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Good Evening, ladies and gentlemen.

This is ePro with the new EJ. Perhaps,

you have already noticed that this issue
is special and complements the one that
was released for MTBMB. We call it EJ
#34 Side B. It’s packed with exclusive hi-
res images and photos that you’ve never
seen before. They will make your heart
skip a beat. Or ten.

So, sit back, relax and enjoy our reviews

for Music To Be Murdered By — Side A &
Side B… The coroner is on his way.

@epro.news @eminem.pro

VISIT @Eminem_Pro @eproteam

HTTP://EJ.GS
 INTERVIEW REQUEST
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CONSCIOUS on-air on his Shade45 radio on
December 31. “Instead of people
thinking like, “If you don’t have a

MADNESS
song about this then I ain’t fuck-
ing with it. If he’s got a song with
this person I ain’t fucking with it”.

GOES ON
And it kind of gives everybody too
much time to think about it and
their expectations of what they
think it should be – and I’ll never
meet that. That’s kind of a theory I
On December 18, Eminem re- based it off since, I think, “Revival”.
leased the Deluxe edition of his
11th studio album “Music to Be In the lead-up to M2BMB release,
Murdered By”, 16 new tracks on though, the air was thick with an-
the Side B disc. ticipation of new material. For sev-
eral days the Internet was virtually
As it has become a habit in re- filled with hints and Easter-eggs
cent years, Eminem’s new album dropped by actors from Shady
surprised everyone. “Uncle Alfred circles and producers with whom
heard you screaming for more... Em had recently worked. All of
enjoy Side B”, Eminem wrote them published the photos of
precisely at midnight, informing Alfred Hitchcock who had inspired
about his latest release. the first part of Eminem’s album.
All this teasing was likely planned
In his recent interview, Eminem by Eminem’s team as an album
explained why he only drops promo campaign of sorts.
surprise albums now and why
he does not want to promote his In the February interview with
releases to the public. The reason KXNG Crooked, Em said that Hitch-
is simple – it’s the audience and its cock motives had been woven into
unfounded expectations that Emi- the album’s fabric even tighter and
nem does not wish to provoke. more tracks had been planned for
release. “There was actually some
“I don’t know this to be true, but stuff that didn’t make it on there
I feel like when I’m talking about that I was trying to get on there,
the album that’s coming out, if I but we couldn’t really work it out
give people the notice and they with the sample claim. But I had it
started seeing the tracklist or even more intertwined than it was,
they know it’s coming, I feel like and we had to, you know, pick and
my best shot in avoiding some choose the best pieces to put on
of that is to just drop it”, said Em there”.
A PLEASURE “Let me say this. And I know I tell this to her
all the time. I’ve had the privilege of working
around a lot of fucking talents. It’s still crazy

DOING
to me sometimes when I’m working with Dre,
and I’m looking at Dre like, “You’re fucking Dr.
Dre”. The Skylar is one of.., she’s definitely…,
she has to be…, I don’t know how to say that!

BUSINESS
“Top 5 of the most talented people I’ve ever
worked with”? But I’ve worked with so many
talented people. But the rate of speed that she
works at… A) being able to write it, and b)

WITH YOU being able to sing it and to sing it that power-

ful… She’s an amazing talent. She wears a lot
of different hats. She’s able to approach songs

AGAIN,
from the angles that I didn’t see coming.
And also hit notes that I’m like, “What the
fuck?! I didn’t expect it to go there!” And then
it’s like, it was weird to me, and then the

NEPHEW second time I hear it – I love it. She’s amazing,

and her talent level is off the charts”.

It explains why Marshall keeps working with

Skylar but does not explain why he opens
“Music to be Murdered By: Side B” with
“Black Magic”. The real explanation is that
Having heard “Music to Be Murdered By – he wanted to make a narrative connection
Side B”, many listeners noticed that Eminem between both album sides:
paid homage to Alfred Hitchcock better than
most filmmakers could ever do when using “I was trying to give a reason why you heard
the Alfred’s Theme. “The beats are top-notch the female dying at the beginning of the last
with Em’s ultimate penmanship and his take record. It was to tie that in conceptually but
on the mic. It’s more enjoyable than the previ- it’s left to interpretation whether it’s an actual
ous side of his album,” - a Twitter user stated. female or it’s the rhyme and the rhyme is try-
“You appear to be a rather talented young ing to kill me, or I’m trying to kill the rhyme
man, Marshall”, - the official Twitter account and when I wake up, like it’s all a dream, so
of the Estate of Alfred Hitchcock reacted to it’s the lines are blurred. It’s open to interpre-
this tweet. tation, but it ties in with the original skit in
the beginning”.
The same way as on the first MTBMB disc, “Black Magic” is virtually bursting with dark-
Eminem uses Hitchcock’s voice sample from ness and heartache. It begins with a melodic
“Alfred Hitchcock Television Theme” for the and gentle hook by Skylar. This track is her
opening skit. The Hitchcock theme is evi- second contribution for the MTBMB album.
dent throughout the entire album. On “Black Skylar says that she makes many tracks for
Magic”, the first song on the album and the Eminem and Em told her that he could not
ninth collaboration between Eminem and put her on every song on the album. Well, it’s
Skylar Grey, Em samples woman shrieking a pity! After all, these two work in perfect
and shovel sounds. It adds to the Hitchcok’s harmony in all their collaborations. I hope
atmosphere and at the same time ties the one day Eminem will come up with an idea to
track to the first disc, where the first song make an entire album together with Skylar.
“Premonition (Intro)” starts with the same (A man can dream.)
shovel sounds while shrieking links to a
woman’s voice on “Godzilla”. “Black Magic” has it all: love, and violence,
and murder, and black magic itself. With all
In this article, I will often refer to Eminem’s these components, the song perfectly empha-
New Year’s Eve interview on Shade45 where sises the tone of the entire album. Marshall
he shared many interesting details about raps about relationships; this is one of those
“Music to be Murdered By: Side B”. One of topics he always touches on his records.
them is an explanation of why he values his There is always a track where he talks about
creative collaboration with Skylar Grey so some strange relationship, maybe even his
high:
own, with a girl. And this time, their relationship
might be the most bizarre, because the girl has su-
pernatural powers. She puts a spell on the protago-
nist, and their affair torments them both, but no
one can release them, free them from the spell. On
the track, Em compares this relationship to walking
over hot coals, emphasising that the protagonist is
ready to fight for his love and go to great lengths
for her.

The track starts with the statement that they are

“an unlikely pair” and talks about how the pro-
tagonist wants to make her love him. Towards the
end of the track, he goes into a fight with the girl
over her cheating on him and stabs her to death.
Describing this murder in detail and accompanying
this story with shrieking, the sound of stabbing and
smashing plates, Eminem reinforces the Hitchcock
theme while also making a reference to his dark
2017 track “Framed” and blaming drugs for what
the protagonist did.

