Music to Be Murdered By

Music to Be Murdered By
Studio album by
Publication (s)	17th January 2020
admission	2019
Label (s)	Shady Records , Aftermath , Interscope
Format (s)	CD , download , LP
Genre (s)	Hip-hop , horrorcore
Title (number)	20th
running time	64:22
production	Dr. Dre ( Executive Producer ) Eminem (Executive Producer) Luis Resto Tim Suby The alchemist Mark Batson Andre Brissett DA Got That Dope Fred Skylar Gray Erik Griggs The jointz Trevor Lawrence Jr. Dawaun Parker Kon Artis Ricky racks Royce da 5'9 ″
Studio (s)	Effigy Studios (Detroit) Record One (Sherman Oaks) The ICU (Brentwood) Heaven Studios Inc.
chronology Kamikaze (2018) Music to Be Murdered By -
Single release 17th January 2020 Darkness

Music to Be Murdered By is the eleventh solo album by the American rapper Eminem . It was released unannounced on January 17, 2020 for download and streaming via the labels Shady Records , Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records . It was also released on CD and LP on January 28, 2020 .

background

Like the previous album Kamikaze , Music to Be Murdered By was released without prior notice. The title pays homage to director Alfred Hitchcock , who released an album under the same name in 1958. Hitchcock is also quoted several times on the album.

At the same time, Eminem published the album cover on social networks and a music video for the song Darkness , at the end of which viewers are urged to stand up for stricter gun laws in the United States.

content

Eminem returns to the horrorcore style on the album , which he already used more and more on the albums The Slim Shady LP and Relapse . He slips into the role of his alter ego Slim Shady and raps, among other things, about murders and other acts of violence.

In the first song Premonition (Intro) Eminem looks back on his last two studio albums Revival and Kamikaze , some of which have been criticized by fans and the music press. He draws the bow at the beginning of his career, when he was undisputed and says that he is still better than the others today. Ultimately, Eminem addresses his critics and says that the new album is "music for you to be murdered by." On Unaccommodating , Eminem, like on Kamikaze , hands out against today's rap scene, whose music he no longer sees at the level of the past. He uses puns and metaphors and compares himself ironically with dictators and terrorists. A line alluding to the terrorist attack in Manchester on May 22, 2017 at a concert by Ariana Grande sparked great criticism in the media. In You Gon 'Learn , Royce da 5'9 ″ and Eminem rap about their rocky path in life, from poverty to rap star, and the associated hurdles, setbacks and tests that made them stronger and stronger.

Those Kinda Nights describes a typical party night at the beginning of Eminem's career. He is in a club with his rap group D12 , consuming drugs and flirting with different women before finally having sex. On In Too Deep , Eminem raps and sings from the point of view of the lyric self about a complicated love triangle where his affair has a husband and they can only secretly meet and are jealous of each other. He himself also has a girlfriend, which means they both live in another world and could never be number one for each other, but he is in love and always ready to secretly meet with his affair. In the song Godzilla , Eminem and Juice Wrld compare themselves to the fictional monster Godzilla because of their rap talent . Juice Wrld takes over the chorus while Eminem raps the three stanzas, using numerous puns, comparisons and metaphors. Eminem raps particularly quickly in the last verse, where he raps 10.65 syllables per second or 224 words in 30 seconds, surpassing his personal best of Majesty and Rap God .

In Darkness, Eminem supposedly raps from his perspective and describes the nervousness before a concert and mixes it with his life or his career as a rapper. The fear of an empty concert spreads with him. In the third verse it becomes clear that Eminem is narrating from the perspective of the mass murderer Stephen Paddock , who was responsible for the mass murder in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, and not from his own. He breaks the window of his hotel room and shoots the crowd at a concert. He says that a motive can never be found and then shoots himself. At the end of the song, various media reports about rampages are played. At the beginning of Leaving Heaven , Eminem reflects on his current success and status, only to rap about his tough childhood, in which he lived in poverty and was bullied and robbed by other children . He also addresses his father, who died on June 26, 2019, and renews his allegations that he was never there for him and that he therefore died for him beforehand.

