The most divisive album in Eminem’s discography deserves a re-evaluation in retrospect. Eminem has released 12 albums over the course of a 36-year-long career in the rap industry. The rapper from 8 Mile has been afforded immense success as the majority of his projects have been universally adored. However, there’s at least one album that divided even his more hardcore of fans.

20 years ago, on November 12, 2004, Eminem released his fifth album, Encore, and it was his first studio album to receive a mixed reaction that leaned toward negative. Up to this point, Eminem’s albums always inspired controversy for the topics he’d cover, but would generally still be received well as an acclaimed body of work. This was the opposite, to the point that even Eminem has criticisms for this album. In retrospect, there are legitimate reasons as to why this album didn’t work, and the least of them being the fault of Eminem.

Encore Was Eminem’s First Divisive Release

How Bad Was The Third Album By Marshall Mathers?

Two Eminem singles —the title track and “Just Lose It” —ushered in anticipation for Encore. That isn’t to say that it was hard to build excitement for Eminem’s fifth album at the time, since by 2004, Em was on top of the rap world. His globally applauded albums earned Eminem appearances in movies, an Oscar, and nine Grammy wins under his belt. Encore was hotly anticipated, making the fall from grace all the more shocking when critics and fans found themselves disappointed.

Tracks like “Puke,” “Rain Man,” “Big Weenie,” “My 1st Single,” and “Ass Like That” have all been ranked among Eminem’s all-time worst songs. For what it’s worth, “Mockingbird” and “Like Toy Soldiers” were always viewed as the saving grace of this album, and 20 years later still withstand the test of time. Overall, though, reviews ranged from indifferent to hated at the time. As expected, the album was still a financial success, going quadruple platinum across 11 million copies in spite of its bad reviews, but the reviews remain damning to Encore’s legacy.

Why Encore Failed, In Eminem’s Words

Last Minute Changes Halted the Album’s Original Conception

Since Encore’s release, Eminem has gone on record numerous times about what didn’t work about this album, and more importantly, why it didn’t work. In a conversation with Vulture, he revealed the following:

I remember four songs leaked and I had to go to L.A. and get [Dr.] Dre and record new ones. I was in a room by myself writing songs in 25, and 30 minutes because we had to get it done, and what came out was so goofy. That’s how I ended up making songs like ‘Rain Man’ and ‘Big Weenie’. They’re pretty out there. If those other songs hadn’t leaked, Encore would’ve been a different album.

Eminem’s Encore is a victim of song leaks that forced him to change his original vision for the album, to the point he had to rush new recordings to replace the previous records. It’s also worth noting that he’d pull one of the songs, “Christopher Reeves,” from the album a month before release out of respect for the death of Superman actor, Christopher Reeve, that month. Th

It’s hard to use revisionist history to say that Encore is some underappreciated cult classic or suggest it gets better with age. In layman’s terms, for a lot of people, the album sucks just as much in 2024 as it did in 2004. However, Eminem’s explanation at least adds context to why the album wasn’t on par with previous efforts. Encore wasn’t a sign of waning or deteriorating skill for Eminem, but signs of the hip-hop icon overcompensating in an attempt to salvage an album that was already doomed.