Eminem Presents: The Re-Up [Explicit Lyrics]

Eminem | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 5, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Shady Records
• ASIN: B000IHY9SE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,786 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #72 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Gangsta & Hardcore

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk

What began life as an informal street mix-tape project to help launch fledgling Shady Records artists (Stat Quo, Ca$his, Bobby Creekwater, Obie Trice, and producer The Alchemist) has now become an official release. Flowing fairly randomly from track to track, the project, perhaps surprisingly for such a high profile outing, retains its original mixtape vibe. It's a thuggish and sluggish affair, led by Alchemist's somber, strong-arm beats (with additional production from Dr. Dre amd Kon Artis), and inhabited by a varied range of voices, from the Shady Records artists previously mentioned to Eminem himself (on half a dozen tracks), and appearances from 50 Cent, the recently slain Proof, and others from the G Unit crew. With so many cuts at the same tempo and with the same moody aura, it can all start to wear a little in places. Indeed, with such a wealth of up and coming talent and established personnel at work, there really ought to be more stand-outs. As it is, we get perhaps six killers (including Eminem-led cuts, "The Re-Up" and "Jimmy Crack Corn"), a disproportionate amount of fillers, and a mixtape/album that--just about--leaves a vaguely positive impression. --Paul Sullivan

Product Description

Eminem Presents: The Re-Up (Shady Records/Interscope Records), began as a street mixtape project--an underground, unofficial CD with raw production values--designed to help launch new Shady Records artists Stat Quo, Ca$his and Bobby Creekwater. "But what happened is that the material was so good and the tracks were getting produced like a regular album," said Eminem. "Instead of putting it out there rough and unfinished, I thought we should add some other new tracks, make it a real album, and put it in the record stores to give these new artists a real boost." The album was executive produced by Eminem, who also produced the majority of the songs. A handful of selections were produced by The Alchemist, who also compiled the album in true mixtape fashion. The Alchemist is best known for his work with Cypress Hill, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Mobb Deep, and Jadakiss.

Each of the tracks makes its official CD debut on Eminem Presents: The Re-Up, though Stat Quo's "Billion Bucks," and Obie Trice's "Cry Now" (Remix), produced by LT Moe, was recently released on mixtapes and to radio. The first single and video will be "You Don't Know" from Eminem, 50 Cent, Ca$his and Lloyd Banks. With Eminem and Ca$his from the Shady camp and 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks from G-Unit, the rap illustrates the unity of the two organizations.

The Re-Up also gave acclaimed hip-hop producer The Alchemist a chance to work with Shady's new regime. After joining forces on-stage as Eminem's DJ on last year's Anger Management 3 tour, Alchemist and the Shady camp began collaborating in the studio. This new album features the results of this anticipated collaboration with new tracks produced by The Alchemist featuring Stat Quo, Ca$his, Bobby Creekwater and Obie Trice.

Among the album's other recordings are "No Apologies" from Eminem; "Talkin' All That" from Ca$his; "City Of Gold" from Bobby Creekwater; "Murder" from Bizarre and Kuniva (both of D12); and The "Smack That (Remix)" with Akon.

Stat Quo, hailing from Atlanta, was signed to a joint deal between Shady Records and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment after Eminem and Dre heard him on the Underground Atlanta mixtape series. Creekwater, also from Atlanta, was inked after Eminem heard his work on demos and in the studio with The Alchemist. Ca$his, a Chicago native transplanted in his youth to Orange Co., California, was a member of West Coast underground favorites The Renegadez.

Rampant misinformation about Eminem Presents: The Re-Up included many false internet tracklistings and that the mixtape would be a tribute to D12's Proof, the recently slain rapper and close friend of Eminem. "The D12 album and those unreleased songs with Proof are coming," said Eminem. "But The Re-Up is about these new artists and these new songs. It isn't fair to them or to the memory of Proof to mix them up."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mixtape which, mostly, succeeds., January 7, 2007

By 

Pablo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eminem Presents: The Re-Up (Audio CD)

Eminem is an enigma to the hip-hop world. Back in the day, when he was nothing more than an underground Detroit emcee pushing EP's to make a living, he was spitting lyrics on par with some of the game's most respected lyricists; I'm talking Nas, and Wu-Tang knowledge here. Infinite and The Slim Shady EP contained hardcore lyrics by a young emcee, who'd studied his craft extensively; his vocabulary was superb, and his flow was one of the most polished, yet energetic anyone had heard at the time. He was poised for success, and success came to him, with the help of Dr. Dre. I have no problem admitting that The Slim Shady LP and Marshall Mathers LP were two of the best mainstream hip-hop releases of any era, and the level of lyrical dexterity Eminem displayed on those releases is often overlooked by poor, and flawed criticism. The Eminem Show was also pretty tight, but it showed that Eminem had begin to faulter; his subject matter had become redundant, and concepts like Hailie's Song failed miserabley. It was still more than solid, as a whole, but it showed that Em may've taken a step backwards. I think Encore more than solidified this belief; I don't care who would've released Encore, because whether it was Eminem, Nelly, or Kool G. Rap, that album would've come across as a steaming pile of ish.

