequently peaked at number 3 on the US.

It was followed by two more singles: ' and '. The former debuted at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the latter debuted at number 7 and became certified triple platinum by (RIAA) in the United States.

' featuring Rihanna, was released as the album's fourth single on October 29, 2013. It went number one in several countries and was certified triple platinum in the United States. The album's fifth single, ' featuring Ruess, was released on February 5, 2014. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 received positive reviews from, who praised Eminem's technical rapping abilities and production choices. The album marked an improvement in reception over some of Eminem's previous three albums, and was named on multiple 'Albums of the Year' year-end lists. It also debuted at number one on the US and was the second-best selling album sales of 2013. As of early 2014, the album has sold 3.8 million copies worldwide.

The album won the at the. 'Calling it The Marshall Mathers LP 2, obviously I knew that there might be certain expectations. I wouldn't want to call it that just for the sake of calling it that. I had to make sure that I had the right songs – and just when you think you got it, you listen and you're like, 'Fuck, man. I feel like it needs this or that,' to paint the whole picture. So there's not gonna be, like, continuations of every old song on there or anything like that.

Alpha Controls Delphi. To me, it's more about the vibe, and it's more about the nostalgia.' — Eminem, speaking about the album's title with On May 24, 2012, Eminem revealed that he has been working on his next album, during an interview on Hot 97's morning show with Peter Rosenberg. On June 30, 2012, Eminem talked about the album with, on his own radio station,. He stated that the material was taking shape, and that will be involved in some way. Eminem explained: 'I usually get going and kind of start going a certain direction and just record what I'm feeling.

Then I'll go see Dre and fill in some of those pieces.' On August 1, 2012, Nick Craig interviewed Eminem on, where he explained that he was working on the album, but was focused on finishing 's Shady Records debut, On August 10 however, Eminem appeared on Shade 45 and told: 'We actually just finished the [Slaughterhouse] album last week. Now I've got time to be able to start doing things for my own project.' Appeared on 's RapFix, hosted by Calloway, with his group Slaughterhouse, on August 30, 2012, and talked about Eminem's album. Royce confessed: 'Marshall is the studio right now, laying the most awesome lyrics in the world. I'm not so sure how the world is going to respond from some of the things that I've heard from him.' On February 8, 2013, president and Eminem's manager told that Eminem's eighth studio album would be released after, 2013 (May 27).

'We fully expect to be releasing a new Eminem album in 2013. He's been working on it for some time,' said Rosenberg.

'It's safe to say that it will be post-Memorial Day at some point, but we're not exactly sure when. We've got some dates locked in for him to perform live in Europe in August, so we're trying to see what else lines up.' On March 22, 2013, during an interview with, Dr. Dre said that he was working with Eminem, and that Eminem was 'finishing up his project.'

On June 17, 2013, Shady Records producer appeared on RapFix Live, and tweeted to shadygodz (One of the Stan fans aka Sanket Kale Mathers) about Eminem's upcoming album: 'That's my boss. I DJ for him and I'm not at liberty to speak on much, but you know his caliber and what he does. Clearly going to further territories. I think what you would expect, especially after the last go-round. He was just getting his feet back on and then Recovery just came with the smash hits and everything and I think now — he's Eminem.'

Prior to the announcement of the album's name, it was named to multiple 'Most Anticipated Albums of 2013' lists; including MTV, where it was listed in sixth position (and later on in second); and, where it was listed in fifth. Recording and production [ ].

(left) and (right) served as the album's executive producers. On June 17, 2013, producer told: 'I've been working on Eminem's new album and I'm very excited about that.' The track list reveal showed ' as the opening track, and S1 confirmed that he and vocalist, one half of S1's duo The Dividends, are featured on the song.

He also credited Aussie and Streetrunner as co-producers. M-Phazes himself confirmed this in an October 2013 interview. Tim Riley, vice president of music affairs at, explained to Billboard in August 2013 that he was contacted by Eminem's manager Rosenberg in March to partner Eminem with. In June, Riley and members of his team flew to Detroit to meet Eminem and Rosenberg. The team was showcased a 'handful' of songs, while Eminem was shown early concept art and gameplay footage of Ghosts.

'Survival' was picked as the best-fitting song, but the final version differed vastly from the earliest version of the track. Over the next couple of months, Eminem turned in five successive versions of the song, each one 'bigger and more anthemic sounding than the last.' – The final version was turned in only a day before its reveal on August 14. In a behind the scenes video for 'Berzerk', released in October 2013, Rubin explained that he met Rosenberg a few years back and that they had discussed the possibility of him and Eminem working together.

