May 14, 2002

Eminem : Without Me

..."the funniest and funkiest single of the year" is of course, our Single Of the Week...

Eminem has hit a rarified artistic plateau. It’s the musical holy grail: all seek its glory, most perish in its quest and those few that do attain it rarely grasp it for long. But when the whole world sings your song and the song they’re singing not only connects with popular culture but drives it forward then, man, your work is working to its fullest potential.

That’s where Eminem’s at on ‘Without Me’. It’s a record he’s written before - ‘Purple Pills’ by [a][/a] – sped up, discofied and topped with a rap of such dizzying self-knowledge, cheek and intelligence as to be truly innovative. Moby, *N Sync and Limp Bizkit are all mown down on the way to Eminem delivering the funniest and funkiest single of the year. "’Cos it feels so empty without me…" runs his chorus. He’s right, it did.

Ted Kessler