Eminem shocked the world at the wee hours of the morning when he unexpectedly released his latest album, Kamikaze. The project - to many - is infinitely better than his last project, Revival which was met relatively negatively by both fans and critics. However, Kamikaze is a project that shows the side of Eminem many were hoping would return sooner. For Illadaproducer, who worked on several tracks on the project, Em's latest album was the return of his most notable alter-ego: Slim Shady.
Illadaproducer spoke to Rolling Stone today about the process behind the project, how he linked up with Eminem and more. He explained that Kamikaze is a result of the negative reviews Em read about Revival. The reception to his 2017 project seemed to fuel the fire in him to get back in the lab and cook up something against his naysayers, which he addressed on the interludes.
Illadaproducer said comparing Revival to Kamikaze is like "apples and oranges."
"You can’t even compare the two. Apples and oranges. A lot of Em’s more refined fans, people who wanted to see growth in him, they liked Revival. I liked Revival too. People wanted Slim Shady." He said, "He was doing his version of [Jay-Z’s] 4:44. People weren’t ready for it. It’s the marketplace; it’s not the music. But you’re not gonna know until you try, right? He gave it a try. He got his reaction. Then right away, he’s going right back to the drawing board. O.K., that’s what you want? And he delivered."
When asked about whether Kamikaze is the return of Slim Shady, Illadaproducer said that he feels the project marked the return of Eminem's most famous alter ego.
"To me it is. Right away he comes out just blowing bad, spittin’." He said. "This is Eminem! Top five, dead or alive. I want to hear him go bad. And I got what I was looking for."