He stated that the idea of 'throwback' song to earlier hip hop recordings was an idea conceived later in the creative process of the album. He noted that initial sample the song was built around ended up not being used, and that the final product differs greatly from the original. In an October 2013 interview with MTV, said that the instrumental for 'Rap God' had been in the making two years prior to the track's release. While the instrumental had been offered to rappers such as and, the producer didn't feel the record fit their music. He estimated that Shady Records got hold of the instrumental around Fall 2012, and DVLP himself did not hear 'Rap God' until Eminem phoned him after its release. The idea of a sequel to The Marshall Mathers LP came about after Eminem recorded a handful of songs in the early stages of the creation of the album that reminded him and his friends, namely Rosenberg, of Eminem's earlier recordings; ' The more I listened to it, the more it made sense to call it that,' said Eminem.

Eminem also wanted to experiment with 'retro, vintage' sounds such as beatbreaks and scratches, and he felt that Rubin could help him 'take that to another level.' Is featured on the track 'The Monster', marking the pair's fourth collaboration following the worldwide hit, ', its sequel ' and '., with whom Eminem previously collaborated on ' from Eminem's previous studio effort, (2010), was featured on the song 'The Monster'. On September 11, 2013, she hinted at the collaboration on Twitter: 'Just left the studio. Recorded a #monster hook for one of my favorite artists! And that's all I can give you. Upon the track list announcement, Staten Island singer Bebe Rexha revealed on Twitter that she had co-written the Rihanna collaboration featured on the album. Rexha recorded 'The Monster' in November 2012 in Harlem's Stadium Red studio while working on her debut album.

The producer of the track,, auditioned records for Shady Records VP of A&R Riggs Morales, who 'freaked out' upon hearing 'The Monster', instantly requesting for the verses to be stripped and sessions sent to Eminem. Eminem added his own verses and tweaked the instrumental, while keeping Rexha's backing vocals. The song was revealed to be a part of the album with the reveal of the track listing. In an October 2013 interview, Rexha claimed that she said 'This is an Eminem record, y'all' while standing in the booth after she recorded the chorus, and that she 'know[s] when [Eminem] heard it, it spoke to him.' Rapper and fellow Aftermath Entertainment artist, who toured with Eminem in 2013, was featured on 'Love Game', while the frontman of the band was featured on '., a frequent Eminem collaborator since Recovery was featured on the song 'Asshole'. In an October 2013 interview with, 'Love the Way You Lie' producer revealed that he has submitted further beats for Eminem, but said 'you never know what they're going to use or not going to use.' He would later be confirmed as the producer of 'Asshole' and two of the deluxe edition bonus tracks.

'Asshole' was initially created during a studio session with Alex and Eminem in Detroit in 2012. Grey was writing songs for her Eminem-executive-produced album in Detroit, and visited Eminem to exchange song ideas and hooks. She wrote the hook for 'Asshole' during the trip, while in her hotel room. ' was written approximately two years ago during a session between Russian singer-songwriter and songwriter David Brook in New York.

A few months later, Polina visited Interscope executive Neil Jacobson, who, upon hearing the song, commanded her: 'Don't play this for anyone. It's an Eminem record.' The following week, Polina and Brook joined Emile in the studio where he produced the song and then sent it to Eminem. Eminem added his own verses to the song, but left Polina's vocals untouched.

In July 2012, Eminem's close friend and label-mate stated that he was involved in the recording for Eminem's upcoming album and would probably appear on the or second single, but ended up not being featured on the album at all. Music and songs [ ] The opening track 'Bad Guy' is produced by S1, M-Phazes, and Streetrunner, with a chorus sung by Sarah Jaffe, the song has been described as a sequel to Eminem's ' from. 'Survival' features a chorus sung by Liz Rodrigues and production. On the anthemic track, Eminem celebrates his return over 'breakneck, arena-rock' electric guitars and 'trashy' drums. 'Berzerk' is produced by Rubin and pays homage to. With from the ' ' and ', and 's ', the track is 'a punchy, guitar-and-beats driven song which channels ' ' and -era Beastie Boys.' Produced by DVLP, 'Rap God' sees Eminem rapping over an -inspired instrumental with varied flows.

He pays tribute to many influential hip hop acts, but also proclaims himself an all-time best, with the closing line stating: 'Why be a king when you can be a god?' 'The Monster' is a 'dark', 'demon-battling' song, with the production that was handled and provided by Frequency. The track features backing vocals from Bebe Rexha and a chorus by Rihanna. Packaging [ ] The artwork was revealed on September 20, 2013 on Eminem's Twitter account.

The cover features a picture of the house Eminem lived in during his teenage years, although now the house is in a dilapidated state. It is very similar in design to the cover of the artwork from The Marshall Mathers LP; which also features a picture of the house, but with Eminem sitting on the porch, the windows uncovered and the door replaced by a screen door. On October 25, 2013, the artwork for the deluxe edition was revealed. The deluxe artwork is a variation of the standard artwork, in which the house is being looked at through a car window.

