Eminem_Kamikaze

When Eminem released Revival in 2017, his first album in four years, it received polarized reactions from critics and overwhelmingly negative reception by fans. Revival was reviewed by publications such as The Guardian, The New York Times, Pitchfork and The Independent. Each review had one critical point in common: the album lacked focus.

With Kamikaze, which dropped at midnight on Thursday, Marshall Mathers responds to critics, fans, other artists and anyone who’s ever disliked anything he’s done. “Tried not to over think this one. Enjoy,” he wrote on Twitter Friday. This was accompanied by a middle finger emoji.

The word “kamikaze” as a noun refers to a pilot of an aircraft making a deliberate suicidal crash. The album cover, which is almost an exact replica of the 1986 Beastie Boys album Licensed to Ill, features an illustration of a pilot crashing a fighter plane. As the plane crashes, the pilot gives the middle finger. Message received.