AOTY 2023

Kamikaze

Eminem - Kamikaze
Critic Score
Based on 20 reviews
2018 Ratings: #852 / 889
User Score
2018 Ratings: #747
Liked by 93 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

80
The Telegraph

Eminem has breathed new life into what has become a clunky stunt, with a record that punches hard and doesn’t care who it offends.

80
XXL

On Kamikaze, Em trades predictable song structure—pop star-crooned hooks sandwiched between wordy verses—for bars that B. Rabbit might spit in an 8 Mile battle.

78
HipHopDX

Eminem has returned with a very solid body of work after being longed counted out as a venerable threat.

75
The 405

Love him or hate him, this is the most energetically engaged - and simply enjoyable - Eminem has been in more than a decade.

70
Albumism
Is Kamikaze a masterpiece? Not quite. But it’s an encouraging return to form, and a reminder that this self-described “fucking invincible, indefensible, despicable, difficult prick” is still in the game.
70
The Line of Best Fit

Kamikaze is the sound of Eminem with his back against the wall, and this has led to some of his most invigorated writing in years - albeit with some troubling lyrical results.

70
PopMatters

Kamikaze is the result of Eminem's anguish; a scorched earth assailing of anyone who dared to doubt or diss him, that sees the Detroit rapper return to resentment for his muse.

67
Consequence of Sound

As a whole, the album may not be impeccable, but it’s the best he’s released since 2010.

60
NME

Eminem’s always been at his best when he’s pissed off, and for all its ‘poor me’ posturing, ‘Kamikaze’ at least feels honest.

60
Exclaim!
At its best, it's a return to the Slim Shady fans were expecting on his last album. At its worst, it's punctuated by cringe-inducing lapses of unnecessary shock value.
60
The Guardian

The hooks are middling and the moans at his critics get tedious – but a flurry of brutal potshots at witless SoundCloud rappers prove Eminem can still hit exhilarating heights.

60
The Observer

How riveting all this finger-wagging is probably depends upon your birth date. Hip-hop has moved on from Mathers’s high-speed, foul-mouthed wit.

50
Rolling Stone

His second album in less than a year, Kamikaze is the latest and most disappointing entry to Eminem’s never-ending encore, a boot camp of knotty, joyless, lumbering ragers aimed largely at a rap game that’s passing him by.

50
Highsnobiety

For all its merits, Kamikaze is not a world to get lost in. It is a single, angry diatribe from a man unable to reckon with the fact that his art no longer appeases the culture at large. In future, Eminem would do well to wield his astronomical talents to a message worthy of them.

50
Pitchfork

While Eminem’s verbal dexterity has remained intact, his shortcomings have grown more glaring with the passage of time.

40
AllMusic
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.
40
The Needle Drop

Eminem falls just short of ending his career on his latest album, Kamikaze.

25
Spectrum Culture

Kamikaze isn’t even entertainingly bad like Revival.

20
The Young Folks
There are still clearly slivers of the greatness that defined Eminem on this record, but that greatness is stuck with amplifying the attitude of a confused, annoyed and lazy entertainer that will use every possible explanation to defend his criticism except for the obvious one: it was his fault.
AZIZ
48

It's listenable. Props Marshall!

Update: Its progressively gotten worse, congrats Mr. Mathers

Toasterqueen12
3

I fuckin' hate Eminem. With a burning passion. What does his existence provide in the 2010's . Is T.I still around? Is 50 Cent still around? No. So why the hell is Eminem still around? It's not like he's the same person as he was in the 2010's. This isn't the man who made Stan or Lose Yourself or anything. This is a man who is nostalgic for the man who made Stan and Lose Yourself. He's nothing more than an imitation of his own self in his work. Why is he still paranoid about the perception of ... read more

BradTasteMusic
51

Eminem released Revival last year. That album was an absolute flop and a horrendous effort from the once beloved Eminem. An artist who used to have a drive and a passion for causing controversy and being in the spotlight. He managed to completely lose all of that on such an album.

I think what is so funny about this surprise release is how this flame is regained in the same way he got it on his Chloroseptic remix. He made an entire album about his last album being total shit. The only reason ... read more

oAlqby
55

It's not that bad, guys...

Eminem's "Kamikaze" falls short of the high expectations set by the rap legend himself. While there are moments of brilliance scattered throughout the album, it ultimately struggles to maintain a consistent level of quality. Clocking in at a 55/100, "Kamikaze" is a mixed bag that showcases Eminem's undeniable skill but lacks the cohesion and innovation that fans have come to expect.

Instrumentally, the album leans heavily on trap-inspired beats ... read more

slothsavedearth
40

lyrical miracle spiritual spherical pickle lickle smickle dickle bickle

50

Venom veneklrnom ndkajdenom hook is my favourite part of the album

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Track List

1The Ringer
5:37
61
2Greatest
3:46
58
3Lucky You
4:04
76
4Paul (Skit)
0:35
47
5Normal
3:42
40
6Em Calls Paul (Skit)
0:49
43
7Stepping Stone
5:09
52
8Not Alike
4:48
65
9Kamikaze
3:36
52
10Fall
4:22
57
11Nice Guy
2:30
18
12Good Guy
2:22
41
13Venom
4:29
41
Total Length: 45 minutes

Year End Lists

#86/NME

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Added on: August 31, 2018