From dissing the president of the United States to throwing shade at the Grammys, Eminem’s new album “Kamikaze” is controversial to say the least. He breaks rules and makes an epic comeback to the rap scene. 

Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, whose net worth is 190 million dollars, continues to surprise the world with his incredible talent and wit. His latest album stirred up some mixed feelings on the Marquette campus.

Courtney Dugan, senior in the College of Business Administration, adores Eminem. When asked if she has heard his latest album she said, “Oh my gosh, have I? Yes, love Eminem! He just sings his heart out and I appreciate that. Every time he just gives it his all.”

However, her positivity towards Eminem was short lived when asked about his various diss tracks.

“That is one thing, let me say, that he really could work on. Because, I think he has to respect. Respect is needed for every person in society, whether you’re young, old, rich or poor — respect,” Dugan said.

The sentiment of Dugan’s words, while inspirational, was not quite shared by many of the other Marquette students. Joe Davis, senior in the College of Business Administration, felt that Eminem was making a statement with the plethora of diss tracks. Davis commented, “It’s ambitious to say the least.”

Kevin Lipuma, senior in the College of Business Administration, and “a day one Eminem fan, since ‘The Real Slim Shady’,” mentioned, “It’s a giant diss track, he’s calling out all the haters now.”

“Not Alike” is one of the songs that earned the most publicity for dissing Machine Gun Kelly.

Many students were entertained by the feud between Eminem and fellow rapper Machine Gun Kelly.

In 2012, Kelly commented on Eminem’s daughter, Hailie Mathers’, appearance over Twitter. At the time, Kelly was 21 and Mathers was 15, hence the tension. This had a significant negative impact on Kelly’s career. In his album, Eminem was able to throw the tweet right back in Kelly’s face. 

Less than a week after the album’s release, Kelly released his own diss track calling out Eminem for waiting six years to address his tweet. 

The release of “Kamikaze” was a surprise and Eminem needed it after the disappointing release of his album “Revival” last year.

While the diss tracks are controversial, many listeners had mixed feelings about the album as a whole. Though “Kamikaze” gained more publicity than Eminem’s preceding album, some of his true fans were still not impressed.

Davis has a personal connection with Eminem and he considers himself a loyal Eminem fan. He wasn’t overly thrilled with the latest release, explaining, “It’s not his best, I lived in Michigan, I lived on the very end of eight mile so I feel very connected to Eminem, and it’s not terrible but it’s not his best.”

Eminem’s fans still support him but they are feeling a bit disappointed about his last few albums. “Kamikaze” is far from bad but unfortunately it is still not what much of his community is hoping for.

While the album earned mixed reviews, “Kamikaze” still received a lot of attention and made a huge impact in the rap community as well as at Marquette.