Think I just wanted to see what her insides look

like / As I pop another five Vic’s / That’s what this
high’s like / Look down, there’s mud on my Nikes /
Shovel at my side, blood on my mic / Now wake up
to Music To Be Murdered By like

The track’s ending sets the theme for the entire

album: “Side A” was the music to be murdered by,
the “Side B” songs will cover the sound of shovels
that bury your bodies.

Before I check the mic (Check, check, one, two) / I

give it a extra swipe with a Lysol disinfectant wipe
(Good evening) / Coronavirus in effect tonight
/ Antiseptics on deck, I got every type (Yeah) / I
throw on my tux, then I (Yeah) give zero fucks, then
I (Yeah) / Act like a jockstrap (Uh), cup my nuts,
then I (Yeah) / Check my ball hair (What?), make
sure it’s all there (Yeah) / Then call the pallbearer
(Yeah) / It’s Music to Bе Murdered By again, why
stop?

It seems like Marshall found the upsides in the

quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as
he stayed put in the studio, creating new tracks for
M2BMB. Eminem starts “Alfred’s Theme” (writ-
ten after the first part of the album was released)
by checking the microphone and wiping it down
with disinfectant wipes — hello, we have Covid
raging here! Apparently, for Eminem, whom the
public perceives as a hermit not leaving his secret
lair, self-isolation might have been easy. He seems
meticulous and attentive to detail not only in rap,
and it helps him with the quarantine life.

I’m talkin’ smack like heroin, the mic’s a syringe

On “Alfred’s Theme” Eminem also boasts of his

outstanding rap skills and lyrical ability, declaring
himself the best rapper of 2020, and also raps
about the consequences of coming to fame.

With the line “But I’m back with so many knots,

I need a chiropractor (Damn)” he also reminds
everyone that MBTMB has become one of the
bestsellers this year. “They call me dog because
I’m barking (Bar king, bark, bark, barking)”.
The highlight of this sequence is the line “You
hyperextend on me, this game’s life, it depends
/ Like adult diapers for men”, where Em says
that without him the rap genre would simply
die out and become irrelevant. It is a kind of a
jab at haters who keep screeching that Em is
“no longer relevant”. There is also a reference
to being a father figure for the new generation
of rappers (“Son ’em, get the Coppertone, I’m at
the Stop and Go coppin’ the Mop and Glo”).

Eminem also uses the metaphor of good wine

that only gets better and more expensive when
mature “It’s sour grapes, I still whine, I’m the
best seller (Cellar)”.

Bitch, it’s 2020, you still ain’t seein’ me (Haha)

So call me Santa Claus (Santa Claus)
’Cause at the present (Yeah), I out-rap ’em all
(Wrap ’em all), I’m at the mall

Social media critics caught it when Em dropped

the line “This chicken hit my phone, she said,
“Chirp, chirp”, saying that any armchair critic
glued to their screen can chirp whatever they
want without facing the consequences. Em
turns on his social media haters again later on
the album, as for instance on “These Demons”:
“Haters are funny, man (Haha) / It’s like, you’re
gonna hate it no matter what it is…”

“Alfred’s Theme” is also essential for creating

the over-encompassing Hitchcock atmosphere
of the album — its beat is sampled from the
theme song of the TV show “Alfred Hitchcock
Presents”, which used Gounod’s “Funeral March
of a Marionette”. In the track’s ending, Eminem
declares that he is “buddies with Alfred” and
compares himself to the serial killer Jeffrey
Dahmer. To make the blows hit the listener
harder, he employs the image of Jabba the Hutt
— the iconic “Star Wars” character — compar-
ing it to a human scrotum (incorporating “nuts”
as both a term for a mentally unstable person
and slang for the testicles):

Yeah, and I’m buddies with Alfred, we about

to / Disembowel them, gut ’em and scalp ’em,
yeah / This is ’bout to be the bloodiest outcome
/ ’Cause we gon’ make you bleed with every cut
from this album / So I’m choppin’ ’em up like
Dahmer / The nut job with the nuts that are
bigger than Jabba the Hutt.
 I KEEP
DROPPIN’
On “Tone Deaf”, Em keeps showing off his
skills and criticising the rap industry. The
very track title is already a swing at modern
mumble rappers who cannot ride the beat.
Interestingly, the track was created together
with Eminem’s longtime collaborator —
Luis Resto, who had a hand in making the
main hit of Em’s career — “Lose Yourself”.

Marshall starts “Tone Deaf” with a small

performance over a funny beat, and refers
to his alter ego Slim Shady as the narrator,
pretending that he cannot hear the person
over the phone and grilling the people who
call him irrelevant and obsolete... The real
Slim Shady is here, please stand up! The
track is filled with all sorts of innuendos of
Slim’s powerful imagination.

The “Tone Deaf” chorus with Shady’s perky

vocals mocks the critics — he simply does
not hear them, and he is not going to stop
even when his hair turns grey despite the
criticism of his recent albums... This is what
happens in reality. Em just comes back at
the end of the year with the new 16-tracks
long “Side B” CD.
 )
S (U H )
E AH
V E RS S (YE AT?)
K TH E ARSE E (WH
A C H E RVIC
ATT WITH E
N E D U RS
H E K Y O
M E, T PAC M AT
GA AR D I’
R AP E Y AL,
H E AV E R
ET GR UN
I SE NTO A OU R F
NI EY
TU R ST LIK
JU
 On the third “Tone Deaf” verse,
Eminem
decided to demonstrate the bes
t of his
skills and seemingly rhyme ora
nge with
banana. Yes, he can rhyme any
thing! But
it boils down to a joke and Em
doesn’t
really expect them to rhyme but
merges
them in the word “Bornana” wit
h an
exaggerated annunciation. Em
then com-
pares himself to the Scandinav
ian god
Thor, who in Norse mythology
destroyed
an army of giants, implying tha
t he can
easily defeat this new generation
of
mumble rappers.

In the track’s ending, Eminem

informs
his enemies that Shady is ready
to defeat
anyone willing to fight him. How
ever,
they should remember what has
hap-
pened to former contenders wh
o dared
to challenge him.

