Tobey by Eminem | Single Review
Will Eminem hit us with another magic trick or stick to the “mediocre” streak of his LPs ?
LISTEN TO “Tobey”
The feedback on Eminem’s new single “Houdini” has been overwhelmingly positive. Plenty of TikToks, and YouTube shorts, alongside the pleasing visuals, have garnered more attention to the new Eminem 12th studio album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce);
I would say “Houdini” did its job, it hooked me back to some old and new Eminem stuff, reminding me of his existence, and increasing his relevance for me. Despite the nostalgia factor of the video and controversial lyrics, there was nothing much to talk about Shady’s return.
But with the new release date, reveal of a number of tracks, and the new single, Eminem is set to show us a lot more this time.
The big of surprise that came to me is the number of features on the “Tobey” which has on it — BabyTron, and Big Sean. Both the former and the latter seemed a bit random to me. Hence, as of the first seconds, I was approaching the record with moderate expectations, and a slight prejudice to the features, as those made me contemplate Marshall’s direction on this record.
But damn, those guys were not the ones to worry about. BabyTron completely occupied the track from his 1st verse and the hook of the song, which he did a pretty good job with. The funny approach and his pleasant flow blended pretty well with the background’s mysterious instrument keys.
Flowing from his verse, we are transitioning to Big Sean, who was as useless as the old wire from the iPhone.
BabyTron’s presence on the track is nearly constant, as you can hear him on almost every part, with Sean, he just comes and goes. It was nothing but a waste of space on the track as he gives you a half-baked verse, with a pretty weak delivery.So we are half into the track, and my first question was:
Where is the Eminem?
As you might also notice, I did not mention him till this part, and the reason is that there is nothing to mention. On the last 3rd act of the track, he comes with almost the smallest verse on and tells you the same story again. How many times have we heard him talk about GOAT conversation? How many times have we heard him building a track on the GOAT conversation?
Pretty much most of his last material.
I don’t understand the point of bringing the hype around the name of Slim Shady back, and then coming back to that extremely monotone and drab style. It may be a clever marketing strategy, but the music doesn’t measure up. I would not say that this track was extremely disappointing, but it is just nothing. However, I must say that the production accompaniment was pretty nice, as it sounded epic and grandiose, but, the part of the supporting cast was pretty dull.
I give this track a rating of 4.9/10, as I can’t say that it is super bad, it is just mediocre, and not less or more.
FINAL RATING: 4.9/10 (MEDIOCRE)
Scores guideline:
0–2 (dramatically bad)
2.1–4.5 (bad)
4.6–6 (mediocre/mid)
6.1–6.9 (Ok)
7–7.5 (good)
7.6–8.6 (great)
8.7–9.9 (amazing)
10 (perfect)
