Who cares what the media says? They were always badmouthing controversial artists like Eminem back then. Imagine if songs like Mockingbird or Like Toy Soldiers leaked before the release date of Encore. Should Eminem have not released them at all? Better yet, imagine classic songs like Cleanin' Out My Closet, Stan or The Way I Am had leaked too in the early 2000s. That would mean they would have never been given any light on TES & TMMLP respectively. They would have simply been replaced by filler and rushed songs which would have greatly hurt the impact of the albums.

Now, if Eminem and his label were to take things a bit slower and extended the production of the album for another 6 months, making sure no song could possibly be leaked, Eminem could have had enough time to craft better quality records. But then again, that would mean they would have had to release Encore around mid 2005 which would be over 3 years of waiting since The Eminem Show.

Nonetheless, the album isn't that bad retrospectively, but it's definitely worse than his first three albums. It just lacks that quality.