Artist: Various Artists of 'Shady Records'
Album: Eminem Presents The Re-Up
Label: Shady / Interscope
Release Date: December 5, 2006
Track listing:
1. - Shady Narcotics (Intro) - Eminem
2. - We're Back - Eminem, Obie Trice, Stat Quo, Bobby Creekwater & Ca$his
3. - Pistol Pistol (Remix) - Obie Trice
4. - Murder - Bizarre & Kuniva
5. - Everything Is Shady - Ca$his
6. - The Re-Up - Eminem & 50 Cent
7. - You Don't Know - 50 Cent, Eminem, Ca$his & Lloyd Banks
8. - Jimmy Crack Corn - Eminem & 50 Cent
9. - Trapped - Proof
10. - Whatever You Want - Swifty & Mr. Porter
11. - Talkin' all That - Ca$his
12. - By My Side - Stat Quo
13. - We Ride For Shady - Obie Trice & Ca$his
14. - There He Is - Bobby Creekwater
15. - Tryin' Ta Win - Stat Quo
16. - Smack That (Remix) - Akon, Stat Quo & Bobby Creekwater
17. - Public Enemy #1 - Eminem
18. - Get Low - Stat Quo
19. - Ski Mask Way - 50 Cent
20. - Shake That (Remix) - Eminem, Nate Dogg, Obie Trice & Bobby Creekwater
21. - Cry Now (Remix) - Obie Trice, Kuniva, Bobby Creekwater, Ca$his & Stat Quo
RAPCENTRAL REVIEW:
In the months running up to the release of the Re-Up, Eminem had experienced some highs and lows, and then more lows, after getting re-married to his ex-wife Kim, and divorcing her weeks later, the Detroit bred rapper faced possably the biggest blow he had ever felt with the death of his best friend Proof (DeShaun Holton). After this, not much was seen or heard of Eminem in the public eye until he appeared on the 2006 BET awards, with a 'Proof' tattoo on his right forearm, where the late Proof had the original. But, as The Shady Records CEO put it, The Re-Up is not a tribute, to his late best friend, it is to expose new Shady Records talent, Stat Quo, Bobby Creekwater and Ca$his, and a Proof dedication (album or mixtape not specified) will come later. It wouldn't be fair to the new rappers or Proof's memory to put both on the one tape.
The Re-Up, sports a roster, far greater than the new shady talent, featuring G-Unit rappers 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks, long time Shady Records signee Obie trice, and D12. It was originally intended to be an underground mixtape, but as the producing from Dr. Dre, The Alchamist, and others, increased in quality and likeliness to how a mainstream album rather than a mixtape is produced, it was made a mainstream album project, and in doing so, probably got more exposure to for Ca$his, Stat Quo & Bobby Creekwater.
The Album does have a hit up it's sleeve with 'You Don't Know', an Eminem produced track with a great beat featuring himself, 50 Cent, Ca$his and Lloyd Banks. But the rest, don't have a place in the charts. Because the project started out as a mixtape, a lot of the songs are remixes over already used beats. And the rest, don't really have that edge to make it in the singles chart.
Not to say this is a bad album at all, Eminem's rhymes are consistant through the whole album, and 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks perform well on 'You Don't Know', unfortunately the same cannot be said for the newcomer Ca$his, who, underachieves in the lead single, and, MTV or BET isn't going to play the whole album to show that Ca$his was out of form on this song, so, a lot of people will have been put off the California Rapper because of this song. Bobby Creekwater, the Atlanta native however, seems to be featured on less songs than both Stat Quo and Ca$his, and is in a way underexposed, although, he performs well in almost all the songs he is on, as does Stat Quo. Stat had been signed to Aftermath/Shady for a while now, not exactly a newcomer to the rap game, but the album is used to expose him none the less.
Now enough about the new artists, the one man in my opinion who out-does himself in every way in this album is Obie Trice. On every song he is on in this album, he has a remarkable flow, and on point lyrics, outshining Aftermath veterans Eminem and 50 Cent, and in doing this, Obie trice steals the show, leaving all the other artists trailing on every track he is on, and in doing so, posatively reflected himself to anyone hearing him for the first time.
TOP TRACKS: 2. Pistol Pistol (Remix) - 7. You Don't Know - 8. Jimmy Crack Corn - 21. Cry Now (Remix) -
RAPCENTRAL OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5
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ALLMUSIC.COM REVIEW:
Seemed like drama was always something Eminem craved, but in the year leading up to The Re-Up, the drama was heavy, a really, really bad kind of heavy. He checked himself into rehab, got remarried for a few months to the infamous Kim before that went south, then his best man and best friend Proof is murdered in a bizarre and depressing incident that made all the gangster talk that came previously extra chilling. A mixtape that was originally planned to be released on the underground circuit, The Re-Up has plenty of that serious heat that influenced Eminem to go aboveground with the release. There's the surging remix of 50 Cent's "Ski Mask Way," the excellent all-star single "You Don't Know," a couple clever redo's of Akon's "Smack That" single with various members of the Shady family, and "There He Is" with newcomer Bobby Creekwater living up to his hype over a rich Alchemist beat. Tacked onto the end is Eminem's shining moment, "No Apologies," which speaks to his frozen heart, then lashes out at critics. The man's lyrical dexterity is on display for the soul-searching closer, there's no doubt about that, but the target is questionable, since it didn't really seem like Em was getting a critical drubbing in 2006. A diversion maybe? Could be, since he's sidestepping a whole lot of the other issues here. While Proof gets his due with the intro to his unreleased track "Trapped," this is hardly his memorial, plus his D12 brothers Bizarre and Kuniva are in no hurry to lay off the gun talk with their visceral and knowingly irresponsible "Murder." The quick marriage/divorce and rehab are barely noted, either, and while Em has every right to keep whatever he wants private, longtime fans looking for that usual candor are in for a shock. Instead of using the mixtape format as an up-to-the-minute dispatch from the soul, Em has decided to bring the Shady empire back into focus with The Re-Up. 50 Cent and his G-Unit crew are brought back into the Shady scene when it seemed they just about outgrew it, and with Creekwater, Cashis, and Stat Quo all anxious to become "rookie of the year," the Shady spotlight is validated. Once the Eminem hardcore accept that this is more about the whole talented and hungry crew than the man with a devastating year on his hands, they'll co-sign.
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