''Music to Be Murdered By'' is the eleventh studio album by American rapper

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

. It was released on January 17, 2020, by

Shady Records Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg, after the highly successful release of Eminem's ''The Slim Shady LP'' (1999). Shady has seen negative times when being part of the unsuccessful ...

Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Interscope Records. Current acts include Dr. Dre himself, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, An ...

, and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

. Just like Eminem’s previous studio album ''

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

'' (2018), the album was released with no prior announcement. The album was produced by many producers, with Eminem and

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

serving as

executive producers Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

. It features guest appearances from

Skylar Grey Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Mazomanie, Wisconsin. In 2004, at the age of 17, Grey signed a publishing deal with Universal Music ...

Young M.A Katorah Kasanova Marrero (born April 3, 1992), better known by her stage name Young M.A (acronym for Young Me. Always), is an American rapper. She first gained widespread recognition with the release of the quadruple-platinum hit single " Ooouuu ...

Royce da 5'9" Ryan Daniel Montgomery, known professionally as Royce da 5'9" (or simply Royce 5'9"), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Montgomery is currently one half of the rap duo Bad Meets Evil with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, and ...

White Gold Pure gold is slightly reddish yellow in color, but colored gold in various other colors can be produced by alloying gold with other elements. Colored golds can be classified in three groups: * Alloys with silver and copper in various proportions ...

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

, the late

Juice WRLD Jarad Anthony Higgins (December 2, 1998 – December 8, 2019), known professionally as Juice Wrld (pronounced "juice world"; stylized as Juice WRLD), was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was a leading figure in the emo rap and So ...

Black Thought Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, actor and the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group the Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove (Ahmir Thompson). Regarded ...

, Q-Tip, Denaun, Anderson .Paak,

Don Toliver Caleb Zackery "Don" Toliver ( ; born June 12, 1994) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He released his first major label mixtape, ''Donny Womack'', in August 2018. He is known for his singles "No Idea (song), No Idea" and "After Party ...

Kxng Crooked Dominick Antron Wickliffe (born September 23, 1976), better known by his stage names Crooked I and Kxng Crooked, (stylised as KXNG Crooked and pronounced "King Crooked") is an American rapper from Long Beach, California. He is best known as a for ...

and Joell Ortiz. The album's title, cover art, and concept are inspired by

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

and

Jeff Alexander Jeff Alexander (born Myer Goodhue Alexander; July 2, 1910 – December 23, 1989) was an American conductor, arranger, and composer of film, radio and television scores. Early years Born in Seattle, Washington, Alexander began performing in ...

's 1958 spoken word album ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents Music to Be Murdered By''. The album was supported by three singles: "

Darkness Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...

", "

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

" and "

Those Kinda Nights "Those Kinda Nights" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his eleventh studio album '' Music to Be Murdered By''. It was released as the album's fifth track on January 17, 2020 via Shady Records along with the album. Recording sessions took p ...

". Alongside the album's surprise release, Eminem also released the music video for "Darkness", which revolves around the

2017 Las Vegas shooting On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old man from Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in . From his 32nd-floor suites in the Mandalay Bay hotel, he fired ...

from the point of view of the perpetrator

Stephen Paddock Stephen Craig Paddock (April 9, 1953 – October 1, 2017) was an American mass murderer who perpetrated the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. Paddock opened fire into a crowd of about 22,000 concertgoers attending a country music festival on the Las ...

alternating with Eminem's own. The album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 279,000

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditi ...

s in its first week. Subsequently, Eminem became the first artist to have ten consecutive number-one albums in the US and one of six artists to have released at least ten US number-one albums. ''Music to Be Murdered By'' reached number one in 16 countries. Music critics praised Eminem's lyrical abilities and the improved production after ''Kamikaze'', while criticism directed towards the album's formulaic song structure, lack of innovation, and shock value. On December 18, 2020, Eminem released a deluxe version of the album, named ''Music to Be Murdered By – Side B'', without any prior announcement. It includes the original album's 20 tracks along with 16 new ones. It includes a variety of features, with guest appearances from

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo ...

