Music To Be Murdered By

Music to Be Murdered By
Studio album by Eminem
Released	January 17, 2020
Recorded	December 2018 - 2019
Genre	Hip-Hop/Rap Pop
Length	1:04:23
Label	Shady Records, Aftermath Records, Interscope Records
Producer	Dr. Dre (also exec.), Eminem (also exec.), Alchemist, Andre "Briss" Brissett, D. A. Doman, Dawaun Parker, Dem Jointz, Erik "Blu2th" Griggs, Fred, Luis Resto, Mark Batson, Mr. Porter, Ricky Racks, Royce da 5'9", Skylar Grey, Tim Suby, Trevor Lawrence Jr., Lonestarrmuzik
Stream	Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, Spotify, YouTube Music
Eminem chronology
(2018) (2020) (2020)
Other album covers for Music to Be Murdered By
Singles from Music to Be Murdered By
"Darkness" Released: January 17, 2020 "Godzilla" Released: January 31, 2020
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Music To Be Murdered By (stylized as MUSIC TO BE MURDERƎD BY) is Eminem's eleventh studio album and first double album released January 17, 2020, without prior announcement (in a similar fashion to Kamikaze). The album is dedicated to the loss of Juice WRLD and CeeAaqil Allah Barnes, Em's former bodyguard, both of whom passed away. The album is produced by Eminem and Dr. Dre, amongst others, and features collaborations with Black Thought, Q-Tip, Ed Sheeran, Young M.A, Don Toliver and others.

Alongside the album, Eminem uploaded a music video for his song "Darkness". The single finds Em bringing awareness to gun awareness by writing lyrics that could apply to both Em and the shooter behind the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. This garnered much praise for the single.

Music to Be Murdered By released to mixed reviews from critics. The positive reviews praise Em's lyrical ability, while the negative wonder why Em is still bothering responding to his critics.

Background and recording

The double album borrows its name from Jeff Alexander's 1958 album, Alfred Hitchcock Presents Music to Be Murdered By, described by Chris Willman of Variety as "the one and only album Hitchcock ever released." Em samples this album for the intro, interlude, outro, and as well as the beginning of "Little Engine."

When asked about why Em wanted to use Alfred Hitchcock as the basis for the album, Em responded:

Extended Version cover, fan-made. The cover (though not official) made it into MTBMB - Side B's "Tone Deaf" lyric video.

“

One day, it just popped in my head. I can’t remember why. So I hit Dr. Dre, and I was like, "Whatever happened to that beat?" He was like, "Oh it’s still around." I started thinking like, "Yo, that whole concept is crazy, Music to Be Murdered By.[...]"

”

This album is "dedicated to the memory of Juice WRLD and CeeAaqil Allah Barnes." Juice WRLD likely died from an accidental drug overdose. CeeAaqil passed away from unknown causes during Em's Kamikaze tour in 2019. The album's second single, "Godzilla," marks Juice's first posthumous release. In the final verse, Em raps 10.65 syllables per second, remarkably faster than his speedy verses on Nicki Minaj's "Majesty" (10.3 SPS) and "Rap God" (9.6 SPS). This feat also furthers illustrates his status as one of the fastest lyricists of all time.

Track List

A-Side
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	Premonition (Intro)	M. Mathers, A. Young, M. Batson, D. Parker, N Grier, J. Alexander, L. Resto	2:53
2.	Unaccommodating (feat. Young M.A)	Marshall Mathers, T. Suby, L. Resto, K. Marrero	3:36
3.	You Gon' Learn (feat. Royce da 5'9" & White Gold)	B. Yewah, C. Connors, D. Shire, L. Resto, M. Mathers, R. Montgomery	3:54
4.	Alfred (Interlude)	A. Brissett, A. Young, D. Parker, J. Alexander	2:57
5.	Those Kinda Nights (feat. Ed Sheeran)	M. Mathers, E. Sheeran, F. Gibson, L. Resto, D. Doman, A. Byrne	2:57
6.	In Too Deep	L. Resto, M. Mathers, O. Chanin, S Jordan, T. Suby	3:14
7.	Godzilla (feat. Juice WRLD)	A. Villasana, D. Doman, J. Higgins, L. Resto, M. Mathers	3:30
8.	Darkness	L. Resto, M. Mathers, P. Simon, R. Montgomery	5:37
9.	Leaving Heaven (feat. Skylar Grey)	Marshall Mathers, Holly Brook Hafermann, Elliott Taylor	4:25
10.	Yah Yah (feat. Royce da 5'9", Black Thought, Q-Tip & Denaun)	M. Mathers, R. Montgomery, D. Porter, T. Trotter, T. Smith, G. Macdermot, J. Brown, C. Bobbit, F. Wesley, W. Hines, A. Weston	4:46

B-Side
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	Stepdad (Intro)	A. Young	0:15
12.	Stepdad	Marshall Mathers, A. Maman, L. Resto, L. Alberton Spinetta, J. Carlos Amaya, C. Cuatia	3:33
13.	Marsh	L. Resto, M. Mathers	3:20
14.	Never Love Again	M. Mathers, A. Young, L. Resto, D. Abernathy Jr., T. Lawrence Jr., D. Parker	2:57
15.	Little Engine	M. Mathers, A. Young, E. Griggs, T. Lawrence Jr., D. Parker, J. Alexander	2:57
16.	Lock It Up (feat. Anderson .Paak)	A. Young, B. Anderson, D. Abernathy Jr., D. Parker, E. Griggs, M. Mathers, T. Lawrence Jr.
17.	Farewell	Marshall Mathers, L. Resto, R. Harrell Jr., D. Kelly, C. Marsh	4:07
18.	No Regrets (feat. Don Toliver)	A. Olofsson, D. Doman, D. Kostov, J. Thomas, M. Mathers	3:20
19.	I Will (feat. KXNG Crooked, Royce da 5'9" & Joell Ortiz)	Marshall Mathers, Luis Resto, Ryan Montgomery, Dominick Wickliffe, Joell Ortiz	5:03
20.	Alfred (Outro)	A. Brissett, A. Young, D. Parker, J. Alexander	0:39

Controversy

A particular line on the second track of Music to Be Murdered By, "Unaccomodating", sparked outrage amongst critics and fans. Em raps:

But I'm contemplating yelling "Bombs away" on the game
Like I'm outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting

This alludes to the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, that occurred right after an Ariana Grande concert. There were more than 800 injuries, and 23 of them fatal. This incident is considered one of the biggest terrorist attacks since 2005. The mayor of Manchester told BBC News the lyrics were "unnecessarily hurtful and deeply disrespectful to the families and all those affected."