My enemies, I’m a chimney, give

me the
smoke, opps / And R.I.P. to King
Von, and
it don’t stop, and I know not / Wh
at the
fuck you say? I told y’all, it ain’t
me, it’s
my alter ego’s fault / But if y’al
l wanna
cancel me, no prob / I’ll tell you
the
same thing I told Paul (Woo)

I’M EMPTYIN’ MY
BOOK OF RHYMES
If on “Alfred’s Theme” and “Tone Deaf ”
Em was showing off his rap skills, jok-
ing around and basically had fun, then
on “Book of Rhymes” recorded with DJ
Premier, he takes us through his cogni-
tive process of turning the initial spark
of an idea into rhymes and punchlines,
references and Easter eggs, intricate
combinations and clever wordplay.

By the way, Eminem has dreamt of

working with DJ Premier since the mo-
ment they met. He said so during his
New Year’s Eve special on Shade45. For
Marshall, that was not only the appre-
ciation of Premier’s skills, but also the
recognition of his contribution to the
hip hop culture. To finally have him on
“Book of Rhymes” was a dream come
true for Eminem:
 MR. MATHER S IS KILLIN’ THIS SHIT, VILLAINO
US WIT WITH SCANT LESS
SYLLAB LES RIP THE PLANET, BIB LICAL SHIT
’S FINNA HIT THE FAN
ANYBODY WAN NA GO TIT FOR TAT’S GON
NA GET HIT WITH THAT
THE N THE AMYGDALA HIPP OCAMPUS IS
GON NA TRIGGER THE
IGNORAMUS TO THIN K OF THE MOST RIDI
CULOUS SHIT TO SPIT THE N
PIT IT AGAINST THESE PITI FUL RAPPER S
INSI DIOUS, THESE IDIOTS WITTIEST SHIT
AGAINST ME SHIT TY AS
MC HAM MER’S GET YOU R WHOLE SQUAD,
SEN D A TASK FOR CE IN
IF YOU WANT IT, YOU’RE ’BOUT TO GET WHA
T YOU ASKED FOR THE N
PUT YOU R HELMET ON, STR AP YOU R CHI
N
YOU’RE ’BOUT TO GET YOU A CRASH COU
RSE IN
“I’ve been wanting to do some shit with time to Em to get off the Internet and get on
Premiere. I just had the idea of what he the mic, as he has much to share in the rap
could scratch. And just having him scratch game yet.
on the record — that’s so dope! He gets a
feature credit on there. Premiere is Premiere. I get to remind all the haters (Remind all the
There’s a lot of DJ’s that might not get a haters) / who shitted on me when I’m on my
feature in credit. You got Premiere on your way up (I’m on my way) / My floor is y’all
shit scratching — he’s gonna get a fucking fool’s ceilings / If I was you, I would step or
featuring credit. That’s one of the best parts find yourself twisted / That’s how you’ll wind
about it. I want to make sure you know who up like spiral stairs
I’m talking about at the end of the song. His
impact on hip-hop and everything from Gang Eminem proceeds to playfully compare
Starr to… You know, when we do a lot of the floor of his skills with the ceiling of his
cyphers Premiere’s usually there providing opponents’ abilities and reminds his haters
the beat. And I’ve always been cool with him. that projectile vomiting shit out of their guts
Ever since I met him, I’ve always in the back won’t help them because they will be blown
of my mind like, “Man, I wish I had some- out by his superiority the second, they decide
thing with him to attach”. Because he’s the to open their mouths. And if punchy rhymes
fucking OG”. are too difficult for you to comprehend,
then Eminem can summon to the surface of
the thin slush inside your head the vague
Let’s get back to M2BMB. On the “Book of memory of Ja Rule’s career that he destroyed.
Rhymes” chorus, Eminem samples the lines
from his collaboration with Lil Wayne “Drop It’s Music to Be Murdered By, so Bon Iver
the World” where he compares his rhymes can swallow a fuckin’ Ja Rule bobblehead /
with the ammo that he has stacked through- And die slow like Alzheimer’s (Ha-ha) / Lone
out the years of his career. It seems like their sniper, I hold a microphone like a loaded
time has come. rifle / My dome’s brighter, all I spit from my
skull’s fire / All that’s missing’s a motorcycle
Haven’t used all the tricks I have, so like with the chrome wires, spoke tires / And y’all
my balls, I’m in my bag (My bag) / Get a are flow biters, so I don’t gotta / Explain why
littlе teste when I’m mad (I’m mad), sick of they call me your ghostwriter
wrеstling this iPad (iPad)
In the end of the first “Book of Rhymes”
When Eminem comes up with a new rhyme, verse, Eminem executes a flawless strike at
he is absolutely focused on the task to come his haters and the rappers who hire ghost-
up with something new that he has never writers to write their tracks. He basically
used before. He is always rhyming, and he calls himself the ghostwriter doing his job
does not need much to kickstart the process: perfectly, and uses the Marvel character
Ghost Rider as a metaphor. Rhymes pour
I get obsessed with reading everything / And from Eminem’s skull that has been “spit-
let it get the best of me ’til I snap (‘Til I snap) ting fire” for the third decade of his career,
/ But I need to get off the Internet (Get off for fans and critics to dig in and tear into
the Internet) / I need to get on the mic (Get catchphrases, analyse and study. His verses
on the mic) / You need to get off the Internet become info bombs and breaking news.
(Internet) / You need to get you a life / Why
you waste time just to comment on shit? Further down the line, Em admits that he
(Comment on shit) / Especially shit you don’t cannot use all his rap tricks because there
like (Shit you don’t like) are too many of them. His rap superiority is
unattainable to his rivals who challenge Emi-
Eminem once again hits his armchair critics nem’s status as the “Rap God”. To prove the
back, this time with a bigger gun, and states point, he explains how his brain, phenomenal
that he reads a lot of stuff on social media memory and body chemistry work to achieve
and cannot understand why they waste their this result. In other words, Em says that you
time commenting on shit they don’t even shouldn’t even try to start a rap war with
like, and by shit, he means his music. So, it’s him. The outcome is obvious.
And as the final blow for those with the thickest anything exciting or original and are not intelligent
skulls, Eminem flips one of the most often repeated enough to generate ideas and write cool rhymes.
accusations that his haters use — that he is just a
guest in the rap game. On “Book of Rhymes”, Em de- “Your shit is pointless, same as a scoreless game”, Em
clares that he had destroyed the game way before his tells them.
opponents even arrived there. So now they can only
relax and enjoy his hospitality: In the final bars on “Book of Rhymes”, Em compares
himself to a dangerous, destructive weapon to il-
Destroyed the game before you came, enjoy your stay lustrate his power in the rap industry. Of course,
/ Before it’s gone away, but the more you claim that dear critic, things you hear on this track can make
you’re gonna point and aim you drop fire from your arse. However, it’s alright.
That was the initial intention of the genius. Legend-
Modern rap wannabes are just imitators (see the ary DJ Premier sends this track off with his perfect
army of lame Lil Wayne’s clones). They cannot offer scratches.