Ty Dolla $ign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

, Sly Pyper, MAJ, and

Recording and production

In 2019, A&R representative Mike "Heron" Herard of

pursued production contributions for a new album by Eminem. This was a departure from his usual process at his company BeatleHustle, which manages

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

composers who send their beats to high-profile producers. Eventually, a group of producers had been enlisted for the project, including Eminem's longtime creative partners

and

, as well as the latter's colleagues – Dawaun Parker, Lawrence Jr., Dem Jointz, Mista Choc, DJ Silk, and Erik Griggs – and young, burgeoning producers – D.A. Doman (producer of

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

's "

Taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

") and

Ricky Racks Ricky Harrell, Jr. (born March 7, 1987), professionally known as Ricky Racks, is an American record producer and songwriter. He is best known for production with well-known artists, most notably Young Thug, Young Scooter, Migos, and Lil Yachty. ...

(producer of

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

's "

Crushed Up "Crushed Up" is a song by American rapper Future, released on January 4, 2019 as the lead single from his seventh studio album ''The Wizrd'', which was released two weeks later. The song was produced by Wheezy, Matt Cap and Ricky Racks, all three ...

"). According to a January 2020 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' feature on the album's making, "Lawrence Jr. has been working sporadically with Dr. Dre since the rapper-producer left

Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre ('' ...

in the Nineties; starting in the summer, the drummer went into the studio with the rest of Dr. Dre's team to create a suite of tracks that ended up on the back half of ''Music to Be Murdered By''." Lawrence Jr. told the magazine, "Dem Jointz is a producer, Eric Griggs plays keys, bass, and guitar, Dawaun Parker is a keyboard player and producer, myself, I'm a drummer. We know Dre’s instincts, and he’s the coach, the orchestrator." Other collaborators for the album included

, Q-Tip,

Juice Wrld Jarad Anthony Higgins (December 2, 1998 – December 8, 2019), known professionally as Juice Wrld (pronounced "juice world"; stylized as Juice WRLD), was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was a leading figure in the emo rap and So ...

, Anderson .Paak,

and Joell Ortiz. On the track "

", Eminem recorded a third verse that broke the record for the fastest verse on a charted track, rapping 10.65 syllables per second. Eminem surpassed his own records held by his featured verse on

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

's 2018 song "

Majesty Majesty (abbreviated HM for His Majesty or Her Majesty, oral address Your Majesty; from the Latin ''maiestas'', meaning "greatness") is used as a manner of address by many monarchs, usually kings or queens. Where used, the style outranks the st ...

", where he rapped 10.3 syllables per second, and his 2013 single "

Rap God "Rap God" is a song by American rapper Eminem. The song premiered via YouTube on October 14, 2013, and was released in the United States on October 15, 2013, as the third single from Eminem's eighth studio album, ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2'' (2 ...

", where he rapped 9.6 syllables per second.

Title and cover

The album's title and alternative cover art share the same concept as the 1958 album ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents Music to Be Murdered By'', which interspersed audio of the director

's wry, dark humor into

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

instrumentals arranged by

. Eminem tweeted an image of the 1958 album cover featuring Hitchcock holding an axe and a gun to his head and stated that his album's alternative cover was "inspired by the master, Uncle Alfred!" Audio of Hitchcock's voice from the 1958 album is sampled in the interludes "Alfred" and "Alfred (Outro)" and the beginning of the track "Little Engine". Both the 1958 and 2020 albums end with Hitchcock stating, "If you haven’t been murdered, I can only say better luck next time. If you have been, goodnight, wherever you are." Mark Beech of ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' magazine connected the alternate cover to this album's concept of murder and violence. The album has three covers; the standard cover features Eminem posing with a shovel, wearing a

suit A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...

and a

fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

. The album's alternate cover features Eminem pointing a gun and holding an axe to his head. The physical CD cover features Eminem, hatless, posing with his hands behind his back. In the packaging, Eminem dedicates the album to rapper

, who died from an accidental drug overdose on December 8, 2019, and Eminem's former bodyguard CeeAaqil Allah Barnes who also died. Juice Wrld's feature on "Godzilla" marked his first posthumous release.

Release

The album was released on January 17, 2020, by

and

. It was released as a surprise with no prior announcement, similarly to his previous and tenth studio album ''

'' (2018). Alongside the album's release, Eminem also released a music video for "

", directed by James Larese. The video, which revolves around the

from the point of view of the perpetrator

alternating with Eminem's own, garnered appraisal but controversy too. On January 31, 2020, "Godzilla" was released as a single, with a music video directed by

Cole Bennett Cole Michael Bennett (born May 14, 1996) is an American business executive, videographer, and music video director. His multimedia company, Lyrical Lemonade, started in 2013 as an internet blog while he was in high school. Early life Cole Be ...

later being released on March 6.

