Recovery
Recovery is the seventh studio album by rapper Eminem. It was released on June 18, 2010, by Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records as the follow-up to Eminem's Relapse (2009). Originally planned to be released as Relapse 2, the album was renamed to Recovery when Eminem found the music of the new album different from its predecessor.
Recovery featured more introspective and emotional content than its predecessor and the theme of the album revolved around his positive changes, anxiety, and emotional drives.
The album was dedicated "To anyone who's in a dark place tryin' to get out. Keep your head up... It does get better!
The album's artwork featured two covers: One with Eminem walking down a country road and another with him sitting in a transparent living room in the middle of Detroit with the Renaissance Center in the background.
Recovery is the seventh studio album by rapper Eminem. It was released on June 18, 2010, by Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records as the follow-up to Eminem's Relapse (2009). Originally planned to be released as Relapse 2, the album was renamed to Recovery when Eminem found the music of the new album different from its predecessor.
Recovery featured more introspective and emotional content than its predecessor and the theme of the album revolved around his positive changes, anxiety, and emotional drives.
The album was dedicated "To anyone who's in a dark place tryin' to get out. Keep your head up... It does get better!
The album's artwork featured two covers: One with Eminem walking down a country road and another with him sitting in a transparent living room in the middle of Detroit with the Renaissance Center in the background.
Tracks:
1.Cold Wind Blows:
This the chorus is paraphrased from his song “Just Don’t Give a Fuck” off of The Slim Shady LP: “I’m colder than snow season when its 20 below freezing/Flavor with no seasoning, this just a sneak preview.”
2.Talkin’ 2 Myself:
This song is about Eminem’s struggles and jealousy for other rappers when he was on hiatus. He mentions wanting to diss Lil Wayne and Kanye in a song, because they became really big while he was in rehab, but he decides not to. this song Eminem reintroducing himself, he finally feels like he’s back: “The last 2 albums didn’t count/ Encore I was on drugs, Relapse I was flushin em out… I finally feel like I’m back to normal”.
3.On Fire:
This song is in a rap battle style. “The Hip Hop Shop” mentioned in the hook was an underground hip-hop venue in Detroit where battles and rap shows took place. This was where Em got his start in the rap world.
4.Won’t Back Down: featuring P!nk
In verse 3, Eminem says saying people say lightning never strikes twice in the same place, he asks how has he been “hit 6 times in 3 different locations on 4 separate occasions”. Em has been “struck” 6 times, meaning 6 of his albums have gone platinum. What the “3 locations and 4 occasions” seems to be referring to the 3 different locations for record releases — the U.S., Europe, and the U.K. and his 4 albums that have received Grammy awards: Slim Shady LP, Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show and Relapse.
This song later got used in Call of Duty: Black Ops and the first trailer for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.
5.W.T.P:
Meaning White Trash Party, the line is the hook saying “aint nothing but a white trash party” is a reference to 2Pac and Snoop’s “Ain’t Nothin' But a Gangsta Party”. On the final verse he said “I shut the club down like Drake in the mall” which is referring to Drakes line “I’m shuttin shit down in the mall” from “Forever", a song which Eminem rapped the final verse on.
6.Going Through Changes:
Eminem describes overeating, daytime napping, pill-addiction, and sorrow at the loss of his child hood friend Proof, who was shot outside a club in April of 2006. He ends with a note of love and empathy for his disturbed ex-wife Kim. The hook is a sample of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Changes”. Eminem said about his weight gain: “I got up to between 220 and 230, about 80 pounds heavier than I am now. I was going to McDonald’s and Taco Bell every day. I got so heavy that people started to not recognize me. I remember being somewhere and overhearing these kids talking. One of them said, “That’s Eminem,” and the other said, “No it’s not, man – Eminem ain’t fat.””
7.Not Afraid:
An inspirational and brutally honest anthem for Eminem’s fans addressing that of his struggles and triumphs, and encouraging his fans to reach their triumphs as well. In this song he is promising his fans, he won’t go back to the way he was, he even goes on to say: “let’s be honest, that last Relapse CD was ehhhh” he also goes on to say that he got clean for his daughters and fans.
