Bush (again), Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, and the late Michael Jackson (to be fair, Em didn't attack the man's music, just his ridiculous personal life), who took such offense at Em's Interscope-approved first single 'Just Lose It' that he eventually entered into a deal with Sony to purchase a music publishing company that just so happened to own the rights to some of Em's recordings. This album features a Marshall Mathers who thinks nothing of throwing the middle finger at critics and fans alike, attacking sitting ducks such as George W. And, truth be told, that lack of commitment comes out in full force on Encore. It was also supposed to be Eminem's final album: he was allegedly retiring from the hip hop game because he wasn't feeling inspired anymore. But ultimately, none of this mattered, as all seven tracks that leaked were scrapped from the tracklisting for his fifth album, Encore, although a couple of them would find themselves on a bonus disc packaged with deluxe versions of the project.Įncore was envisioned as a companion piece to the critically praised The Eminem Show (hence the title). Marshall made the wrong kind of headlines when it was revealed that he was investigated by the Secret Service for the latter song. This seven-track EP (labeled as such because, even though this was a bootleg release, Universal actually made things official in the European market) was notable only because Eminem attacks the rapper Canibus (on 'Can-I-Bitch', a goof on Slick Rick's 'Children's Story') and threatens to harm (now former) George W. In 2003, a gaggle of newly recorded Marshall Mathers tracks hit the Interweb under the catchy title Straight From The Lab.

Eminem encore song