"Relapse" saw the return of Eminem and his alter-ego Slim Shady, after 5 years passed between the album and the release of Em's previous album, Encore!. The album details Em's trouble with his drug addiction and overdose that almost took his life in December of 2007. The album was one of the most anticipated releases of 2009.
The album offers a humorous dive into Em's troubled history with his drug addiction and overdose, while bringing back Em's most famous character, Slim Shady, as he sings about his own drug dependency and the women he kidnaps, murders and sexually assaults.
Tracklist
- "Dr. West" (Skit)
- "3 A.M."
- "My Mom"
- "Insane"
- "Hello"
- "Tonya" (Skit)
- "We Made You"
- "Medicine Ball"
- "Paul" (Skit)
- "Stay Wide Awake"
- "Old Time's Sake"
- "Must Be The Ganja"
- "Mr. Mathers" (Skit)
- "Deja Vu"
- "Beautiful"
- "Crack A Bottle"
- "Steve Berman" (Skit)
- "Underground"
"Relapse" contains examples of the following tropes:
- Addled Addict: The main theme of the album is drug addiction and dependency.
- Black Comedy: Several songs go into detail about the crimes Slim Shady commits and Em's own dependency on prescription drugs.
- Call-Back: A few songs call back to Em's earlier work or earlier songs in the album.
- Despair Event Horizon: Throughout the album, Em chronicles his hopeless addiction to prescription drugs which ends him up in rehab and rushed to the hospital.
- Drowning My Sorrows: "Crack A Bottle" is about alcohol dependency.
- Drugs Are Bad: Em clearly demonstrates how drugs have ruined his life, going all the way back to his abusive mother, who fed him prescription drugs.
- Family-Unfriendly Violence: Several songs, like "Same Song And Dance", where Slim kidnaps several celebrity women and rapes/murders them in his car.
- Horrorcore: One of the overall themes of the album.
- "I Am" Song: "Hello" is Slim Shady's grand return.
- Lemony Narrator: Slim Shady sings his songs with what can be described as total indifference when describing the people he kills and rapes.
- Mood Whiplash: The album's songs go from chronicling drug addiction, child abuse, smoking marijuana, murdering and raping women, and Em being raped by his stepfather.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Subverted; "Same Song And Dance" has Slim sing about the celebrity women he murders.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: The whole album was inspired by Em's drug addiction.
- Special Guest: Aside from Dr. Dre, "Crack A Bottle" features vocals from 50 Cent.
- Take That!: "Medicine Ball" is a Take That towards Chris Reeves.