BARS ARE
Don’t even tell me you never wanted Em to do
a Covid-themed track? Of course, he mentioned
coronavirus earlier on the collaboration with Kid
Cudi in July 2020 and right on this album on “Alfred’s

LIKE COVID
Theme”, but it was “Gnat” that focused on the main
issue of 2020 — the coronavirus pandemic.

“Gnat” is an ode to 2020 and the disappointment it

brought to the world. The track became the third
promo single for the entire MTBMB project (“Dark-
ness” and “Godzilla” are the two others) and had a
music video directed by Cole Bennett who also shot
visuals for “Godzilla” in Spring 2020. quarantines, lockdowns etc. - to machine guns use-
less against an uncontainable force.
On “Gnat”, Em has a go at the COVID topic. He even
made a visual pun on the infection’s origins, biting The signs of the new pandemic reality – face masks,
the head off a bat in his video - a hyperbolised meta- 14-day quarantine, social distancing, disinfectants,
phor of patient zero. COVID symptoms – of course, all of it and more
has found its place on the track, cleverly packed in
Em compares himself to the coronavirus, stating that punchlines and jabs at his haters.
his flow is viral just as much. That’s an excellent ref-
erence to his high popularity online and how fast all If by some lucky chance you missed 2020 with all
his bars and lines spread through the Internet where its shit, you can rely on Marshall Mathers to deliver
everybody discusses or criticises them. There is also you a detailed account of events, at least as far as the
a clever wordplay on social distancing as a pandemic pandemic is concerned.
prevention method and an unbreachable gap in skills
and talent between him and his opponents. On “Gnat”, Em offers an interesting metaphor of the
response the humanity has given to the COVID-19
pandemic. Marshall compares the virus to a pestilent
They say these bars are like COVID insect, and COVID protective measures – face masks,
You get ’em right off the bat quarantines, lockdowns etc. - to machine guns use-
Infected with SARS and Corona less against an uncontainable force.
Like you took a bite off of that
And it goes from martian to human The signs of the new pandemic reality – face masks,
14-day quarantine, social distancing, disinfectants,
That’s how the virus attacks COVID symptoms – of course, all of it and more
They come at me with machine guns has found its place on the track, cleverly packed in
Like trying to fight off a gnat punchlines and jabs at his haters.

On “Gnat”, Em offers an interesting metaphor of the If by some lucky chance you missed 2020 with all
response the humanity has given to the COVID-19 its shit, you can rely on Marshall Mathers to deliver
pandemic. Marshall compares the virus to a pestilent you a detailed account of events, at least as far as the
insect, and COVID protective measures – face masks, pandemic is concerned.
 LONG SOCIAL
DISTANCE
RELATIONSHIP
Romantic relationship as an M2BMB topic deserves The “She Loves Me” outro uses Em’s classic “I’m just
special attention. “Black Magic” is not the only song playin’” trick. He used it before on such tracks as
on the album that delves into this subject. Another “White America”, “Kill You”, “So Much Better”, “Kick
track that takes a closer look at romance is “Guns Off (Freestyle)” and “Killshot” (you must remem-
Blazing” where Marshall reunites with his mentor ber that Diddy pun). This is his reliable device that
Dr. Dre. allows Eminem to say whatever he wants to say,
framing it as a joke. Now Em flips the scheme and
They trade bars and snap at their respective part- after seemingly negating with his “I’m just playin’”
ners. Dre directs the verse towards his wife Ni- everything he just said, he adds “I ain’t got no foos-
cole Young with whom he is going through a dirty ball table”, leaving us to believe that only that part
separation marred with financial scandals and court was a joke, and everything else was true.
battles over his billion-worth estate. On his verse,
Eminem raps about his multiple failed relationships As a rule, Em’s songs about romance seem to be
with women, specifically talking about one of them, made in jest, yet they carry the gravity of experience.
named Michelle. Also, there are some lines on Em’s We do not know the whole story, and, likely, we nev-
second verse that can be addressed either to Kim or er will. This is none of our business and has nothing
Dre’s wife, out of solidarity with the friend. to do with music. I remember how Eminem snubbed
a Vulture journalist when he tried to pry on Mar-
“She Loves Me” is one more track where Eminem shall’s private matters back in 2017. To the question
raps about a relationship. Here Em is complaining “Do you date?” Eminem responded with “It’s tough.
about a girl who “loves” him for what he has, not Since my divorce I’ve had a few dates and nothing’s
for what he is. She mainly cares about his fame and panned out in a way that I wanted to make it public.
wealth. Dating’s just not where I’m at lately” and dead-
panned about meeting people on Tinder and Grindr.
The chorus plays on an old fortune-telling game, in When the interviewer asked him “Is fame lonely for
which one picks petals off a flower. However, Em you?”, Em wrapped it with a rapid “Am I lonely? No,
modernised the lines adding there the option of lov- I’m good. Thanks for asking though”. In 2020 many
ing what he has got. There is no winning in this game relationships were damaged. Being isolated with
for Eminem because the girl loves him for all the somebody or being isolated away from someone
wrong reasons. might erode personal bonds. Being apprehensive of
people after the long isolation and being overly cau-
Em declares this result with laughter on the final tious about the virus can do similar damage.
chorus, when having gone through all petals and
options during the song he concludes: “She loves me Perhaps, what Em raps on these tracks about the re-
not” lationship is partly informed by his own dating his-
tory, and he adds all these jokes to throw us off his
She loves me (She loves me), she loves me not trail. For instance, the puns that he is only interested
For who I am (She loves me), but what I got in sex instead of a more meaningful emotional con-
But she loves me, she loves me not nection. Nobody knows how 2020 and its isolation
She loves me (Yeah, one more time) trend have affected Eminem. Enjoy the entertain-
I said, ’cause she loves me (She loves me), ment and mind your own business.
She loves me not
For who I am (She loves me), but what I got
But she loves me, she loves me not (Haha)
She loves me
 NO TABOOS
On the Side B, Eminem once again proves that that sounds like “Mike Pence’ll get killed” and
he raps whatever he wants regardless of critics immediately claims that it is a coincidence and he
and Internet noise. Em was heavily criticised for does not reference the former vice president on
including on “Kick Off” and “Unaccommodat- his verse.
ing” references to the suicide bombing attack
at Manchester Arena in 2017 during Ariana Another M2BMB track that breaks all taboos is
Grande’s show that resulted in 23 fatalities “These Demons” recorded with a Dallas artist MAJ.
and over 800 injuries. On “Favorite Bitch”,
he does it again topping it up with refer- Yeah, you know what? (Loud Pack) / Haters are
ences to the Boston Marathon bombing in funny, man (Haha) / It’s like, you’re gonna hate it
2013 and drawing a comparison between no matter what it is / Yet you still click on it (Zom-
these deadly and awful events and himself, bie on the track), huh, yeah
in terms of the devastation he inflicts upon the
opponents. “These Demons” kicks off with another jab at
haters who are never satisfied no matter what
On “Favorite Bitch”, Eminem collaborates with Em says, so there is no point in trying to restrain
Ty Dolla $ign. The “bitch” here stands for hip hop yourself. The track is packed with references
and together with Ty Dolla $ign Eminem reflects to celebrities, pop culture, and current events.
on their past, their failures, their success and how Marshall mixes the COVID-19 pandemic, the civil
the music industry does not treat them right. unrest in the US and protests that started after
George Floyd’s death to express his frustration at
One of the hidden gems on the track is the line the disappointment at what 2020 became to the
“Always hated my smile” at the beginning of the world.
second verse that fits into the lore that Eminem
never smiles. The following lines elaborate on From calling out his haters for their hypocrisy and
that, adding that his mother told him that he pro- some of his fans for their inconsistency, Em dives
voked his school bullies to beat him up because of headfirst into the kaleidoscope of bizarre topics
his smile, because he was “ugly”. provided by his imagination.