It was horrible to watch Eminem's lyrical self-destruction; as much personal self-destruction as he put on wax, he had always remained a razor-sharp emcee, with superior wit compared to his contemporaries. People forget that while he's always been a media darling, the only reason he truly blew up in hip-hop wasn't marketing; it was skills. While many people say Eminem's overrated, and by his hardcore fans, he may very well be, he's actually underrated by the core of hip-hop heads. He has spit, admittedly and unfortunately, some garbage within the last few years, but that doesn't detract from the legacy he's created since the Infinite EP dropped. On The Re-Up, Eminem seems to have made a return to form; however, when i say Eminem's returned to form, I don't neccessarily mean he's back to his Slim Shady ways. Slim Shady is virtually dead; that persona has a very unlikely chance of ever resurfacing, because Eminem's grown far too much to ever return to the playful, yet malevolent demeanor that Shady had. Now, he's a disgruntled emcee who's just looking to solidify his spot as one of the best in the game; and honestly, for Eminem at this point, that's an entirely appropriate stance for him to take.

Throughout The Re-Up, on the track Eminem features, he brings his a-game, at least on the rhyme-side of things. Em's production is still a bit bland, and this album would've benefitted had there been less of Em's fingertips on it behind the boards. Nonetheless, while the production isn't phenomenal, it is more than solid; the Shady roster carry the bulk of this release, and do quite well. Now, honestly, the members of Shady Records aren't exceptional artists; Cashis has some great potential, but that's virtually it for now. Bobby Creekwater sounds eerily like T.I., if Tip were still an amateur. Creekwater is an average emcee, but unless he was holding something back on this release, I don't see a very bright future ahead of him. I've never really been a fan of Stat Quo, and while he does get two bangers on this release from Focus and Dre, he still doesn't step things up lyrically. The surviving members of D12(sans Eminem) all appear on this album, and none of them have stepped their games up; Proof was clearly the only one who was above-average in the group, and it shows on his posthumous cut, "Trapped." 50 Cent, having been out of the mainstream for a while now, seems rather hungry, and it shows on his rare appearances throughout this album. He doesn't steal the show, but he does provide some promise for his upcoming release, and possibly dropping something better than The Massacre was. Obie Trice is still the best emcee Eminem has signed, but sadly, just like on his last solo, he's also gotten some pretty poor production to showcase his skills with. If Obie had gotten some Alchemist, or Dre cuts on this release, it would've pushed it even further in terms of quality.

This is by no means a bad release; it's actually very good, and surprisingly so. For a mixtape, and yes, this is still a mixtape, it's a rare one that provides more quality than quantity; and with 22 tracks, there's a lot of quantity. It could've been cut down, for sure; rehash like the Smack That and Shake That(gets confusing, I know) remixes could've been done without, and really shouldn't have made it onto this release once it received national distribution. The Re-Up is a great compilation, and it shows that Eminem maybe back to form, but only time can truly determine that; for now, don't dwell on Eminem's stance in the game though, and pick up The Re-Up. More than solid, but not outstanding, it's a good release that should hold Shady fans over.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eminem is back, December 5, 2006

By 

E. Phillips - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eminem Presents: The Re-Up (Audio CD)

Eminem Presents The Re-Up started out as a mixtape project, but Eminem decided to release the album so the new artists, Bobby Creekwater, Stat Quo, and Ca$his would gain more popularity. And yes, it was a good idea, even though the album felt like it was made for Eminem and 50 Cent. The new artists actually did some decent songs, but Eminem and 50 Cent gave the best performance. The best songs were Public Enemy #1 and No Apologies. No Apologies is one of the most serious songs he's made since The Eminem Show. That song is a classic. Eminem and 50 Cent did much better on this than they did on their last albums. Hopefully, if they eventually make new albums, they'll be as good as this. It's worth listening to and if you're an Eminem fan, buy it.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eminem and 50 Carry This Project, December 5, 2006

By 

Bubbalicious "Bubba" (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eminem Presents: The Re-Up (Audio CD)

Eminem Presents the Re-Up is a decent cd. There are some serious FIRE tracks here. The lesser known acts on this cd do a decent job here. In my opinion, if they are truly the "featured" artist on this cd, then Eminem and 5o should have stayed away. These two outshine the new artists on this cd making it hard to listen to the new artist when 50 and Em's tracks are so hot. This is worth the buy just to hear these two! Why doesnt 5o cent always rap with this much heat?