The song Yah Yah is a posse cut in which Eminem shows his lyrical skills together with Royce da 5'9 ″, Black Thought , Q-Tip and Denaun . He pays homage to various hip-hop veterans who have inspired him, including LL Cool J , Big L , Del tha Funkee Homosapien , K-Solo , Kool G Rap , Ol 'Dirty Bastard , Kool Moe Dee , Run-DMC , EPMD , The DOC , Ice-T , King Tee , Schoolly D , Public Enemy , Boogie Down Productions , Eric B. & Rakim , The Notorious BIG , NWA and Dr. Dre . In contrast, Stepdad represents a reckoning with Eminem's stepfather, who assaulted his mother and him in his childhood . In the song, Eminem describes revenge fantasies that ultimately culminate in the murder of his stepfather. On Marsh , the rapper describes himself as an alien and raps quickly again, with numerous puns, comparisons and metaphors to underline this claim. The song Never Love Again describes Eminem's previous drug addiction under the guise of a break-up song . He vows never to relapse again and ends up flushing the drugs down the toilet.

Little Engine is a typical horrorcore song in which Eminem describes various acts of violence that he commits under the influence of drugs from the perspective of the lyrical self. Various killers, such as OJ Simpson , Charles Manson , Susan Atkins and Albert Henry DeSalvo , are mentioned. On Lock It Up, too, Eminem sometimes raps about violence. The song Farewell is a breakup song that is about disappointed love, inner turmoil and jealousy, which ultimately degenerates into violent fantasies towards the partner. In No Regrets , Eminem takes up his tumultuous past, both in terms of his rap career and in private. However, he does not regret anything and would do it all over again. He also attacks people who want the "old" Eminem back. The last song, I Will, is another posse cut with former Slaughterhouse members KXNG Crooked , Royce da 5'9 "and Joell Ortiz . It is based on old-school hip-hop and is again about violence that the rappers commit at the request of the devil who appears as the voice in their head.

Production and samples

Dr. Dre and Eminem served as executive producers on Music to Be Murdered By . Eminem was involved in the production of 14 of the 20 tracks: Premonition (Intro) (with Dawaun Parker , Dr. Dre, Luis Resto and Mark Batson), Unaccommodating (with Tim Suby), You Gon 'Learn (with Luis Resto and Royce da 5'9 ″ ), Those Kinda Nights (with Fred and DA Got That Dope), In Too Deep (with Tim Suby), Godzilla (with DA Got That Dope), Darkness (with Luis Resto and Royce da 5'9 ″), Leaving Heaven (with Skylar Gray ), Stepdad (with Luis Resto and The Alchemist ), Marsh (with Luis Resto), Never Love Again (with Dawaun Parker, Dem Jointz, Dr. Dre and Trevor Lawrence Jr.), Farewell (with Ricky Racks), No Regrets (with DA Got That Dope) and I Will (with Luis Resto). In addition, the music for Yah Yah comes from Mr. Porter . The song Little Engine was written by Dawaun Parker, Dr. Dre, Erik Griggs and Trevor Lawrence Jr. produced, and they produced the song Lock It Up together with The Jointz . The skits Alfred (Interlude) and Alfred (Outro) were written by Andre Brissett, Dawaun Parker and Dr. Dre produces, while the latter produced the skit Stepdad (intro) alone.

Nine tracks on the album contain samples from tracks by other artists. Darkness includes an interpolation from The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel , while Farewell 's track No Games by Serani is sampled. Stepdad contains excerpts from the song Amame Peteribi by the Argentine rock band Pescado Rabioso , and the song You Gon 'Learn samples the song With You I'm Born Again by Billy Preston and Syreeta . Yah Yah contains elements of the title Woo Hah !! Got You All in Check by Busta Rhymes and They Want EFX by Das EFX , while Little Engine samples the song Do Not Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You by Alfred Hitchcock . Premonition (intro) and Alfred (interlude) also contain samples from Music to be Murdered By by Alfred Hitchcock, which is also sampled in Alfred (outro) with the piece The Hour of Parting .

