It was shocking once. Actually, it was shocking a second time, too. But a third time hearing Eminem viciously diss his ex-wife on record is starting to get old. Get over it, man!

The white rapper's third album (in stores a week early on Tuesday because it got out on the Net) is like watching Halloween III. You needn't have watched the first two to understand it.

Shall we review? This white suburban kid from Detroit with a big chip on his shoulder makes a huge splash by not censoring any twisted thought that pops into his little brain. He also happens to have the gift of rhyme and a crucial friend in producer Dr. Dre. Voila! Rap superstar. Nothing new, but as Eminem points out here, "If I was black, I would've sold half."

This album is more of the same - more misogyny, more outrageous boasts, more violent thoughts, more gangsta gunplay, more pointed criticism of the American police state and swelling military-industrial complex in the wake of Sept. 11. Well ... maybe he's maturing. Egad. Talk about shocking. Still, it seems that outrageous exaggeration used merely to get a rise out of people has been replaced by simple, brutal honesty. What's revealed is a whiner of the highest order.

In one autobiographical rant after another, Eminem disses Dick Cheney, Tipper Gore, George Bush, music critics, naysayers and basically anyone who ever looked at him sideways. He whines about how hard it is to be famous. He whines about needing to carry a gun. He whines about the sorry state of rap music in general. He whines about his difficult childhood. Yes, his family members once again bear the brunt of his wrath. His own mother is a "selfish bitch" whose granddaughter "won't even be at your funeral," he spits. Some issues here.

As for the other woman who done him wrong, "The smartest thing that I did was to take the bullets out of that gun, 'cause I'd of killed them. I would've shot Kim and him both." He just won't let it alone. Several tracks carry the same basic theme, including Hailie's Song, which is supposed to be for his daughter. The poor kid doesn't need this kind of broken family baggage.

This guy really ought to write a book - or see a shrink. (More on Eminem)

Track Listing