Ain’t nothin’ you say could ever trump (Nah), mic, Em raps about O. J. Simpson who allegedly
pencil get killed (Yeah) / If you’re hypersensitive, I stubbed his wife and her friend to death. He pays
wasn’t referencin’ the vice president, chill (Chill) homage to his icon LL Cool J, he ironically com-
pares the fight against racism with the pandemic
At times Eminem’s imagination played him and struggles of missing a haircut.
brought the Secret Service to investigate him.
Once those were the lines on “We As Americans” Black people dyin’, they want equal rights
(“Fuck money! I don’t rap for dead presidents / White people wanna get haircuts (Haha)
I’d rather see the president dead / It’s never been
said, but I set precedents”) were the word “dead” He throws in a riddle of law enforcement that is
was censored on his album “Encore”. The other not law-abiding. He disses Mariah Carey again.
time that was “Framed” from his incredible 2017 Calls out dirty media and radio stations that ex-
album “Revival” (fuck you to everyone who thinks ploit his name to get more visitors and views.
it’s bad), where Slim Shady locked Ivanka Trump
in the trunk (“But dog, how the fuck is Ivanka There are no taboos, he raps what he wants and…
Trump in the trunk of my car?”). This line led to
the visit of Secret Service agents who had some You don’t like me? You can bite my little white
questions to ask. They did not start formal inves- wee-wee / And I repeat, you can bite my little
tigations but inspired the lines on “Ringer” from white wee-wee long as I L-I-V-E
2018 album “Kamikaze”, where Em explained to …
all obtuse agents that he did not mean any physi- …
cal harm to the president and if he was linked So you can eat shit, but I might be the shit
to terrorist then “only when it comes to ink and So when I say “Eat shit,” I mean me
lyricists”. This time on “Gnat” Em uses a wordplay
 ODE
A LM
R VIV
#SU

THEY WOKE
a reason why Eminem mentions conflicts, “Zeus” is filled
with them to the brim, and these are not only personal
Em’s conflicts but also the conflicts of our society.

A GIANT UP
Marshall has always been particularly sensitive to social
injustice in the United States. As police violence and
institutional racism have become an even more press-
ing issue over the past decade, Eminem continues to
raise these issues in his songs. On Zeus, Marshall named
several victims of police violence:

And all that we want is racial equality / R.I.P. Laquan Mc-

Almost at the very end of the record, Marshall takes the Donald, Trayvon, and Breonna / Atatiana, Rayshard, and
listener to a real Klondike, which hides some of the most Dominique / Eric Garner and Rodney King / No, we can’t
ruthless lines, namedrops and a selection of important get along ’til these white motherfuckin’ cops / Who keep
topics. Habitually, he uses his new tracks to reflect on the murderin’ Blacks are off the streets (Off the streets)
events and conflicts in the world around.
This litany follows the lane Marshall opened on his
“Zeus”, one of the deepest and most fiery tracks on “Side recent collaboration with Kid Cudi “The Adventures of
B”, has become a real audience favourite. Here Eminem Moon Man and Slim Shady” where he shared anger about
shares his grief for Black Americans who have been vic- the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.
tims of police brutality, admits a past mistake in the situ-
ation with Rihanna and Chris Brown, and even responds One of the most unexpected references on “Zeus” was
to a diss. Eminem’s apology to Rihanna. The unreleased song
“Things Get Worse”, which was leaked earlier this year,
Beginning “Zeus” with a jab at Machine Gun Kelly, Em is the reason for his remorse. In this song, written from
says that he “loves conflict” on a subconscious level, as if Em’s alter ego, Slim Shady, who does not adhere to any
hinting at his inner monster — his alter ego, Slim Shady. social norms, he commented on the case of Chris Brown
As if reminding that he decided to keep him locked down being physically abusive towards Rihanna and sided with
and only occasionally open his cell door hatch. There is the perpetrator.
This song was not intended for public consumption, and tryna be / Last thing I need is Snoop doggin’ me / Man,
yet it became available, causing distress to many who Dogg, you was like a (Yeah) damn god to me / Nah, not
did not want to see Marshall encourage violence against really (Haha) / I had “dog” backwards
women.
On Shade45’s New Year’s Eve special, Marshall explained
Rihanna did not make any comments; however, we know what in Snoop Dogg’s words felt off:
that Marshall felt uncomfortable about the incident and
did what he considered important — publicly apologised “A couple of months ago he was doing an interview with
for this song. The amount of self-consciousness revealed the Breakfast Club. Somehow my name got brought up
in these lines is admirable, and hopefully, Rihanna will and he was saying things about, you know, I’m not in his
appreciate it. top 10… And everything he said, by the way, was fine
up to the point… I’m not in his top 10 because there are
But, me, long as I breathe, promise to be honest some rappers from the 90s that I can’t fuck with. And
And wholeheartedly, apologies, Rihanna him saying Dre made the best version of me – absolutely.
For that song that leaked, I’m sorry, Ri Why would I have a problem with that? Would I be here
It wasn’t meant to cause you grief without Dre? Fuck no, I wouldn’t. The rappers he men-
Regardless, it was wrong of me tioned from the 90s – Krs-One, Big Daddy Kane, G Rap –
I’ve never said I could fuck with them.
Another memorable moment and at the same time a
reflection on the past was Em’s response to Snoop Dogg. Everything was good until… You know, I think it was
On “Zeus” Eminem penned perhaps the most respectful more about the tone he was using. That caught me off
and diplomatic diss in history. This diss was prompted guard because I was like, “Yo, where is this coming from?
by Snoop’s recent remarks, who did not recognise Mar- I just saw you! What the fuck?!” It threw me for a loop.
shall’s skills and attributed his success to Dr. Dre. Em Again, I could probably get past the whole tone and ev-
was silent for a long time about this, but “Zeus” revealed erything but it was the last statement that he said:
that he felt betrayed, mainly because he considered “Far as his music – I can live without it”. I can live without
Snoop Dogg one of his friends, one of his camp. that shit. Now you’re being disrespectful. It just caught
me off guard. I was not ready for that.
And, as far as squashin’ beef, I’m used to people knockin’
me / But, just not in my camp / And diplomatic as I’m
People started hitting me up about it.
Asking, “What you gonna do?” And I
didn’t know what to do about it first.
It confused me because I’m like, “Bro,
we are on the same team. What the
fuck!” And I’ve never in my career, my
entire career, ever said a disrespect-
ful word about Snoop Dogg. I mean,
what the fuck. His impact on hip-hop,
I can’t front on that. Everyone is en-
titled to their opinion. My top 10, top 5
can’t be the same as his. How can I be
mad at that? I was not mad about the
opinion, it was after that. The very last
statement was like “Oh, what the fuck.
Damn, dawg, really?!” I said what I said,
I addressed that. I said what needed to
be said”.