8.Seduction:
He is talking about a “verbal seduction” or seducing someone by his power of rapping and his extreme lyricism. There are hints in the song that the girl represents Hip-hop- the idea of being “married to the game”. Other rappers claim to be “married to the game” but Eminem is coming to steal their metaphorical “girl”. There are also claims that thing song is a diss towards Lil Wayne, who is featured on the next track.
9.No Love: featuring Lil Wayne
The beat produced by mega-producer Just Blaze, samples Haddaway’s 1993 pop-techno hit “What Is Love?”. Em references Kanye at the MTV Video Music Awards, where snatched the microphone away from Taylor Swift while she was receiving the award for “Best Female Video”. The music video sets the scene for a classic Eminem pose, showcasing Wayne spitting bars on a dark background preparing for Em’s arrival at the studio. Recurring scenes of a kid being bullied are also present to mirror the mistreatment both get from Hip-Hop (fans, critics and artists alike). This is the only music video on Eminem’s VEVO channel which has an explicit and a clean version with the clean version having the higher view count.
10.Space Bound:
Em describes a budding relationship that turns abusive. It’s pretty affectionate, too, considering how graphic it gets at times. It could considered it the sequel to “Kim”. In fact it’s possible that he’s revisiting his relationship with his ex-wife in this song, as Eminem. It’s about rewinding time. Wondering whether it all could have gone differently. “250,000 miles on a clear night in June” that is the average distance from the Earth to the moon, and the album was released in June. People also say that this is a song about his love/ hate relationship with the music industry.
11.Cinderella Man:
Like the main character in the movie Cinderella Man, about a boxer who makes a comeback, Eminem has retaken the “belt” as rap’s welterweight champion. Again, Eminem disses Relapse by saying “fuck my last CD that shit’s in my trash” On his apparent distaste for Relapse, Eminem said:
“I mean, listen, I don’t hate Relapse. I don’t hate it at all, but when I’m looking back at an album I do have a tendency, and especially with that album, to run things into the ground. That was one of those instances where I got in a zone, like, “Yo I just want to be this demented serial killer on this album.” And part of that was a growing process to get to Recovery, working through those steps, relearning how to rap, and relearning where I need to be at.”
12.25 to Life:
Like Common’s “I Used to Love H.E.R.” and 2Pac’s “Me and My Girlfriend”, this song isn’t what it seems at first glance. It sounds like a kiss-off to a jealous, neglectful, emotionally abusive lover , but the ending reveals that it’s a kiss-off to hip-hop. The phrase “25 to life” could have multiple meanings: “25 to life” is the standard prison sentence for Murder 1, so Eminem also implies that he’s serving, as a rap inmate, because he “killed” the Rap Game. It could also be derived from the fact that he started getting into rap about age 12. He made his come back at age 37. That puts him at about a 25 years sentence and possibly life depending where he goes from there. Finally it could also be referencing the fact that he released the Slim Shady LP; the album that truly made him famous at the age of 25. This makes the phrase “25 to Life” a great metaphor.
13.So Bad:
In this song Eminem is saying that he’s “so bad, that he’s good”. The chicka chicka in the beginning of the song is alluding to the song “My Name Is”: “chicka chicka Slim Shady” When he says “word to Jonny Drama” he’s referring to the character in the show “Entourage”. Eminem had a role in Entourage also. In the final episode of the seventh season “Lose Yourself” he beats up the main character, Vince.
14.Almost Famous:
Eminem narrates the history of his rise, from the freestyle battle circuit to rap superstardom. The title is borrowed from the movie Almost Famous, which is about a young man discovering fame, drugs and rock n' roll, which is something Em can relate to. The line “I go berserker than a fed up post office worker” is referencing a series of incidents from 1986 onward in which United States Postal Service (USPS) workers shot and killed managers, fellow workers, and members of the police. He also makes multiple references to Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
15.Love the Way You Lie: featuring Rihanna
This smash hit had Eminem and Rihanna reflect on their abusive relationships with their respective ex-partners Kim & Chris Brown. The track’s chorus was written by Skylar Grey (in under 15 minutes) about her abusive relationship with the music industry. She recorded the chorus with her vocals for Alex Da Kid’s demo which was eventually heard by Eminem who liked the beat and hook. He wrote his verses and reached out to Rihanna, asking her to sing the chorus as she, like him, had experienced an abusive relationship and he felt the song would resonate and connect with her. This track is Eminem’s biggest-selling single ever, with over 6 million copies sold in the US alone.