Cover design

Digital cover of the album
Link to the picture (please note copyrights )

Cover of the CD and LP version
Link to the picture (please note copyrights )

Special cover of the version in the Eminem shop
Link to the picture (please note copyrights )

The album cover shows a photo of Eminem in a black suit, black tie and black hat. He looks at the viewer seriously and holds a shovel in his hand. Under the photo there is the title Music to Be Murdered By in white or orange as well as the black lettering Stereo - The Finest in Hip Hop Since 1997 and Slim Shady . - In 1997, Eminem first slipped into the role of his alter ego Slim Shady and released the Slim Shady EP . In the right part of the cover you can see a red wall with blood running down it. This cover was used for the digital version of the album.

On the cover of the CD and record version of the album, Eminem is only in a suit, without seeing an object. He hid his hands behind his back.

In Eminem's internet shop, the album was sold with a special cover that alludes directly to the cover of Alfred Hitchcock's Music to Be Murdered By . The rapper in the photo is holding an ax and a revolver to his head.

Guest Posts

In addition to Eminem, other artists appear on 13 tracks on the album. The rapper Royce da 5'9 ″ has guest appearances in the songs You Gon 'Learn , Yah Yah and I Will , the latter also featuring the two other former Slaughterhouse members KXNG Crooked and Joell Ortiz . The chorus of the song Those Kinda Nights is sung by the British singer Ed Sheeran , while the rapper Juice Wrld, who died in 2019, provides the hook for the track Godzilla . Other choruses sung on the album are from White Gold ( You Gon 'Learn ), Don Toliver ( No Regrets ), Skylar Gray ( Leaving Heaven ) and Anderson Paak ( Lock It Up ). Eminem works with rapper Young MA on Unaccommodating , and on Yah Yah he is joined by rappers Black Thought , Q-Tip and Denaun . Singer Nikki Grier can be heard on Premonition (intro) , while Sly Pyper provides the backing vocals on In Too Deep . Moreover, it is Alfred Hitchcock in Alfred (Interlude) and Alfred (Outro) represented.

Track list

#	title	Guest Posts	producer	length
1	Premonition (intro)	Nikki Grier	Part 1: Dr. Dre , Mark Batson and Dawaun Parker (Add) Part 2: Eminem and Luis Resto (Add)	2:54
2	Unaccommodating	Young MA	Tim Suby and Eminem (Add)	3:37
3	You gon 'learn	Royce da 5'9 ″ and White Gold	Royce da 5'9 ″, Eminem (Co) and Luis Resto (Add)	3:55
4th	Alfred (interlude)	Alfred Hitchcock	Dr. Dre, Dawaun Parker and Andre Brissett	0:30
5	Those Kinda Nights	Ed Sheeran	DA Got That Dope, Eminem (Co) and Fred (Add)	2:58
6th	In Too Deep	Sly Pyper	Tim Suby and Eminem (Co)	3:15
7th	Godzilla	Juice Wrld	DA Got That Dope and Eminem (Add)	3:31
8th	Darkness		Royce da 5'9 ″, Eminem and Luis Resto (Add)	5:37
9	Leaving Heaven	Skylar Gray	Skylar Gray and Eminem (Co)	4:26
10	Yah Yah	Royce da 5'9 ″, Black Thought , Q-Tip and Denaun	Mr. Porter	4:47
11	Stepdad (intro)		Dr. Dre	0:15
12	Stepdad		The Alchemist , Eminem and Luis Resto (Add)	3:33
13	Marsh		Eminem and Luis Resto (Add)	3:21
14th	Never love again		Part 1: Dr. Dre, Dem Jointz, Trevor Lawrence Jr., Dawaun Parker and Eminem (Add) Part 2: Dr. Dre, Trevor Lawrence Jr., and The Jointz	2:58
15th	Little Engine		Dr. Dre, Erik Griggs, Trevor Lawrence Jr., and Dawaun Parker	2:57
16	Lock it up	Anderson Paak	Dr. Dre, Dawaun Parker, Erik Griggs, Trevor Lawrence Jr., and Dem Jointz	2:50
17th	Farewell		Ricky Racks and Eminem (Add)	4:08
18th	No regrets	Don Toliver	DA Got That Dope and Eminem (Add)	3:21
19th	I will	KXNG Crooked , Royce da 5'9 ″ and Joell Ortiz	Eminem and Luis Resto (Add)	5:03
20th	Alfred (outro)	Alfred Hitchcock	Dr. Dre, Dawaun Parker and Andre Brissett	0:39