Critical reception

''Music to Be Murdered By'' was met with generally positive reviews, according to ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' journalist Aaron McKrell. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 64, based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The aggregator

AnyDecentMusic? AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspapers. Primarily focused on popular music – covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots, hip-hop, R&B, and rap – albums are adjudg ...

assessed the critical consensus with an average score of 5.8 out of 10. Reviewing for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'',

Neil McCormick Neil McCormick (born 31 March 1961) is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster. He has been Chief Music Critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' since 1996, and presented a music interview show for Vintage TV in the UK, Neil McCormick's Nee ...

said ''Music to Be Murdered By'' "offers over an hour of the world's greatest rapper blasting away on all cylinders", hailing it as "the first great album of 2020, so lethally brilliant

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

it should be a crime". Scott Glaysher of ''

'' was also positive, and compared the album to Eminem's previous bodies of work, stating in his review that "''Music To Be Murdered By'' is far from the star-studded, commercially sustainable album ''

Recovery Recovery or Recover may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Recovery'' (novel), a Star Wars e-book * Recovery Version, a translation of the Bible with footnotes published by Living Stream Ministry Film and television * ''Recovery'' (fil ...

'' was, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. On this album, despite its handful of flaws, Em shows strong signs of adapting to the times through modern musical choices and smarter songwriting." ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

''s Dan Weiss was generally positive, and, about the album's themes, he said that "If he's figuring out from scratch how to be a compelling artist again, Eminem's improved the caliber of his beats and guests, taking stands against the right day-to-day injustices, toning down the tasteless (with the exception of the already-infamous Ariana line, of course), and rapping with the manic precision of someone who just snorted a whole sandcastle of cocaine and

Vyvanse Lisdexamfetamine, sold under the brand name Vyvanse among others, is a stimulant medication that is mainly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in people over the age of five as well as moderate-to-severe binge eating ...

. If only a single minute of it was as hilarious or bracing as Chris D'Elia's impression of him." Similarly, Fred Thomas of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

opined, "''Music to Be Murdered By'' sees Eminem pulling himself out of ''Kamikaze''s wreckage somewhat, though he still falls victim to moments of willful dumbness and a tedious self-obsession that's become par for the course. On the album's best tracks, there are still hints of the fire that made Eminem a rap legend." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

''s Christopher R. Weingarten was more critical, stating that, "As a whole, ''Music to Be Murdered By'' is as hit-and-miss as anything Eminem has released this side of the millennium. But remove the skits, the relationship songs, the family songs, the morose gun control song, and the quirky Ed Sheeran club goof and you still have 36 solid minutes of the daffy, one-of-a-kind rap genius that keeps captivating true-school heads and longtime fans. Or, if you'd like, keep it all and you still have the most solid work he's done in a few years." ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''s Jordan Basset was ambivalent towards the album's lyrical themes and stated, "He splits the difference on ''Music To Be Murdered By'', indulging his immature ego (griping at bad reviews, stirring controversy for the sake of it) even as he offers salient social criticism and admits his missteps. He's ready to pass on hard-earned wisdom before running his mouth like he hasn't learned his own lessons. And he offers casual fans a hook or two before embarking on another lyrical work-out." Paul A. Thompson of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' said that the album "is not, strictly speaking, a good record—Eminem hasn't made one of those in a decade—but his latest boasts enough technical command and generates just enough arresting ideas to hold your attention."

Controversy

The song "

", about the

and told from the point of view of the shooter

alternating with Eminem's own, has garnered particular attention and critical acclaim. The lyrics of "Unaccommodating", in which Eminem referenced the 2017

Manchester Arena bombing On 22 May 2017, an Islamist extremist suicide bomber detonated a shrapnel-laden homemade bomb as people were leaving the Manchester Arena following a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande. Twenty-three people were killed, including ...

, drew significant criticism, with many critics finding the lyrics objectionable. The mayor of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

denounced the song's lyrics, describing them as "unnecessarily hurtful and deeply disrespectful." The lyrics also drew widespread criticism from victims' relatives and others involved in the attack. Roisin O'Connor of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' gave the album a negative review, and criticized the album by saying, "Eminem belittles the trauma of a then 26-year-old

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

for kicks on "Unaccommodating" by comparing himself to the Manchester Arena

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

. The sour taste of this track lingers well beyond the album's centrepiece, "Darkness", which is intended as a searing critique of America's toxic gun culture. Instead, his use of gunfire and explosion samples feels grossly exploitative."