On the internet, there are many other covers. For example, Eminem sitting at the doorstep of the house and on the door it is written, '19946'.

In November 2013, the house went up in flames for unknown reasons, damaging the upper portion of the home. As of 2014, the house had been demolished and plans to rebuild are in progress. The deluxe edition comes with two discs, one being the standard album, and the other containing bonus tracks.

The discs' artwork is designed after the Detroit city seal and, respectively. The album's artwork direction was handled by Mike Saputo, with photography by Kevin Mazur. In December 2013, the album cover was named the tenth best of 2013 by Complex.

Release and promotion [ ] On October 29, 2012, the 'Eminem Baseball Tribute Champ Hat' was made available on the official Eminem online store, with a side panel 'dedicated to the landmark Eminem solo albums,' and the final date being 2013, hinting at the release year for Eminem's eight studio album. On August 25, 2013, two commercials aired during the revealed that Eminem's eighth studio album would be titled The Marshall Mathers LP 2 and would be released on November 5, 2013, with previews of the lead single 'Berzerk' and its music video, where Eminem was shown with his hair dyed blond again. On September 5, 2013, it was announced that 'Berzerk' would be used as the featured song for the 2013 season of on from September 14 to December 7, and that a sneak peek for the song's music video would premiere during halftime of No. 14 Notre Dame at No. 17 Michigan on September 7; Eminem was interviewed by and during the halftime, and the clip, described as 'awkward' and 'bizzare', became a viral online video. Announced on September 9, 2013, that players who preordered Call of Duty: Ghosts would receive a bonus track in addition to 'Survival'. The track listing was revealed on October 10, 2013.

On October 17, 2013, pre-order bundles featuring a deluxe CD and various merchandise options were made available on Eminem's website. During August 2013, Eminem performed four concerts in. The group of shows featured supporting acts Slaughterhouse, Kendrick Lamar, ( & ),, and. In February 2014, Eminem toured and on the. The four shows also featured Kendrick Lamar,,,, and. Eminem reportedly handpicked the artists to join him on tour.

Singles [ ] On August 25, 2013, he revealed that the first single ' would be released on August 27, 2013 in the US. The song was premiered on Shade 45 the day before its retail release.

The single debuted at number two on the, number three on the US, and among the top 40 in many other countries. On September 9, 2013, the music video for 'Berzerk' premiered on.

The video featured cameo appearances from Kendrick Lamar,, Slaughterhouse,, Yelawolf, Rick Rubin and Paul Rosenberg. On August 14, 2013, a song titled ' featuring Liz Rodrigues, with production by was premiered in the multiplayer trailer for the video game. A following press release revealed the first single from his eighth studio album would be released soon.

On October 8, 2013, 'Survival' was released on for digital download as the album's second single along with its music video. 'Survival' has since peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. On October 14, 2013, the audio to ' premiered on Eminem's channel. It was then released to iTunes the following day, as the album's third single. It debuted at number seven on the.

On November 27, 2013, the music video was released for 'Rap God'. On October 24, 2013, it was revealed that the Rihanna collaboration ', would be released as the album's fourth single. The Frequency-produced song premiered on October 28, 2013. The song was then released as the album's fourth official single the following day.

The song became Eminem's fifth single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. On December 16, 2013, the music video was released for 'The Monster' featuring Rihanna. ', which features American singer, was released as the album's fifth single in Australia on February 5, 2014. 'Headlights' has since peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100. Critical reception [ ] Professional ratings Aggregate scores Source Rating 6.5/10 72/100 Review scores Source Rating B C+ 4.7/10 8/10 4/5 (XL) The Marshall Mathers LP 2 has received generally positive reviews from.

At, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72, based on 33 reviews, indicating 'generally favorable reviews.' Paul MacInnes of gave the album a perfect five star rating saying, 'His flows are exceptional, the wordplay is dazzling. The jokes, in places offensive, are relentless. There is no apology; no concession; just a virtuoso application of talent.' Jon Dolan of the said, 'Nostalgia is everywhere.

He's playing his best character, the demon spawn of Trailer Hell, America, hitting middle age with his middle finger up his nose while he cleans off the Kool-Aid his kids spilled on the couch'. Christopher Weingarten of stated, 'If rapping were purely an athletic competition, Eminem would be Michael Phelps and Lou Retton combined: pure ability and flexibility, like a bullet with only white-hot hate in his wake'. He would go on to add that 'we get rhymes more rhymes than some rappers manage in a whole career'. Mikael Wood of the said, 'Eminem sounds more alive – angrier yet fully present – than he has in years Eminem burns with purpose on 'MMLP2'.

