Music to Be Murdered By

Music to Be Murdered By

Overview

• Credits

• Editions

Music to Be Murdered By (stylized as MUSIC TO BE MURDERƎD BY) is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Eminem. It was released January 17, 2020, without prior announcement in a similar fashion to Kamikaze. The album is dedicated to fellow American rapper Juice WRLD and Em's former bodyguard CeeAaqil Allah Barnes, 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, and 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.

Synopsis

If you were hoping that an Eminem album released in 2020 would be less offensive, violent, or controversial, this album isn't for you. It's called Music to Be Murdered By, after all—a title borrowed from a creepy 1958 music compilation presented by Alfred Hitchcock. In one interlude, Hitchcock's voice can be heard explaining the premise: "This was meant for your listening pleasure—while you are being done in." This surprise drop, in which we're reacquainted with Eminem's chainsaw-wielding alter ego Slim Shady, is as cold and uncompromising as it sounds. The snarling beats—produced by Dr. Dre, The Alchemist, and Eminem himself, among others—heave beneath wordplay as impressive and elaborate as it is aggressive, sinister, and, occasionally, unacceptable.

Unlike his last two releases, this album is neither pop-leaning (with exception of one Ed Sheeran feature) nor a straight-up diss record. For better or worse, most of Music to Be Murdered By is simply Eminem doing what he does best: gratuitously savage, antagonistic rhymes for the pure, juvenile sake of it. Longtime stans will rejoice to find three (!) collaborations with Royce da 5'9", particularly the frenetic "Yah Yah," also featuring Q-Tip and Denaun. The beats on "Stepdad" and "Lock It Up" are second to none, while "Little Engine" and "Farewell" wouldn't feel out of place on albums released two decades ago.

But the world has changed in two decades. The divide between Eminem, lyrical savant and god of rap, and Slim Shady, a trigger-happy psychopath, has always been difficult to bridge. It's harder to hear shock-value sucker punches about domestic violence and disability—least of all because they risk discrediting the genuinely powerful moments that Eminem is so uniquely capable of. The song worthy of the most discussion (and controversy), "Darkness," is one such moment: What begins as a tender, personal tale soon reveals itself to be the disturbing account of a man committing mass murder from a Las Vegas hotel room, before ending with a series of breaking-news voiceovers reporting on real-life mass murders throughout America. For all the wrath and bloodshed on Music to Be Murdered By, its most provocative song is its least fictional. ^{– Apple Music}

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 Hitchcock as the basis for the album, Em responded:

“

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 likely died from an accidental drug overdose, while 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.

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."

Track listing

#	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Premonition (Intro)"	Marshall Mathers, Nikki Grier, Andre Young, Mark Batson, Dawaun Parker, Luis Resto, Jeff Alexander	Eminem, Dr. Dre, Batson, Parker[b], Resto[b]	2:53
2.	"Unaccommodating" (featuring Young M.A)	Mathers, Katorah Marrero, Resto, Tim Suby	Eminem, Suby[b]	3:36
3.	"You Gon' Learn" (featuring Royce da 5'9" and White Gold)	Mathers, Ryan Montgomery, Bobby Yewah, Resto, Carol Connors, David Shire	Royce da 5'9", Eminem[a], Resto[b]	3:54
4.	"Alfred (Interlude)"	Young, Parker, Andre Brissett, Alexander	Dr. Dre, Parker, Briss	0:30
5.	"Those Kinda Nights" (featuring Ed Sheeran)	Mathers, Ed Sheeran, Fred Gibson, Resto, David Doman, Adrienne Byrne	D.A Got That Dope, Eminem[a], Fred[b]	2:57
6.	"In Too Deep"	Mathers, Suby, Oliver Chanin, Resto, Sylvester Jordan	Suby, Eminem[a]	3:14
7.	"Godzilla" (featuring Juice WRLD)	Mathers, Jarad Higgins, Resto, Doman, Alejandro Villasana	D.A Got That Dope, Lance Nicholas, Eminem[b]	3:30
8.	"Darkness"	Mathers, Montgomery, Resto, Paul Simon	Eminem, Royce da 5'9", Resto[b]	5:37
9.	"Leaving Heaven" (featuring Skylar Grey)	Mathers, Holly Hafermann, Elliott Taylor	Skylar Grey, Eminem[a]	4:25
10.	"Yah Yah" (featuring Royce da 5'9", Black Thought, Q-Tip, and Denaun)	Mathers, Montgomery, Tariq Trotter, Denaun Porter, Trevor Smith, Rashad Smith, Galt MacDermot, James Brown, Charles Bobbit, Fred Wesley, William Hines, Andre Weston	Mr. Porter	4:46
11.	"Stepdad (Intro)"	Young	Dr. Dre	0:15
12.	"Stepdad"	Mathers, Daniel Maman, Resto, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Black Amaya, Carlos Cutaia	Eminem, The Alchemist, Resto[b]	3:33
13.	"Marsh"	Mathers, Resto	Eminem, Resto[b]	3:20
14.	"Never Love Again"	Mathers, Young, Resto, Dwayne Abernathy Jr., Trevor Lawrence Jr., Parker	Eminem[b], Dr. Dre, Dem Jointz, Trevor Lawrence Jr., Parker	2:57
15.	"Little Engine"	Mathers, Young, Erik Griggs, Lawrence, Parker, Alexander	Dr. Dre, Blu2th, Lawrence, Parker	2:57
16.	"Lock It Up" (featuring Anderson .Paak)	Mathers, Brandon Anderson, Young, Parker, Griggs, Lawrence, Abernathy	Dr. Dre, Parker, Griggs, Lawrence, Dem Jointz	2:50
17.	"Farewell"	Mathers, Resto, Ricky Harrell Jr., Dave Kelly, Craig Marsh	Ricky Racks, Eminem[b]	4:07
18.	"No Regrets" (featuring Don Toliver)	Mathers, Don Toliver, Caleb Toliver, Doman, Daniel Kostov, Justin Thomas, Anders Olofsson	D.A Got That Dope, Eminem[b]	3:20
19.	"I Will" (featuring Kxng Crooked, Royce da 5'9", and Joell Ortiz)	Mathers, Dominick Wickliffe, Montgomery, Joell Ortiz, Resto	Eminem, Resto[b]	5:03
20.	"Alfred (Outro)"	Young, Parker, Brissett, Alexander	Dr. Dre, Parker, Briss	0:39
Total length:				64:23