Regardless of how strong Eminem

felt, he responded to Snoop diplo-
matically and respectfully.
Interestingly, the track’s title and the
hook liken Eminem to the Greek god
Zeus, who lives on sky-high Mount
Olympus. When his authority is ques-
tioned, Em returns to Earth to slap his
haters and opponents down. This set-
up references one of Eminem’s most
successful tracks - “Rap God”.

I be on my own (Yeah), head up in

the clouds like Zeus / When they say,
“You ain’t the GOAT”, I come down
like, “Who?” / But I got my head in
the clouds like Zeus / Swear I can see
the game from a bird’s-eye view, ayy
/ Bitch, you talkin’ to a rap god, ayy /
Girl, you talkin’ to a monsta, ayy / You
could give your whole damn life to the
music thing / They gon’ turn around
like they don’t love you
EMINEM CANCELS
CANCEL CULTURE
Another interesting topic that Em touches on in the
second part of MTBMB is “cancel culture”.

This theme is introduced at the very beginning of

the album — on “Tone Deaf”, when Eminem mocks
his critics, who call him washed and irrelevant.
There, Marshall mentions internet culture and
people who feel they have power over artists and
can dictate them what to do.

I won’t stop even when my hair turns grey (I’m

tone-deaf) / ’Cause they won’t stop until they can-
cel me (Yeah, yeah)

Comin to the end of the album, Em again touches on

this topic on “Zeus” in the line “Who dyin ‘to cancel
my ass like Aunt Jemima syrup”. This is a reference
to the rebranding of Aunt Jemima pancake and
syrup products caused by the BLM movement. The
once-popular and beloved by millions of consum-
ers product is undergoing the change because of
the portrait of a Black woman on the label. Eminem
compares himself to the beloved yet the controver-
sial character of Aunt Jemima. Just as she has been
associated with pancakes and syrup for 130 years,
Em symbolises hip hop now; he is one of the most
recognised rap artists, the one who cares for the rap
culture immensely.

On each of his albums, on many of his tracks, Emi-

nem frequently references hip hop veterans, their
albums and tracks, introducing modern listeners to
their legacy and the hip hop history. A prime exam-
ple of this concern for the genre is the t-shirts that
he wears on stage in front of the army of thousands
of fans, t-shirts with the album cover prints of his
rap idols.
And despite his widely recognised
achievements, his guardianship of the
rap game, armchair critics attack him and
try to “cancel” his legacy.

In his recent Shade45 interview, Marshal

elaborated on the topic:

For me, it’s literally like every other day I’m can-
celled for whatever the fuck it was. It’s funny be-
cause I see the same people or sites that bitched
about things back then that I said and then going
back now and saying “Why can’t he be that again?”
What the fuck?! When I was that, you had a problem
with that too. I understand some of this shit, but
for the most part, for people who just sit online and
feel like they need to bitch about whatever it is to
feel like they’re a part of something... With cancel
culture, it’s like no one ever really gets cancelled
though. When people start saying “Cancel!” - okay,
well, this rapper’s still here, this rapper’s still here
or this person in general, you don’t have to be a
rapper. I don’t know man. I feel like people need to
fucking grow a pair.

On the “Zeus” third verse, Eminem metaphorically

looks at the rap game from the top of Olympus that
he stormed back in 1999. He has over 100 million
of his records sold and somehow understands how
it works. Marshall reflects on the music industry’s
dynamic world, on countless breakthrough debuts
he has seen quickly fading into oblivion. He knows
that sooner or later, the same people who are now
trying to erase his legacy from the hip hop history
will turn on anyone as soon as sales go a little down
(Marshall mentions Drake here to make a point).
And the higher you fly, the harder you fall.

I’ve seen them come and go / I’ve seen the hugest

(Hugest) debuts (‘Buts) / I’ve had a great view to
see the (See the) game through (Through) / And,
Drake, they’re gonna turn on you (You) one day too
(Too) / And the more you win, the sooner (Sooner)
they do / They’ll be calling you a trash bin
 Meanwhile, all shots at Eminem, all harsh criticism,
all jabs feel hypocritical — there is a reason people
try to create animosity with Em. All his opponents
simply dream that he would answer them on wax

T RY I N T O or release a whole diss track because it will draw

LIKE
attention to them, usually more than they can ever

T
attract on their own. You don’t have to look far,

F A G N A remember Lil Pump’s latest clout chasing attempt

FIGHT OF
by insulting Eminem. But Mr. Little Pimp only suc-
ceeded in becoming a laughing stock for Eminem’s
fans, friends and colleagues.

