Continuing a career that’s dangerously close to seeing more time spent on “comebacks” than actual coming up, Eminem released the first single from his upcoming Recovery yesterday, and once again he’s lyrically struggling with critics, his own personal demons, and people who just don’t believe in him, even though he doesn't have to prove anything to anyone. So yeah, nothing new—but for the first time in what feels like ages, the new single, “Not Afraid,” doesn’t attempt any streets behind pop-culture riffs, doesn’t pander to a “party” crowd, and lacks a general vibe of fucking around, so that’s something, right? Some of that newfound commitment to “cutting the crap” appears to be due to recognizing that last year’s Relapse wasn’t quite the triumphant return it was intended to be: At one point Eminem, who’s apparently been reading his reviews, admits, “"In fact, let's be honest / That last Relapse CD was ehh / Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground / Relax, I ain't going to do that now." See for yourself below.