The Marshall Mathers LP2

Pitchfork 4.7/10 The lesson here, if there’s one to be gleaned from this 80 minutes of cold, clinical lyrical acrobatics, is that rap sequels are a lot like trying on old prom clothes: chance one if you dare, but the only thing you’re liable to display is how much you’ve let yourself go since your glory days.

A.V. Club C After years of stagnancy and tedious anger, he shows real growth on The Marshall Mathers LP 2.

The Needle Drop 7/10 It's actually not that bad...

The Line of Best Fit 6/10 In other words, he sounds lost as an artist. Sadly, the production throughout doesn’t fare much better. MMLP2 is the most perplexing collection of beats of the year.

NME 3.5/5 A sequel, of sorts, to 2000’s ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ that revisits and elaborates the rapper’s mythology.

Rolling Stone 4/5 MM LP 2 fits in well in the year of Yeezus and Magna Carta . . . Holy Grail, records by aging geniuses trying to figure out what the hell to do with their dad-ass selves.

The Independent 4/5 His flow only truly ignites through anger and reproach, and there are moments when his verbal dexterity amazes.

All Music 4/5 Love it or hate it, nourishing his same old murder fantasies is what drives Eminem to make the vital music found here, and yet there's room for polished and clever frivolity on the album.

The Skinny 1/5 MMLP2 seems more than a disappointment – it feels like a betrayal, a waste of everyone's time, including Marshall's.

Gigwise 6/10 Sporadic in nature The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is messy with moments of brilliance.

Clash 5/10 This material, as a whole, simply just doesn’t add up to a collection worth caring about as we did ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’. Career-long themes of murder and revenge are still abundant, and for someone who’s now officially middle-aged a little restraint on the rampant misogyny might’ve gone a long way.

Slant 3/5 Eminem’s shock value has softened by dint of familiarity, but The Marshall Mathers LP 2 still features tantalizing moments of vintage performance.

Pop Matters 8/10 In a year cluttered with high-profile hip-hop releases, The Marshall Mathers LP2 is undeniably the best of the best and it’s not close.

The Guardian 5/5 There is confidence and maturity here; introspection and regret are balanced with a clear idea of his place in rap's history.

Spectrum Culture 65% The record feels like an unsuccessful attempt to revisit the acclaim of the first installment of The Marshall Mathers LP, which was fresh and fascinating when it came out. Had this record been released as a second disc it might have been equally as notable, but now, so many years later, it feels a little dated.

Hot Press 6.0/10 The flow is assured yet Eminem’s obsession with himself starts to get old.

RapReviews.com 8.0/10 This feels fresh yet familiar; a throwback picture in a modern frame ... The truest of Eminem fans out there ... will absolutely lap it up.