Chart successes and singles

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Singles

Darkness   DE 47 01/24/2020 (2 weeks)   AT 31 January 31, 2020 (1 week)   CH 13 01/26/2020 (2 weeks)   UK 17th 01/24/2020 (4 weeks)   US 28 02/01/2020 (2 weeks) Godzilla (feat. Juice Wrld )   DE 16 02/07/2020 (10 weeks)   AT 6th January 31, 2020 (15 weeks)   CH 4th 01/26/2020 (15 weeks)   UK 1 01/24/2020 (18 weeks)   US 3 02/01/2020 (20 weeks) Those Kinda Nights (feat. Ed Sheeran )   AT 37 January 31, 2020 (1 week)   CH 12 01/26/2020 (2 weeks)   UK 12 01/24/2020 (6 weeks)   US 31 02/01/2020 (2 weeks) Unaccommodating (feat. Young MA)   US 36 02/01/2020 (2 weeks) You Gon 'Learn (feat. Royce da 5′9 ″ & White Gold)   US 52 02/01/2020 (2 weeks) Leaving Heaven (feat. Skylar Gray )   US 61 02/01/2020 (1 week) Premonition (intro)   US 67 02/01/2020 (1 week) In Too Deep   US 71 02/01/2020 (1 week) Marsh   US 83 02/01/2020 (1 week) No Regrets (feat. Don Toliver )   US 84 02/01/2020 (1 week) Lock It Up ( feat.Anderson Paak )   US 89 02/01/2020 (1 week) Stepdad   US 93 02/01/2020 (1 week)

Music to Be Murdered By entered the German album charts at number 2 on January 24, 2020, and fell to 4 the following week, before reaching position 2 again. Overall, the album stayed in the Top 100 for 18 weeks, including four weeks in the Top 10. In the UK, it reached the top position, which Eminem set a record with its tenth number one album in a row. It is also Eminem's tenth consecutive number one album in the United States. Other countries in which Music to Be Murdered By reached the top of the chart include Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Norway.

Chart placements

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	2 (18 weeks)	18th
Austria (Ö3)	1 (... Where.)	...
Switzerland (IFPI)	1 (27 weeks)	27
United Kingdom (OCC)	1 (... Where.)	...
United States (Billboard)	1 (... Where.)	...

On the day the album was released, Eminem released the single Darkness , including a music video , in which he raps from the perspective of Stephen Paddock , who committed the mass murder in Las Vegas in 2017 . The song entered the German charts at number 47 on January 24, 2020. In addition, the song Godzilla reached number 1 in the British charts due to streaming and individual downloads. After the album was released, twelve songs entered the top 100 of the US charts, of which Godzilla , for whom a video was released on March 9, 2020, was the most successful at position 3. The other pieces were placed in the Bubbling Under Hot 100.

Sales figures and awards

Music to Be Murdered By sold 279,000 copies in the first week (calculated from 117,000 downloads and 217.6 million streams) in the United States. In March 2020, it was awarded a gold record in the US for more than 500,000 copies sold . The album also received a gold record in the UK on March 13, 2020 for over 100,000 units sold.