16.You’re Never Over:
Eminem’s ode to his fallen friend and D12 group member, Proof. Many of the songs where Proof is mentioned the name “Doody” is also mentioned. Doody was Proof’s nickname for Eminem and Em’s nickname for Proof, they called each other that. He considers Proof to be his guardian angel, who stopped him from dying the night he overdosed.
1.Cold Wind Blows:
This the chorus is paraphrased from his song “Just Don’t Give a Fuck” off of The Slim Shady LP: “I’m colder than snow season when its 20 below freezing/Flavor with no seasoning, this just a sneak preview.”
2.Talkin’ 2 Myself:
This song is about Eminem’s struggles and jealousy for other rappers when he was on hiatus. He mentions wanting to diss Lil Wayne and Kanye in a song, because they became really big while he was in rehab, but he decides not to. this song Eminem reintroducing himself, he finally feels like he’s back: “The last 2 albums didn’t count/ Encore I was on drugs, Relapse I was flushin em out… I finally feel like I’m back to normal”.
3.On Fire:
This song is in a rap battle style. “The Hip Hop Shop” mentioned in the hook was an underground hip-hop venue in Detroit where battles and rap shows took place. This was where Em got his start in the rap world.
4.Won’t Back Down: featuring P!nk
In verse 3, Eminem says saying people say lightning never strikes twice in the same place, he asks how has he been “hit 6 times in 3 different locations on 4 separate occasions”. Em has been “struck” 6 times, meaning 6 of his albums have gone platinum. What the “3 locations and 4 occasions” seems to be referring to the 3 different locations for record releases — the U.S., Europe, and the U.K. and his 4 albums that have received Grammy awards: Slim Shady LP, Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show and Relapse.
This song later got used in Call of Duty: Black Ops and the first trailer for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.
5.W.T.P:
Meaning White Trash Party, the line is the hook saying “aint nothing but a white trash party” is a reference to 2Pac and Snoop’s “Ain’t Nothin' But a Gangsta Party”. On the final verse he said “I shut the club down like Drake in the mall” which is referring to Drakes line “I’m shuttin shit down in the mall” from “Forever", a song which Eminem rapped the final verse on.
6.Going Through Changes:
Eminem describes overeating, daytime napping, pill-addiction, and sorrow at the loss of his child hood friend Proof, who was shot outside a club in April of 2006. He ends with a note of love and empathy for his disturbed ex-wife Kim. The hook is a sample of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Changes”. Eminem said about his weight gain: “I got up to between 220 and 230, about 80 pounds heavier than I am now. I was going to McDonald’s and Taco Bell every day. I got so heavy that people started to not recognize me. I remember being somewhere and overhearing these kids talking. One of them said, “That’s Eminem,” and the other said, “No it’s not, man – Eminem ain’t fat.””
7.Not Afraid:
An inspirational and brutally honest anthem for Eminem’s fans addressing that of his struggles and triumphs, and encouraging his fans to reach their triumphs as well. In this song he is promising his fans, he won’t go back to the way he was, he even goes on to say: “let’s be honest, that last Relapse CD was ehhhh” he also goes on to say that he got clean for his daughters and fans.
8.Seduction:
He is talking about a “verbal seduction” or seducing someone by his power of rapping and his extreme lyricism. There are hints in the song that the girl represents Hip-hop- the idea of being “married to the game”. Other rappers claim to be “married to the game” but Eminem is coming to steal their metaphorical “girl”. There are also claims that thing song is a diss towards Lil Wayne, who is featured on the next track.