Commercial performance

In the United States, ''Music to Be Murdered By'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, earning 279,000

s (including 117,000 copies as traditional album sales) in its first week. This became Eminem's tenth US number-one album and made him one of six artists to have released at least ten number-one albums. The album also accumulated a total of 217.6 million on-demand streams for the album’s tracks. As of December 2020, ''Music to Be Murdered By'' had sold over 1,053,000 equivalent units, including 249,000 in pure sales. Eventually, ''Music to Be Murdered By'' was the 9th best-selling album (in pure sales) of 2020 in the United States, with 287,000 copies. The album debuted at number-one in other countries. It became Eminem's 11th number-one album in Canada, while debuting atop the

Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocea ...

with 33,000 album-equivalent units. The album remained at the top spot in Canada for four straight weeks, the longest for an Eminem album since ''Recovery''. It also entered at number one on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

with first week sales of 36,000 album equivalent units, making Eminem the first artist to release 10 consecutive number one albums in the UK. He also achieved a chart double with ''Godzilla'' debuting at number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Notes * signifies a co-producer * 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

. * "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. * "Farewell" contains a sample of "No Games", written by Craig Marsh and Dave Kelly, as performed by

Serani Craig Serani Marsh (born 7 June 1982), known professionally as Serani, is a Jamaican dancehall singer and producer who has a joint venture deal with Phase One Communications in NYC. He is best known for his involvement in Sean Paul's album ''T ...

. * "Alfred (Outro)" contains a sample of "The Hour of Parting", written by Jeff Alexander, as performed by Alfred Hitchcock. *”Yah Yah” samples vocals from

Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" is the debut single by American rapper Busta Rhymes as a solo artist and the lead single from his debut studio album ''The Coming''. The song was written and produced by Rhymes and Rashad Smith. It contains ad ...

, written and performed by

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. *

– vocals, producer , co-producer , additional production , executive producer Musicians *

– featured artist *Adrienne "Aeb" Byrne – additional programming *

– featured artist *

Dem Jointz Dwayne Allen Abernathy Jr. (born July 17, 1976), better known by his stage name Dem Jointz, is an American record producer. He has produced tracks for numerous artists including Rihanna, Anderson .Paak, and NCT, among others. He also co-prod ...

– additional drums * Focus… – additional drums and keyboards *

FredWreck Farid Karam Nassar (born June 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Fredwreck, is a Grammy Award-winning American hip hop recording artist, DJ and record producer. He got his big break when he became a producer for Dr. Dre's newly founded re ...

– additional drum programming , additional keyboards *

Nikki Grier The Sunday Service Choir, (commonly known as Sunday Service) is an American gospel group led by artist and producer Kanye West and conducted by choir director Jason White. Beginning in January 2019, the group has performed every Sunday, as well ...

– additional vocals *Erik "Blu2th" Griggs – bass , additional drums *

– featured artist *

– featured artist *Daniel Kostov – additional programming *Anders Olofsson – additional programming * Joell Ortiz – featured artist * Anderson .Paak – featured artist * Dawaun Parker – additional drums *

Denaun Porter Denaun Porter (born December 7, 1974), also known by the stage names Mr. Porter, Kon Artis, and more recently simply Denaun, is an American rapper and music producer. He was a member of Detroit hip hop group D12 until its disbandment in 2018. ...

– featured artist *Sly Pyper – background vocals * Q-Tip – featured artist * Luis Resto – additional keyboards *

– featured artist *

– featured artist *Justin Thomas – additional programming *

– featured artist *White Gold – featured artist *Alejandro Villasana – additional programming *

– featured artist Technical personnel *

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...

– producer *

Mark Batson Mark Batson is an American producer, musician and songwriter. He has worked on albums by artists including Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews Band, LeAnn Rimes, Anthony Hamilton, Eminem, India Arie, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Maroon 5, Skylar Grey, Grace Pott ...

– producer *Andre "Briss" Brissett – producer *Tony Campana – assistant engineer * D.A. Doman – producer *

– producer *

– producer , mixing , executive producer *IV Duncan – engineer *

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...