Notes

• {{sup, {{note, a, [a]}}}} signifies a co-producer
• {{sup, {{note, b, [b]}}}} signifies an additional producer

Sample credits

• "Premonition (Intro)" and "Alfred (Interlude)" contain samples of "Music to Be Murdered By", written by Jeff Alexander, as performed by Alfred Hitchcock.
• "Alfred (Outro)" contains a sample of "The Hour of Parting", written by Jeff Alexander, as performed by Alfred Hitchcock.
• "Little Engine" contains a sample of "Do Not Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You", written by Jeff Alexander, as performed by Alfred Hitchcock.
• "Stepdad" contains a sample of "Amame Peteribí", written by Luis Alberto Spinetta, Juan Carlos Amaya and Carlos Cutaia, as performed by Pescado Rabioso.
• "Farewell" contains a sample of "No Games", written by Craig Marsh and Dave Kelly, as performed by Serani.
• "Yah Yah" samples vocals from "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check", written and performed by Busta Rhymes.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	5
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	1
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)	1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)	1
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)	1
Estonian Albums (Eesti Tipp-40)	1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)	1
French Albums (SNEP)	4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	2
Greek Albums (IFPI)	1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)	15
Irish Albums (OCC)	1
Italian Albums (FIMI)	4
Japanese Albums (Oricon)	38
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)	42
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)	1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)	1
Polish Albums (ZPAV)	5
Portuguese Albums (AFP)	2
Scottish Albums (SCO)	2
Slovak Albums (ČNS IFPI)	2
South Korean Albums (Gaon)	52
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)	14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	1
UK Albums (OCC)	1
UK R&B Albums (OCC)	1
US Billboard 200	1
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)	1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2020)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	10
Australian Hip Hop/R&B Albums (ARIA)	2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	32
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	117
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	7
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)	19
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)	20
French Albums (SNEP)	114
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	69
Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn)	47
Irish Albums (IRMA)	23
Italian Albums (FIMI)	67
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	21
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)	15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	32
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	12
UK Albums (OCC)	11
US Billboard 200	21
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	14
Chart (2021)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	77
Australian Hip Hop/R&B Albums (ARIA)	20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	98
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	16
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	81
US Billboard 200	46
Chart (2022)	Position
US Billboard 200	191

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
[[File:|20px|link=]] Gold	35,000***
[[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum	15,000***
[[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum	80,000***
[[File:|20px|link=]] —	465,118
[[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum	20,000***
[[File:|20px|link=]] Gold	50,000***
[[File:|20px|link=]] Gold	100,000***
[[File:|20px|link=]] Gold	25,000***
[[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum	15,000***
[[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum	20,000***
[[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum	300,000***
[[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum	1,000,000***
*** Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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