Music to Be Murdered By

Music to Be Murdered By
Eminem stands in a box holding a shovel with the text "Music to be murdered by under him, blood dripping on the side next to him
Studio album by
Eminem
ReleasedJanuary 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)
Recorded2019
Studio
Genre
Length64:23
Label
Producer
Eminem chronology
Kamikaze
(2018) 		Music to Be Murdered By
(2020) 		Music to Be Murdered By – Side B
(2020)
Singles from Music to Be Murdered By
  1. "Darkness"
    Released: January 17, 2020[3][4]
  2. "Godzilla"
    Released: January 31, 2020[5]

Music to Be Murdered By is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Eminem. It was released on January 17, 2020, through Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records. Just like his previous studio album, Kamikaze, it is executive produced by Eminem and Dr. Dre and was released with no prior announcement. The album was produced by many producers, with Dr. Dre returning to produce songs for Eminem for the first time since 2010's Recovery. Guest appearances include Skylar Grey, Young M.A, Royce da 5'9", White Gold, Ed Sheeran, the late Juice Wrld, Black Thought, Q-Tip, Denaun, Anderson .Paak, Don Toliver, Kxng Crooked, and Joell Ortiz.

The album's title, cover art, and concept are inspired by Alfred Hitchcock and Jeff Alexander's 1958 spoken word album Alfred Hitchcock Presents Music to Be Murdered By. The album was supported by two singles: "Darkness" and "Godzilla". Alongside the album's surprise release, Eminem also released the music video for "Darkness", which revolves around the 2017 Las Vegas shooting from the point of view of the perpetrator Stephen Paddock alternating with Eminem's own.

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 279,000 album-equivalent units 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.[6] Music to Be Murdered By reached number one in 16 countries. The album was met with mixed reviews from music critics, some highlighted its production, while others criticized Eminem's performances.

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 Skylar Grey, DJ Premier, Ty Dolla $ign, Dr. Dre, Sly Pyper, MAJ, Moe Men-E and White Gold.

  1. ^ "Music To Be Murdered By". MusicBrainz.org. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Eminem's 'Music to be Murdered By': Album Review". January 18, 2020.
  3. ^ "Eminem's New 'Darkness' Music Video Is Darker Than It First Appears: Watch". Billboard. January 17, 2020.
  4. ^ Romano, Aja (January 17, 2020). "Eminem's new song "Darkness" tries to enter the mind of the Las Vegas shooter". Vox.
  5. ^ "Eminem "Godzilla" (Radio Date: 31/01/2020)". radiodate.it. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference BB200 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).