– additional production * Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering *Quentin "Q" Gilkey – engineer *

– producer *Erik "Blu2th" Griggs – producer *Mauricio "Veto" Iragorri – engineer *Brian "B-Jones" Jones – engineer *Trevor Lawrence Jr. – producer *Victor Levants – engineer , assistant engineer * Juan "Saucy" Peña – recording engineer * Dawaun Parker – producer , additional production *

– producer *

– producer * Luis Resto – additional production *Robert Reyes – assistant engineer *

– producer *Joe Strange – assistant engineer *Mike Strange – engineer , mixing *Tim Suby – producer *Julio Ulloa – assistant engineer

''Music to Be Murdered By – Side B'' (Deluxe Edition)

On December 18, 2020, a deluxe Side B edition of the album, titled ''Music to Be Murdered By – Side B'', was released. Similar to Eminem's previous two albums, it was released without any prior announcement. It contains a bonus disc with sixteen new tracks, with guest appearances by

, Sly Pyper, MAJ, and White Gold. The album's release was accompanied by a music video for "

Gnat A gnat () is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae. They can be both biting and non-biting. Most often they fly in large num ...

", directed by

. The music video for "

Higher Higher may refer to: Music * The Higher, a 2002–2012 American pop rock band Albums * ''Higher'' (Ala Boratyn album) or the title song, 2007 * ''Higher'' (Ezio album) or the title song, 2000 * ''Higher'' (Harem Scarem album) or the title song ...

" premiered on January 23, 2021. Lyric videos for "Tone Deaf" and "Alfred's Theme" were also released. In May 2021, a remix of "

Killer A killer is someone or something that kills, such as a murderer or a serial killer. Killer may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Killer (''Home and Away''), a character from ''Home and Away'' * Killer Kane, ...

", featuring

Jack Harlow Jackman Thomas Harlow (born March 13, 1998) is an American rapper from Louisville, Kentucky. He started his career in 2015 and released several EPs and mixtapes before he was signed to Don Cannon and DJ Drama's record label Generation Now in 201 ...

and

Cordae Cordae Amari Dunston (born August 26, 1997) known mononymously as Cordae (formerly YBN Cordae and Entendre), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He gained popularity by releasing remixes of popular songs, such as "My Name Is" by Eminem ...

, was released. The week the deluxe edition was released, the album saw a 1,125% boost in sale units from the previous week, moving 94,000 units. This brought the album back up to the 3rd spot on the ''Billboard 200'' album chart in its 48th week, a 196 spot jump from the week previous, breaking a 50-year-old Billboard 200 record previously held by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

with ''

Self Portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

'' (1970) which made a 193 spot jump. ''Side B'' was met with generally positive reviews.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

appraised the release as "more proof that Eminem loves rhyme as compulsively as

MF DOOM Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...

himself", adding that, "If he’s not as playful or surreal about it as Doom, he sure does enunciate better, with a timbral dexterity never quashed by the rock-inflected production style that Dr. Dre laid on him decades ago and oversees here." While highlighting lyrics from "Alfred's Theme", "Tone Deaf", "Black Magic", and "These Demons" on ''Side B'', he also observed "more braggadocio and less delight in these words for their own sake than in the Side A's". Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. Musicians * Luis Resto – keyboards * Ken Lewis – orchestra leader * Dominic Rivinius – percussion * Sly Pyper – additional vocals * Mike Strange – additional keyboards * Jerry "Jay Flat" Williams – saxophone * Zekkereya El-Megharbel – trombone * Chris Lowery – trumpet Technical * Mike Strange – mixer ,

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

* Tony Campana – recording engineer * Brett Kolatalo – recording engineer * Joe Strange – recording engineer * Lola A. Romero – recording engineer *

Fredwreck Farid Karam Nassar (born June 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Fredwreck, is a Grammy Award-winning American hip hop recording artist, DJ and record producer. He got his big break when he became a producer for Dr. Dre's newly founded re ...

– recording engineer * Victor Luevanos – recording engineer * Quentin "Q" Gilkey – recording engineer * Maurecio "Veto" Iragorri – recording engineer * Jeremy Zumo Kollie – assistant recording engineer * Robert Reyes – assistant recording engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

Recording and production

Title and cover

Release

Critical reception

Controversy

Commercial performance

Track listing

Personnel

''Music to Be Murdered By – Side B'' (Deluxe Edition)

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

See also

References

External links