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Denmark (IFPI)	gold	10,000
Canada (MC)	platinum	80,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	gold	7,500
United States (RIAA)	gold	500,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	gold	100,000
All in all	4 × gold 1 × platinum	697,500

Main article: Eminem / Music Sales Awards

reception

Professional reviews
Average rating
source	rating
Metacritic	64%
More reviews
source	rating
laut.de
plattentests.de
Rolling Stone
allmusic
The Guardian
The Telegraph
New Musical Express
The Independent
Pitchfork

Music to Be Murdered By received an overall average to positive rating from critics. The page Metacritic calculated an average of 64% from 17 reviews of English-language media.

David Baldysiak from laut.de rated Music to Be Murdered By with three out of a possible five points and describes it as “an album with two faces.” The first half of the sound carrier is significantly weaker than the second because “Eminem doesn't quite make up his mind can be what he wants to sound like as an aged super rapper. ”The first songs caused“ weariness and boredom ”due to the repeated criticism of a lack of appreciation, while in the second half, thanks to“ the authenticity of the story ”and“ an energetic delivery ”,“ suddenly almost everything “works. The songs Darkness , Stepdad and Farewell are viewed positively , whereas Those Kinda Nights , In Too Deep and Unaccommodating are rated negatively.

Felix Bayer from the magazine Der Spiegel says that Eminem “spreads a spectrum of violent fantasies on the album”. The rapper has “the more recent developments in hip-hop in view” with “dosed trappings and autotune gimmicks”, “but he is“ mostly very self-conscious, with verses that increase in high-speed rap, superhero Metaphors and texts in which he also addresses his psychological problems. "

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Eminem - Music to be Murdered By. In: genius.com. January 17, 2020, accessed on May 3, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Sandra E. Garcia: Eminem Faces Backlash Over Lyrics About Deadly Attack at Ariana Grande Concert. In: nytimes.vom. January 17, 2020, accessed on May 3, 2020 . 
3. ↑ Eminem's “Godzilla” Verse Is Faster Than “Rap God” & “Majesty”. genius.com, January 22, 2020, accessed May 3, 2020 . 
4. ^ Felix Bayer: Surprising album release - Eminem's greeting to Alfred Hitchcock. In: spiegel.de. January 17, 2020, accessed on January 20, 2020 (German). 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
6. ↑ Eminem - Music to Be Murdered By. In: officialcharts.de. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
7. ↑ Rob Copsey: Eminem scores Official UK Chart Double as Music To Be Murdered By and Godzilla debut at Number 1. In: officialcharts.com. January 24, 2020, accessed January 26, 2020 . 
8. ↑ Eminem - Music to be Murdered By. In: hitparade.ch. Retrieved January 26, 2020 . 
9. ^ Eminem - Bubbling Under Hot 100. In: billboard.com. Retrieved January 28, 2020 . 
10. ↑ Keith Caulfield: Eminem Scores Historic 10th No. 1 album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Music to Be Murdered By'. In: billboard.com. January 26, 2020, accessed on February 11, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Eminem - Music to Be Murdered By. In: riaa.com. March 11, 2020, accessed on March 14, 2020 . 
12. ↑ Eminem - Music to Be Murdered By. In: bpi.co.uk. March 25, 2020, accessed on February 9, 2020 . 
13. ↑ ^{a b} Review: metacritic.com (English)
14. ↑ ^{a b} Review: laut.de David Baldysiak, January 21, 2020
15. ↑ Evaluation: plattentests.de Christopher Sennfelder, January 27, 2020
16. ↑ Review: rollingstone.com Jon Dolan, January 20, 2020 (English)
17. ↑ Review: allmusic.com Fred Thomas, January 24, 2020 (English)
18. ↑ Review: theguardian.com Alexis Petridis, January 17, 2020 (English)
19. ↑ Review: telegraph.co.uk Neil McCormick, January 17, 2020 (English)
20. ↑ Review: nme.com Jordan Bassett, January 17, 2020 (English)
21. ↑ Review: independent.co.uk Roisin O'Connor, January 17, 2020 (English)
22. ↑ Review: pitchfork.com Paul A. Thompson, January 25, 2020 (English)
23. ^ Felix Bayer: Eminem's greeting to Alfred Hitchcock. In: spiegel.de. January 17, 2020, accessed January 26, 2020 .