"Encore" (stylized as "ƎNCORE" and sometimes known as "Curtains Down") is a song by American rapper
Eminem featuring
50 Cent and
Dr. Dre. It was written by the artists alongside Chris Pope,
Mike Elizondo
Mike Elizondo (born October 22, 1972) is an American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A protege of Dr. Dre, Elizondo has worked with 50 Cent, Eminem, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Mastodon, Ry Cooder, Skylar Grey, Twenty ...
, and
Mark Batson
Mark Batson is an American producer, musician and songwriter. He has worked on albums by artists including Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews Band, LeAnn Rimes, Anthony Hamilton, Eminem, India Arie, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Maroon 5, Skylar Grey, Grace Potter an ...
, the latter of which produced it with Dr. Dre. The title track from the Eminem
album of the same name, it was released on November 9, 2004 as the third single on vinyl in the U.S. and is the final track from the album.
The song was nominated for
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance.
The award was discontin ...
at the
Grammy Awards of 2006, but lost to
Black Eyed Peas song "
Don't Phunk with My Heart
"Don't Phunk with My Heart" (censored as "Don't Mess with My Heart") is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fourth studio album '' Monkey Business'' (2005). It was written by band members will.i.am and Fergie with P ...
". No music video was filmed for this song. Eminem, Dre and 50 Cent would later return to work together on the song "
Crack a Bottle" from ''
Relapse
In internal medicine, relapse or recidivism is a recurrence of a past (typically medical) condition. For example, multiple sclerosis and malaria often exhibit peaks of activity and sometimes very long periods of dormancy, followed by relapse or ...
''. On ''
Encore
An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pre ...
'', "One Shot 2 Shot"
segue
A segue (; ) is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next. The term is derived from Italian ''segue'', which literally means "follows".
In music
In music, ''segue'' is a direction to the performer. It means ''continue (the next ...
s into the skit "Final Thought", which then segues into Encore, which also segues into the "Curtains Down" skit.
.
"Curtains Down" skit
After the song is over, "Encore" features a line by Eminem alerting listeners of Dr. Dre's upcoming album ''
Detox
Detoxification or detoxication (detox for short) is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Additionally, it can refer to the period of ...
''. Eminem tells his audience "Don't worry about that ''Detox'' album. It's coming. We're gonna make Dre do it." In the song,
Eminem hints at his career aspirations with the line, "10
Multi-Platinum albums later three Diamond worldwide, we hit the charts with a bullet, and still climb." After "Encore", the next track on the album is a skit in which Eminem returns to the stage, stating that he forgot "one more thing", starts shooting at the crowd, and shoots himself through the mouth. The album's last lines are "See you in hell, fuckers" in a robotic voice, created by Eminem using an
electrolarynx
An electrolarynx, sometimes referred to as a "throat back", is a medical device about the size of a small electric razor used to produce clearer speech by those people who have lost their voice box, usually due to cancer of the larynx. The most ...
. Many critics thought that it might have meant Eminem will totally stop his music career. Others see it as him getting rid of his alter ego "Slim Shady", and coming back as a whole new rapper. Eminem had stated that, at that moment in time, he was not certain about the future but that he would still be involved in the music industry.
The edited version fades out before the shooting segment begins. It was later confirmed that the shooting was meant to represent the death of Slim Shady. Shady however returned in ''Relapse'', coming back after Eminem was released from a rehabilitation center. The skit was hinted in the earlier skit "Em Calls Paul", in which he tells his manager
Paul Rosenberg through the phone that he has a good idea for the ending - "I have this idea about how I want to end the show" - in the same electrolarynx voice. In the skit, he also lies to Paul that he didn't get a new gun, referencing an earlier skit on the album where Paul hears rumors about him having a new gun as well as a skit on ''
The Eminem Show
''The Eminem Show'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Eminem. After it had originally scheduled for release on June 4, 2002, the album was released nine days earlier on May 26, 2002, through Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and ...
'', where Paul was stressed over Eminem bringing his gun to the studio.
Critical response
''
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group.
...
'' praised the song: "The best might be last
..as Dre and 50 join Eminem for the title track and a surefire hit song." ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' was negative: "‘Encore/Curtains Down’ is the archetypal ‘gang’s all here’ show-closer, only with much more swearing and ‘the gang’ in this case being Dr Dre and 50 Cent, who are really the only two of Eminem's collaborators who deserve to share his applause. A round of applause which, by the way, hidden-significance-spotters, ends with Eminem blowing his brains out." RapReviews was positive: "the album finally closes with a sure shot banger 'Encore/Curtains Down.' The Doctor lays the beat, Eminem drops the hook, and Eminem and Dre foray flames back and forth:
r. Dre'The buzz is tremendous, we drop you all to sense it
I don't gotta promote it for you to know that doc is off the benches'
minem'We keep the party rockin' off the hinges
We ain't showin' off, we just goin' off popular consensus'
r. Dre'But critics say that Doc is soft, Doc is talk
Doc is all washed up, knock it off
Who the fuck is Doc impressin'?
Doc is this, Doc is that, you got the wrong impression
You must be on the cock of Doc, cuz Doc left you all guessin'
So DJ take the needle and just drop it on the record
We gon' have this mutherfucker hoppin' in a second
That's why we always save the best cut last
To make you scratch and itch for it like fresh cut grass'"
''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' stated that Eminem "closes out
..trading lines with 50 Cent and Dr. Dre." ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', however, stated that the "Em-and-Dre tag-team title track" was not the "most exciting thing" on the album.
Track listing
;12" Vinyl
Charts
References
{{authority control
2004 singles
Eminem songs
Dr. Dre songs
50 Cent songs
Songs written by Eminem
Songs written by 50 Cent
Songs written by Mark Batson
Song recordings produced by Dr. Dre
Songs written by Mike Elizondo
2004 songs
Song recordings produced by Mark Batson
Shady Records singles
Aftermath Entertainment singles
Interscope Records singles