Eminem | Music To Be Murdered By | Album Review

Interscope Records

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Unpromoted like his previous album Kamikaze, Eminem released a surprise 20-track album titled Music To Be Murdered By (MTBMB). Comprised of disses, political statements, a call to gun control, and snippets from the notorious filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, MTBMB, like Kamikaze, is a throwback to the rapper’s prime roots of 2002 and is one of his best albums as of late.

With the title Music To Be Murdered By, how does someone fulfill the theme of violence? Start the album with a track titled “Premonition–Intro,” then have the audio of a woman getting stabbed multiple times and the digging of a grave haunt listeners’ ears before delving into a rapid-fire beat that ends with Eminem echoing, “This is music for you to be murdered by.”

Followed by “Alfred–Interlude,” where Hitchcock entices audiences to “lean back and enjoy yourself”, Eminem collaborates with Ed Sheeran in “Those Kinda Nights,” a dark and grimy beat that features a pitched and layered flute. “Godzilla,” featuring late rapper Juice WRLD, consists of a rapid pace, sci-fi melody with Juice WRLD manning the chorus at a catchy rate.

In “Leaving Heaven,” Eminem takes a slower, more soulful turn as he teams with Skylar Grey, who carries the momentum of the song with her diverse vocals. Eminem takes a stand for gun control in “Darkness,” where he portrays himself as the Las Vegas shooter alongside a dark, mellow beat that crescendos with the line, “I don’t want to be alone in the darkness anymore.”

Eminem then seems to end the feud with MGK in “Marsh” where he raps, “I could keep beefin’, fuck is the point / If you’re still lookin’ for smoke, I already gave you an L” to a sinister trap beat of piano keys and percussion.

MTBMB is lengthy but is worth a listen to because of its diverse beats and messages. As Hitchcock says in “Alfred–Outro:” “This concludes our danse macabre / Goodnight, wherever you are.”