Maps of Music

Music to Be Murdered By (2020)

Where the lyrics of Music to Be Murdered By take you, and where it was really made.

The title and cover borrow from a 1958 Alfred Hitchcock spoken word album, yet the record arrived with no advance announcement at all.

Key places

Recording at Heaven, Detroit (2020)

Recording site Heaven (Detroit) — The album lists Heaven in Detroit among its recording locations. The point uses a building-level coordinate from the candidate data. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Record One, Los Angeles (2020)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — The album lists Record One in Los Angeles among its recording locations. The point uses city-center coordinates, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at The ICU, Brentwood (2020)

Recording site The ICU — The album lists The ICU in Brentwood, California among its recording locations. The point uses city-center coordinates, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Music to Be Murdered By (also referred to as MTBMB) is the eleventh studio album by the American rapper Eminem
• Released January 17, 2020 through Shady Records, Goliath Artists, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records
• Executive produced by Eminem and Dr. Dre, as with the previous album Kamikaze (2018)
• Released with no prior announcement

Background

• Title, cover art, and concept inspired by Alfred Hitchcock and Jeff Alexander's 1958 spoken word album Alfred Hitchcock Presents Music to Be Murdered By
• Two singles: "Darkness" and "Godzilla"
• The music video for "Darkness" was released alongside the surprise album, revolving around the 2017 Las Vegas shooting
• Guest appearances: 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, Joell Ortiz
• Dr. Dre produced songs for Eminem for the first time since 2010's Recovery

Recording

• In 2019, A&R representative Mike "Heron" Herard of Shady Records pursued production contributions for a new Eminem album
• Producers included Royce da 5'9" and Dr. Dre, plus Dawaun Parker, Lawrence Jr., Dem Jointz, Mista Choc, DJ Silk, Erik Griggs, D.A. Doman, and Ricky Racks
• A January 2020 Rolling Stone feature said Lawrence Jr. had worked sporadically with Dr. Dre since Dre left Death Row Records in the Nineties
• On "Godzilla", Eminem recorded a third verse that broke the record for the fastest verse on a charted track, at 10.65 syllables per second

Cover

• Digital cover: Eminem posing with a shovel, wearing a suit and a fedora
• Alternate cover: Eminem pointing a gun and holding an axe to his head
• Physical CD cover: Eminem, hatless, posing with his hands behind his back
• Packaging dedicates the album to Juice Wrld and to Eminem's former bodyguard CeeAaqil Allah Barnes

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Marshall Bruce Mathers III, born October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri; American rapper, songwriter, record producer and record executive.
• Known for rap flow and conscious rap including political criticism and social commentary; widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time.
• Credited with popularizing hip-hop in Middle America and the acceptance of white rappers in popular music.
• Debut album Infinite (1996) was a commercial failure; Slim Shady EP (1997) led to signing with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope.
• The Slim Shady LP (1999) brought mainstream popularity; The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002) each sold over one million copies in a single week.
• The Eminem Show became the best-selling album worldwide in 2002; Recovery (2010) was the best-selling album worldwide in 2010.
• Co-founded Shady Records in late 1999; the label signed D12, Obie Trice, 50 Cent, Stat Quo, Bobby Creekwater and Cashis.
• Starred in 8 Mile (2002); "Lose Yourself" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the first hip-hop act to win it.
• Over 220 million records sold; eleven number-one albums on the Billboard 200, with The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) (2024) the latest.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 in his first year of eligibility.

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: based on 17 critic scores, a weighted average of 64 out of 100, described as "generally favorable reviews"
• AnyDecentMusic?: critical consensus average of 5.8 out of 10
• The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick: called it "the first great album of 2020"
• HipHopDX, Scott Glaysher: positive, comparing it with Eminem's earlier work and saying Em shows strong signs of adapting to the times
• Consequence of Sound, Dan Weiss: generally positive, praising the improved beats and guests
• AllMusic, Fred Thomas: said the album pulls Eminem somewhat out of Kamikaze's wreckage, though he still falls into moments of dumbness and self-obsession
• Entertainment Weekly, Christopher R. Weingarten: more critical, calling the album as hit-and-miss as anything Eminem has released this side of the millennium
• NME, Jordan Basset: ambivalent toward the lyrical themes
• Pitchfork, Paul A. Thompson: said it is not strictly speaking a good record, but boasts enough technical command to hold attention
• The Independent, Roisin O'Connor: negative, criticizing the track "Unaccommodating"

Reappraisal

• Billboard, Damien Scott: in a 2024 ranking of Eminem's 12 studio albums, placed it seventh
• The track "Darkness" drew particular attention and critical acclaim
• The lyrics of "Unaccommodating", which referenced the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, drew significant criticism

Records

• US Billboard 200: debuted at number one with 279,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, Eminem's tenth US number-one album
• Reached number one in 16 countries
• Canada: debuted at number one with 33,000 units, Eminem's 11th Canadian number one, and stayed at the top for four weeks
• UK Albums Chart: debuted at number one with 36,000 units
• 9th best-selling album in pure sales in the US in 2020, with 287,000 copies

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Eminem tweeted an image of the 1958 Hitchcock album cover and called his alternative cover "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 at the start of "Little Engine"
• The "Godzilla" verse rapped at 10.65 syllables per second beat Eminem's own earlier records on "Majesty" (10.3) and "Rap God" (9.6)
• Juice Wrld's feature on "Godzilla" was his first posthumous release
• "Godzilla" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, giving Eminem a chart double alongside the album's UK number one

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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