I always kinda write off his "first single" agenda because since the first album, they went in and didn't stop til they had something that even he himself was annoyed by.
And while they were circus type records, they were most of the time always lyrically dope and had nice flows.
My name is was dope, the real slim shady was grating but he was spitting.
I actually LOVE "without me" and still listen to it, he wrecked that shyt on the low
Just lose it was wack, we made you...got damn, this new single actually makes me APPRECIATE we made you.
But yea...this doesn't mean the album isn't gonna have some dope shyt on it, but if the goal is to recreate a "classic" he's already got a strike with this shyt, and it's not because I don't get it, I just don't like it, I would almost rather him being in straight up comedian mode again if we taking it back to that rather than him trying to be witty...
Em was never a punchline rapper, listen to 3 AM...no real forced metaphors, just HARD ASS RHYMES and schemes...that's his pocket, this extra wordy crap with expired ass references is not it...he's not really doing "him" with that type of shyt, he's pandering.
Without me.
"I been dope, suspenseful with a pencil ever since prince turned himself into a symbol"