9.No Love: featuring Lil Wayne
The beat produced by mega-producer Just Blaze, samples Haddaway’s 1993 pop-techno hit “What Is Love?”. Em references Kanye at the MTV Video Music Awards, where snatched the microphone away from Taylor Swift while she was receiving the award for “Best Female Video”. The music video sets the scene for a classic Eminem pose, showcasing Wayne spitting bars on a dark background preparing for Em’s arrival at the studio. Recurring scenes of a kid being bullied are also present to mirror the mistreatment both get from Hip-Hop (fans, critics and artists alike). This is the only music video on Eminem’s VEVO channel which has an explicit and a clean version with the clean version having the higher view count.
10.Space Bound:
Em describes a budding relationship that turns abusive. It’s pretty affectionate, too, considering how graphic it gets at times. It could considered it the sequel to “Kim”. In fact it’s possible that he’s revisiting his relationship with his ex-wife in this song, as Eminem. It’s about rewinding time. Wondering whether it all could have gone differently. “250,000 miles on a clear night in June” that is the average distance from the Earth to the moon, and the album was released in June. People also say that this is a song about his love/ hate relationship with the music industry.
11.Cinderella Man:
Like the main character in the movie Cinderella Man, about a boxer who makes a comeback, Eminem has retaken the “belt” as rap’s welterweight champion. Again, Eminem disses Relapse by saying “fuck my last CD that shit’s in my trash” On his apparent distaste for Relapse, Eminem said:
“I mean, listen, I don’t hate Relapse. I don’t hate it at all, but when I’m looking back at an album I do have a tendency, and especially with that album, to run things into the ground. That was one of those instances where I got in a zone, like, “Yo I just want to be this demented serial killer on this album.” And part of that was a growing process to get to Recovery, working through those steps, relearning how to rap, and relearning where I need to be at.”
12.25 to Life:
Like Common’s “I Used to Love H.E.R.” and 2Pac’s “Me and My Girlfriend”, this song isn’t what it seems at first glance. It sounds like a kiss-off to a jealous, neglectful, emotionally abusive lover , but the ending reveals that it’s a kiss-off to hip-hop. The phrase “25 to life” could have multiple meanings: “25 to life” is the standard prison sentence for Murder 1, so Eminem also implies that he’s serving, as a rap inmate, because he “killed” the Rap Game. It could also be derived from the fact that he started getting into rap about age 12. He made his come back at age 37. That puts him at about a 25 years sentence and possibly life depending where he goes from there. Finally it could also be referencing the fact that he released the Slim Shady LP; the album that truly made him famous at the age of 25. This makes the phrase “25 to Life” a great metaphor.
13.So Bad:
In this song Eminem is saying that he’s “so bad, that he’s good”. The chicka chicka in the beginning of the song is alluding to the song “My Name Is”: “chicka chicka Slim Shady” When he says “word to Jonny Drama” he’s referring to the character in the show “Entourage”. Eminem had a role in Entourage also. In the final episode of the seventh season “Lose Yourself” he beats up the main character, Vince.
14.Almost Famous:
Eminem narrates the history of his rise, from the freestyle battle circuit to rap superstardom. The title is borrowed from the movie Almost Famous, which is about a young man discovering fame, drugs and rock n' roll, which is something Em can relate to. The line “I go berserker than a fed up post office worker” is referencing a series of incidents from 1986 onward in which United States Postal Service (USPS) workers shot and killed managers, fellow workers, and members of the police. He also makes multiple references to Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
15.Love the Way You Lie: featuring Rihanna
This smash hit had Eminem and Rihanna reflect on their abusive relationships with their respective ex-partners Kim & Chris Brown. The track’s chorus was written by Skylar Grey (in under 15 minutes) about her abusive relationship with the music industry. She recorded the chorus with her vocals for Alex Da Kid’s demo which was eventually heard by Eminem who liked the beat and hook. He wrote his verses and reached out to Rihanna, asking her to sing the chorus as she, like him, had experienced an abusive relationship and he felt the song would resonate and connect with her. This track is Eminem’s biggest-selling single ever, with over 6 million copies sold in the US alone.
16.You’re Never Over:
Eminem’s ode to his fallen friend and D12 group member, Proof. Many of the songs where Proof is mentioned the name “Doody” is also mentioned. Doody was Proof’s nickname for Eminem and Em’s nickname for Proof, they called each other that. He considers Proof to be his guardian angel, who stopped him from dying the night he overdosed.