Throughout more than 20 years of his career, Eminem has put out some classic and some not-so-great albums, which he freely admitted. His past-sobriety records, starting from 2009's Relapse to 2020's Music to be Murdered By, have been a constant debate for every hip-hop fan. Some believe Eminem's fell off from grace, while his number of sales, streams, and stadium tours definitely prove them otherwise. "It's the curse of the standard," he raps on Walk on Water. "That the first of the Mathers disc set / Always in search of the verse that I haven't spit yet."
On this list, we're counting down ten things, from production to the comeback of the goofy character, that fans want to see on Eminem's next album. Could it be a Bad Meets Evil record instead? Only time will find out.
10 Should Eminem Bring Back Steve Berman?
Yes, Steve Berman from Relapse, The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, and D12's Devil's Night albums is a real person. He is the Vice-Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M, the parent label Eminem's Shady Records, and Dr. Dre's Aftermath are signed to.
On every album he's featured, Steve Berman always complains about Eminem's work. With the current Eminem-hate trend all over social media, it will be a perfect fit to have one more Steve Berman skit, criticizing how Eminem has now 'fell off' and 'washed up.'
9 Let Dr. Dre in the Booth
Since day one, Eminem has always been a sidekick of Dr. Dre. The GOAT-ed producer was heavily involved in the making of almost every albums Eminem has ever put out. The only project he didn't participate much was the 2017's polarizing album Revival, and we all know how terrible things turned for Eminem shortly after.
Revival received terrible reviews from the critics, criticizing Eminem's lack of awareness on today's hip-hop sound. On the next two albums, Kamikaze (2018) and Music to be Murdered By (2020), Dr. Dre was heavily involved in the making.
8 More Surprise-Release Tactic
Hype always kills everything. One of the many reasons why Revival flopped and was hated so much is because fans and critics quickly put the album's under the microscope as soon as the full-of-popstar-cameos tracklist was revealed.
Following the success of surprise-released Kamikaze, Eminem realized that at the latter stage of his career, the best way to release an album is to drop it out of nowhere and cause internet attention. His next album, whether it's his 12th or another Bad Meets Evil record, could possibly follow the path of Kamikaze and Music to be Murdered By.
7 Eminem Has to Step Out of His Comfort Zone By Featuring OG Rappers
Now, most of the OG rappers from the golden era of hip-hop are either retired or turning into podcasts, movies, producing, or managing their labels. With Eminem being one of the few rappers from the 90s who's still actively busy in the rap game, he can make these rappers stepping down from the mountain.
Lyrically, Eminem almost has no competitions at the moment, so bringing rappers from the golden age would be suitable for hip-hop's competitive nature.
6 Modern-Day Producers Should Be on the Album
Tantrum-filled Kamikaze and Music to be Murdered By are a return in form, and thanks to modern-day producers like Tay Keith, D.A. Got That Dope, Boi-1da, and others, both albums are sonically fresh and up-to-date with today's hip-hop.
Eminem was never a trap rapper in the first place, but his last two albums gave the fan a slight peek into what Shady sounds like in modern-day beats.
5 No More Over-Recycled Love Songs
Love-and-hate, Bonnie-and-Clyde-like relationship topic has been the backbone of Eminem's music for years. The only album where he doesn't talk about his estranged romantic relationship with females is Relapse, where he went full psychotic. Even in his late 40s, Eminem still does talk about it on Music to be Murdered By.
This is not saying that Eminem should distance himself off the relationship topic, but given the fact that it's been told too much (with pop hooks, sometimes), Eminem should give this topic a rest. Put it to bed.
4 Ken Kaniff for the Culture
Eminem always creates fictional characters and alter-egos on his songs. One of the most memorable personas from his early albums is Ken Kaniff, a skinny red-haired Caucasian male, who appears to be gay towards Em. Until this day, Ken Kaniff's last appearance was on The Marshall Mathers LP 2, where he sings his parody of Berzerk at a bathroom at the end of Wicked Ways' skit.
Ken's return is still possible, as the rapper (jokingly, though) confirmed on his Lil Wayne's Young Money Radio episode.
3 Old School + New School? Why Not?
Although he seems to hate most of the new-gen rappers, as he did on Kamikaze, Eminem still has some love for those who keep the lyrical tradition alive. He's shown his admiration for Juice WRLD, Young MA, YBN Cordae, as one of the few new-school rappers he listens to.
He also lists the likes of Joyner Lucas, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole on his top 15 rappers of all-time list, and it will be good for him if he steps out of his comfort zone to go toe-to-toe lyrically against these hungry rappers.
2 No More Pop Fillers
If there's one most-hated thing about Revival is its abundance of pop act appearances: Beyoncé, Skylar Grey, Kehlani, Alicia Keys, P!nk, Ed Sheeran, and others. It's not the most unforgivable crime of hip-hop, though, because so many artists from Jay-Z to The Notorious B.I.G. had done it.
It just seems a little hypocritical for someone who built his career off mocking pop-stars to rely on them during the latter stage of his career. Eminem seemed to choose an instant way to make a hit but failed at executing it.
1 ... and Definitely, No More Half-Cooked Rock Samples
If pop-fillers secured the first spot, then the half-baked rock sampling is the second. Eminem is great on rock-rap beats, and let's not forget that his signature song, Lose Yourself, was built around electric guitar and bass, two of the most prominent instruments of rap-rock.
The problem with Revival is how terribly it was executed, as Trent Clark of HipHopDX put it best, "Eminem's dedication to wrecking mics like Robert Mueller can never be questioned, but the production choices still remain an enigma."