Rap Review: Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By

Score: 71
Genre: Rap
Release Date: January 17, 2020

Although it is unlikely that Eminem will ever match the insanely high quality of his first few albums, his latest release is still an interesting listen. Inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock album of the same name, Music to be Murdered By discusses a plethora of topics and takes a star-studded list of guests along for the ride, from the legendary Black Thought to the up-and-coming Don Toliver.

The opening track “Premonition” is a diary-entry-like reflection on Eminem’s status in the music industry. In it, he expresses his frustrations with being called too tame and then too angry on his past two releases and ponders what his role in hip-hop currently is, a theme that continues for the rest of the record. He spends the next two tracks clapping back against naysayers and does so pretty successfully. The infectious hook by the late Juice WRLD on “Godzilla” elevates the song immensely, and “Yah Yah” is a really fun posse cut.

Songs like “Darkness,” and to an extent, “Stepdad,” remind us just how good Slim Shady’s storytelling abilities are. Another high point is the song “No Regrets,” where Don Toliver’s smooth vocals contrast nicely with Eminem’s abrasive rapping style.

The album isn’t perfect. “In Too Deep” and “Never Love Again” are pretty bland, “Marsh” is annoying, and “Those Kinda Nights” is yet another Ed Sheeran collaboration. Also, I feel like ever since he showed the world he could rap fast on “Rap God”  Eminem has adopted the mentality that rapping fast is the same thing as rapping well and feels the need to do this super fast segment on almost every song. We get it. You can do that. But you can also do other things. That being said, I do like this album and I think most hip-hop fans would agree.

- Molly Endyke | Guitar & Pen