We all know the story.  Years on the Detroit underground, broken family background, Rawkus guest appearances, blah blah blah. But the key point here is that the biggest rap (arguably biggest pop) star in the world initially took the mainstream by storm with My Name Is - a Dr Dre-produced, hilarious, well-rhymed, original-sounding slab of hip hop that broke down innumerable barriers, and achieved crossover success without sacrificing the credibility earned on the battle circuit. The song combined self-deprecating wit with observations about the most mainstream of celebs, all represented in the accompanying video.

Wind on 11 years, and the formula that worked on that, and the subsequent lead-in singles The Real Slim Shady, Without Me and Just Lose It is repeated once again for the first official single from Eminem's fifth album, Relapse.  Given that the leaked Crack a Bottle made it to Number One, there's no doubting how massive this is going to be.

Sonically, this is a highly commercial pop-rap version of Nickelback's Rockstar. The tone is set by the opening "Jessica Simpson - sing the chorus," which leads in to a predictable roll call of US Weekly regulars; and while references to the likes of Amy Winehouse, Elvis, Britney and K-Fed were predictable, Em shows he can still raise eyebrows by including Sarah Palin. There are a few laughs, but the feeling of deja-vu kicks in within seconds.

Joseph Kahn (the man behind many Busta, Nelly, Black Eyed Peas and DMX clips, as well as Britney and Christina glossy pop smashes - and who had already been tapped for a D12 clip) directed the video, and it more than lives up to expectations, with Transformers-apeing special effects sitting next to typical comic-book/schoolboy Em antics on the Starship Enterprise and in the bedroom. As usual, Dre and Fiddy are on hand for their cameos. Again, it's a formula that has worked, but that's the problem: there's nothing fresh going on here at all.

So, we've heard it all before and we've seen it all before.  But you know what? This is exactly what the millions of Em fans around the world wanted, and he's 100% delivered on whatever promises they feel he's made them. Will the hip hop community embrace it? Let's just say that they made their mind up about him a long time ago, and this new single certainly isn't going to change their opinions.  Do you think he still gives a f**k? As he says himself within the track, "you think that's bad, wait 'til you hear the rest of my album!" We've heard two tracks now, both of which suggest there aren't going to be any dramatic new sonic directions or any surprises content-wise. His tried and tested formula of "I'm back" comedic/pseudo-controversial intro singles have laid the foundations of what's to come in the past, so it could be yet another disappointment to those fans who yearn to hear his purest battle rhymes (the last time this writer really took notice was back on Jigga's Renegade), or even get the chance to hear one of the greatest talents in the game drop some of the science we know he has in him. But we'll reserve our judgement one more month - and give him the benefit of the doubt - until the album finally arrives.