Mariah Carey “Obsessed”
It was already lame that Eminem felt the need to drudge up his archaic beef with Mariah Carey on his most recent album. It’s just as lame that Mrs. Nick Cannon would be moved to respond to it, and not as a mixtape-only cut to satisfy the drama-loving blog-o-sphere (which would have been a perfectly fine move), but as the LEAD SINGLE of an actual album.
“Obsessed”, the first taste of Carey’s twelfth studio effort Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel, isn’t at all a “Dreamlover”, “Fantasy”, “Honey”, “It’s Like That” or “Touch My Body”, previous new LP jump-offs that felt like major pop events tailor-made for soundtracking good times for the next three months. Hell, it’s not even on the same level as comparably weaker lead single exercises “Heartbreaker” or “Loverboy”.
Most of that can be attributed to the fact that it’s central purpose relies far too heavily on chopping Eminem to size. MC may get some good digs in (“You’re delusional, you’re delusional
Boy you’re losing your mind/…Got you all fired up with your Napoleon complex/ See right through you like you’re bathin’ in Windex”), especially with the cool and passive way she touches on Em’s much-publicized past with drugs and drops divaliicious one-liners like “You a mom and pop, I’m a corporation” and “I’m the press conference, you a conversation”, but all this would’ve perhaps been better served within a single verse, with the rest of the song tackling a more universal slant at dissing bug-a-boos. Spending over four minutes stressing on such a singular, and uncomfortably personal, topic quickly grows tiresome, especially once you’ve gotten past that initial first listen giddiness of “I can’t believe she just said that” excitement.
Aside from the lyrics, the production contribution from The-Dream and Chris “Tricky” Stewart (currently the Jam & Lewis to MC’s Janet) sort-of bores in it’s refusal to deviate from one main setting, which can best be summed up as a slightly more denser mimicking of their signature featherweight tip-toe pounce. It’s passable and radio-friendly, but in desperate need for some major musical switch-up to add a different dynamic.
To “Obsessed”’s credit, it’s nice to see Carey putting on the boxing gloves and showing the public that she’s no pushover, and it’s possible that the combination of it’s gossip-rag targeting core and hype as a brand new MC single will aid in granting the track a big first few weeks on the singles chart; but giving the record the weight of something more than a simple album cut just doesn’t feel like the smartest move in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully, she’ll realize this and drop something with a bit more long-lasting appeal (like the “We Belong Together” Part 2 we didn’t get on the last album) as Imperfect Angel’s release date nears.
Catch clips of the original and Gucci Mane-featured remix below…cause we don’t have the balls to go up against Mariah and her legal team.
have to disagree with you. there’s something almost ‘genius’ about killing two birds with one stone. and that’s exactly what this song does. it’s a catchy little ’summer anthem’….and it melts Eminem’s candy ass. the best part about it is: her song can be played on every radio station w/o censorship. which means it will get more publicity/attention than his Bagpipes of Baghdad (or whatever it’s called).
and whether you believe it or not, all people needed to connect with is the chorus. and trust me, “why are you obsessed with me?” will be the question of the summer.
Honestly, I think it’s a bit of a grower…
I didn’t even know this song had anything to do with Eminem until I saw it on some blog, so I really don’t agree about the song getting too personal. It definitely has a universal feel about it, and no… I’m not a lamb.