There are the lines on “Higher”:

You see my finger (What?), you see my thumb

(What?) / You see my fist, fuck a peace pipe, I’m
(What?) / Here for the smoke but it’s not the weed
I want (What?) / With this beat I brung for the
beef I’ve come (Woo) / But you better bring it if
you wanna reply from / ’Cause for you to be lyri-
cally inclined, it’d be a steep climb up / That’ll be an
uphill battle / But I’m up like your feet in a recliner /
And I think I’m about to go out on a limb like a tree
climber / Time to push my ceiling higher…

Em doesn’t mind sparring lyrically with someone

who can write a worthy diss on him, but he’s not
going to waste time on the smoke blowers who want
their 15 minutes of fame. Therefore, if Em does not
answer you, then you are simply not worthy of his
answer. But if he, nevertheless, answers, he will do it
with ease.
 THERE IS
NOTHING
LEFT TO
PROVE
You know, I’ve been around for a while now On “Higher”, Em declares “Damn ‘How proud of
Not sure if I have much left to prove me I am’.” And then again, he talks about inflated
Yeah I do, haha expectations, when everyone, including fans, de-
mands something from Eminem, something they
“Higher” is a bottom line to all the displays of want. But he has already done it.
power and rap skill flexing Eminem perform in
front of his opponents and haters. Now Em looks “Higher” is like an ode to Eminem’s fame, or
at his career from the outside. At the very begin- rather, a story about how life is after fame comes.
ning, he says that he has been in the rap game for However, soon on “Zeus” Em raps how the pride
a very long time, and laughs at the fact that he still he takes in success turns into the uncertainty
needs to prove something. about the future. On “Higher”, Marshall uses the
metaphor of “an overcrowded hospital waiting
He has been on top for over two decades; he room” to describe the inflated expectations of
makes waves every time he drops a record or his new releases from fans and critics, and at the
makes a public appearance. Still, Em is expected same time compares his dedication and loyalty to
to prove something. And yet if it’s his new al- the rap game to this “waiting room”.
bum — then the sales are remarkable; if this is a
“scandal” — then it is always the loudest; if this Reminds me of how an overcrowded hospital
is a show — then it is sold out and packed with waiting room’ll get / What I mean is maybe I have
thousands of adoring fans from all over the world. more patience (patients) than I’m able to admit
What can I say, even the word “Stan” is officially
included in the dictionary to describe a devoted Of many songs where he touched the topic of
fan. high expectations, the most striking example is
my favourite “Walk On Water” from the album
I look at me now, I’m thinkin, “Damn” “Revival”. But on “Higher” Em emphasises that he
How proud of me I am is grateful for his fame, for being able to get out of
What I did is nothin ‘to sneeze at poverty. Yet despite the wealth and fame, he is still
Even if your allergies are bad the same person who rose from nothing.
I’m up in a balcony in France
I look around, I see the fans Marshall is immensely grateful to music and rap,
How they surround me in the stands and on “Higher” he raps that it was music that
Probably could drown in a sea of hands saved his life and that he doesn’t know how to
They’re hollerin ‘, “Shady” (“Shady”) do anything but wielding a pen, a notebook and
Yelling it out to me and that’s what a mic. His love of music taught him how to defeat
I mean when I say any enemy with ink and rhyme.
That one day someway, somehow,
if I get the chance to get a crowd
I’d flip it around and have a crowd
give me the chants
(I’ve done it all, man)
But in actuality, I haven’t, yet
 THE DARK
HORSE
Eminem is the real black horse of rap (he says just
that on the second verse of “Gnat”), perhaps one of
the most recognised and successful rap artists of
our time. Coming back with the new CD “Side B”,
recorded in a playful and roguish style, with black
humour undertones and in sometimes old school
sound, Marshall once again emphasised the inten-
tion he had made clear on the first part of MTBMB
-—he is not going to back down.

On Side B, he clearly shows that there are no top-

ics, personalities or events that are off-limit for
him. He can rhyme about everything.

Wait a minute, bitch, let me lie here (Uh)

20/20 hindsight in my side mirror
Every year, you drop the ball like Times Square

When Em raps about the disaster that 2020 was,

he looks back at the rappers trying to take his
throne and see that they are on a par with that
year’s misery and failures. The least success en-
joyed by Eminem’s album is still unattainable for
the majority of artists. And all the spiteful noise
about Eminem’s “irrelevance” or that “no one
listens to him anymore” simply turns into nothing
when it comes to Marshall’s new releases.

After the arrival of MTBMB Deluxe edition, the

record soared 196 positions on the Billboard 200,
breaking the record set by Bob Dylan in 1970. Bob Bitch, I’m number five
Dylan’s “Self Portrait” debuted at No. 200 in July
1970 and leapt up to No.7 on its second week. (What?) Minus four
For 50 years that was the biggest distance that an (Haha)Yeah, I’m a
album was able to travel up in one week. Now it is
exceeded by Eminem’s new album. (What?), I’m a (What?),
I’m a (Killer)... Yeah
While ill-wishers are trying to erase Eminem’s
achievements and legacy, disregard his classics and
rewrite the hip hop history, he once again returns
and reminds everyone...

Conscious madness goes on...

PERFECT COMBINATION
OF EM AND SLIM:
CONSCIOUS MADNESS
What distinguishes a winner from other pertinent topics. The good old
a loser? The leader from the follow- Slim is present throughout the album.
ers? Talent? Maybe. Luck? Sometimes. Sometimes going over the top, pro-
Work ethic? Almost always. But there voking people to pick up on some old
is one feature inherent to all success- scandals. Somewhere along the lines,
ful people - the ability to get up and he becomes today’s mature version of
move forward after failure, or in Mar- himself. What unites all of the facets of
shall’s case, after what many consider his amazing personality is the enor-
failure. mous skill of a true lyricist and his
punching delivery.
Revival showed the world that Emi-
nem has matured and wants to share Bringing together established and
his wisdom and life experience. Ka- emerging artists (the list of guests
mikaze showed that he was not quite on the album is impressive), Em has
ready to let go of his furious and ag- molded a work of art with the potency
gressive alter ego. MTBMB, in turn, is to change our perception and con-
an act of a leader, an act of a winner. sciousness, and of course, an undeni-
As R. Kipling said: able potency to entertain. The cunning
Mr. Mathers does not intend to lose
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve ground, he not only remains relevant
spoken / Twisted by knaves to make a but also ahead of the game, anticipat-
trap for fools, / Or watch the things you ing coming trends. He speaks in a lan-
gave your life to, broken, guage of shock-value and suspense, as
And stoop and build’em up with worn- always using irony, satire, sometimes
out tools. going too far, but always remaining
true to himself.
Em’s tools aren’t so worn out, and
once again he has revealed their Eminem is an inner voice that I would
sharpness to everyone. The third love to have and guide me. A voice that
album in such a short period of time, can ask me inconvenient questions,
and not only does his pen never run make taboo jokes, tell me a scary
out of ink, it seems the ink is just get- story, and, in the end, make me think
ting brighter with every new stroke. about topics that usually I would try to
Once again Eminem dives deep into avoid.
personal issues. This time, however, he
does not draw a line between his dif- And yes, even having such a voice, I
ferent shades of personality, this time would still choose to listen to Emi-
they are all bound together in synergy. nem’s new album, because taking
This, in my opinion, makes the album aside the social, political and psycho-
interesting for a much broader audi- logical depths of his work, there’s still
ence. damn good music to listen to, making
you laugh, with subtle and smart lyrics
Marshall talks about mass shootings from the master himself, accompanied
and the gun control problem, drug by impressive collaborations.
addiction, personal family issues, and
EMINEM’S