And if you don't like what he (still) has to say, there's a chance he doesn't either'. Of said, Eminem 'recaptures the original release's wild, clever, emotional brilliance in a flurry of caustic, brazenly honest, rapid-fire rhymes and aggressive beats'. Sarah Rodman of gave the album a positive review saying, 'If anything, the sequel is more intense than the original, as the Detroit rapper explodes like an M-80. Many memorable ones to be heard here, as Eminem doubles down on his manic flow, bursting with analogies, jokes, illusions, and ingenious wordplay with dizzying speed and skill'. Dan Rys of XXL gave the album a rating of XL saying, 'the thing that carries Em through is the diversity of his flows, and his ability to rap over anything. You're getting one with more perspective, a version which has seen 13 more years and has a different outlook on some of the same topics that he first visited in 2000'.

Evan Rytlewski of gave the album a B rating, saying 'after years of stagnancy and tedious anger, he shows real growth on The Marshall Mathers LP. Eminem has always rapped with forceful determination out of compulsive drives to prove himself to doubters, cut down his enemies, and retain his commercial foothold. For the first time in far too long, he sounds like he's rapping because he enjoys it, too.' Jon Carmanica of gave the album a positive review saying, 'His lyrics are best viewed under a microscope. To see how he gets from one rhyme to the next in unexpected ways.

He'll dominate almost any sound. But he still has some old habits, still heavy-handed with homophobic slurs. Eminem is still rapping from deep inside his cave, as if he's had no new experiences to draw from.' David Jeffries of spoke of the album saying, it is a 'vicious, infectious, hilarious triumph.

A super villain so familiar with hate and depression, he's powered by all shades of anger. Most of the best moments on MMLP2 are just as angry and just as irresponsible. Eminem at his very best.' Luke Fox of gave the album an eight out ten rating praising the albums 'astounding wordplay and creative beat choices'. In a mixed review, of the gave the album two out of four stars saying, 'it reaffirms his prodigious agility with rhymes. Eminem still crunches together syllables, silliness, and storytelling flights of ridiculousness with acrobatic skill' and 'The sense that we've all been here before, twice, is exacerbated by tired samples and interpolations.

Eminem tries to cover up his retreat by doing cartwheels and back-flips with his rhymes'. Craig Jenkins of gave the album a mixed review saying, 'Eminem is a titan with wordplay, but MMLP2 once again finds him at a loss for how to apply his talents.' Nick Catucci of gave the album a C+ criticizing Eminem's use of slurs on the album, saying 'Eminem wouldn't be Eminem.

If he didn't allot some of his whizbang homophobic slurs and misogynistic fantasies. Rightly considered a rap great for his technical prowess, wicked humor, and tenacity. Which make his flashes of hatred for women and gay men all the more alarming.' Accolades [ ]. See also: Closing out the year, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 was ranked in multiple 'Albums of the Year' lists. XXL named it the second best album of the year.

They commented saying, 'Three years after his widely praised album Recovery, Em tapped into his former self for Marshall Mathers LP 2. Slim Shady, along with the characters and stories from the first installment, are peppered throughout his latest effort. The Rap God also displays his lyrical prowess on songs like “Love Game” with Kendrick Lamar, the tribute to his mother in “,' and the old school rap-rock ode 'Berzerk.' Em also supplies the world with another Rihanna collaboration that ups the expectations for fans every time their name is paired together. Overall, Eminem proves once again that his second wind is just as good as his glory days.'

Complex ranked the album number six, on their list of the 50 best albums of 2013, praising it as Eminem's best album since The Eminem Show. Music critic named it the seventh best album of 2013 in his year-end list for. Placed it at number 14 on their list of the best albums of 2013. It was placed at number 24 on Rolling Stone's list of the 50 best albums of 2013. Also ranked it at number 28 on their list of the 50 best albums of 2013, saying 'His eighth solo album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, is an unwieldy beast; an imperfect yet mostly thrilling verbal-gymnastics routine that sticks the landing in the zone of Bad Taste with arms proudly raised.'

It was also listed at number 48 on the list of the best albums of 2013. It was positioned at number 64 on 's list of the top 100 of the year. • Aalias – producer • Erik Alcock – guitar • Maurice 'Malex' Alexander – vocal engineer • Maki Athanasiou – instrumentation • Bebe – • Jeff Bhasker – producer • Delbert Bowers – mixing assistant • Phillip Broussard Jr. – assistant engineer • Tony Campana – • Larry Chatman – project coordinator • R.J.

Colston – mixing assistant • David Covell – assistant engineer • Dennis Dennehy –, • Jeremy Deputat – cover photo, • DJ Khalil – producer • DJ Mormile – • Dr. Dre –, • DVLP – instrumentation, producer • Eminem – producer,, primary artist • Filthy – producer • John Fisher – A&R • Frequency – producer • Chris Galland – mixing assistant • Brian 'Big Bass' Gardner – • Alicia Graham – A&R • Skylar Grey – featured artist • Emile Haynie – producer • I.L.O.