ALBUM REVIEW: BEWARE

IF YOU ARE STILL ALIVE!
I’ve known that something’s been cooking… They said I’m lyrically amazing / But I have nothing
There’s a certain aura and quiet twinkling in the to say / But then when I put out Revival and I had
sky at night when Shady’s locked up in his studio something to say / They said that they hated, they
working. Plus my left ear starts to fucking itch awake me / I lose the rage, I’m too tame / I get it
before I go to sleep. And I dream about voices back, they say I’m too angry
whispering while rhyming at the same time in the ...
darkness… All this starts like maybe 1 to 2 weeks Fans keep on pulling me one way / Haters pull me
before the album drops. So I was waiting… But, in another / They said I’m just a whiner, I sound like
hell, I wasn’t expecting a frag grenade album like a baby / I dish it out but can’t take it / But I take
this. And I thought Kamikaze was a slaughter… it, dish it back out / And they get all bent out of
Alright, ain’t gonna keep you waiting, let’s get mur- shape / This shit’s almost comical
dered by music, and I’ll try to guide you through it
as best as I can. Marshall’s just painting his picture. He’s
welcoming you into a part of his world
PLAY THIS TUNE, IT’S YOUR with every album. If you don’t like
what you see, just get the fuck out.
EULOGY, IT’S YOUR FUNERAL, He puts in so much into his lines
PREPARE TO DIE and delivers more quality with one
album than modern-day artists
deliver throughout their careers.
If you’re saying that Eminem has
Aaaggghhh… Those soothing sounds of a shovel
nothing to say, then that just
smashing… Now that’s something to put an end to
means that lots of shit went
my left-ear itch!
over your fucking head. Sorry,
I mean to offend. Sic.
Eminem is a lyrical warlord, an insane master-
mind-of-syllables maniac and an artist that treats
Any Revival haters in the
hip-hop’s technicality as one of the cornerstones of
house? I personally love the
the art and the MC’s most valuable quality. But he
album, as it’s quite personal
also went through and continues to go through so
and reflective. If you don’t
much shit that Eminem’s minute of agony probably
like it, then you can shove
amounts to a whole life span of struggles of an av-
some medicine up your ass-
erage white male. He’s got some wisdom to share.
holes, and listen:
That’s why when you say that he’s got nothing to
say, you get this intro track in return:
 I sell like four mill when I put out a bad album
Revival flopped, came back and I scared the crap out ‘em
But Rolling Stone stars, I get two and a half outta
Five, and I’ll laugh out loud
‘Cause that’s what they gave bad back in the day
Which actually made me not feel as bad now, ‘cause
If it happened to James
It can happen to Shady
And for anyone who thinks Shady ain’t as ill I ain’t on a plane right now, so I ain’t worried,
as he was back in the day, here’s what I always how bout you? Damn, I just love devouring his
wanted to say in response but now I can just lyrics.
quote it:

Instead of us being credited for longevity /

PRAY YOU SEE TOMORROW
And being able to keep it up for this long at LIL’ BOY, YOU GON’ LEARN
this level, we / Get told we’ll never be what we
were / Bitch, if I was as half as good as I was / Marshall’s lyrics are like a very concentrated
I’m still twice as good as you’ll ever be / Only liquid solution. Concentrated with multisyl-
way that you’re ahead of me’s alphabetically labic rhymes, complex punchlines, but also
meaningful storytelling. This song is very con-
Fuuuugghhhhh… This intro ain’t no longer centrated with that last component. Royce 5’9
than a verse and we’ve slaughtered have the also adds meaningful substance to this compo-
population already. Feels like an alien inva- sition. So it’s like a premium blend of Bad and
sion. And what do they do after the first wave Evil on the track.
hits? Right. Targeted extermination. Prepare
yourselves. Eminem goes on telling his story from child-
hood to present day and ends on a high note
LET’S GO UN A CCOMMO describing his current position in the game:

DATING I’m a God to you, y’all better worship the water

/ I walk on / Or y’all gonna meet your Wa-
Yeah, that’s what we doing, Young M.A terloo / I get to flippin’ the mic’ as a murder
weapon / I’m poppin’ an extra clip, then cock
Bet that’s what Marshall asked Young before and shoot, then I’m popping / Do not let me
they went to record the song, haha. The song catch you slippin’ / I will pop up and I’ll take a
is hella entertaining, I like the hook especially. spot from you / I’ll get to doing what a leaky
Look out, cause, faucet do / But I ain’t talkin’ drip when I say
that I’ll get the drop on you / Singin’ fuck all
Here comes Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Kho- of you in Autotune / I am too volatile and too
meini / Where’s Osama been? I been laden grizzly to bear / Yeah, shit is gettin’ to where I
lately / Look at how I’m behaving me, they can barely even sit in a chair / I bust my ass for
want me gone away / They wanna JonBenet this shit and I swear / It ain’t even worth diss-
me (Fuck you), I’m unaccommodating ing someone so offbeat / That they can’t even
figure out where their words / Should hit the
After I write this article I wanna go on some kick and the snare
ccommodating myself actually. Ahahaha.. Egh,
well, All jokes aside, I also found some lyrical Those last couple of lines I fucking loved. I just
gems here as well. hope that those Lil boys gon’ hear and gon’
learn.
I’m moving on but you know your scruples are
gone when you’re born with Lucifer’s horns
/ And you’re from the school of Notorious, /
HOW DO YOU DO,
Puba, Cube and The Poor Righteous Teachers LADIES AND GENTLEMEN?
tutored my students / Showed them all the
blueprint and formula / But it seems like the Why wasn’t Alfred Hitchcock mentioned as
more they studied my music, the more they re- a guest artist on the album? I bet it would
mind me of eyeballs / I’m watching my pupils score us some fans of the ill-famed filmmaker.
get cornier Anyhow, his presence just adds to the overall
nervewracking atmosphere. The beats on the
That’s right. We’re all watching Marshall’s pu- album are out of this world and a couple of
pils as they get cornier. You never get enough my friends even told me they remind them of
of these multidimensional punchlines. And as the golden era of Eminem Show. I guess this
for the pupils, get back to the drawing board, is to do with a certain doctor at work. Alfred
motherfuckers! Start taking some notes or Hitchcock certainly adds an indelible touch
something! and serves well as Shady’s new skit character. I
admit he’s a lot different from Ken Kanniff and
This is fucking Marshall, so way more moody, but the horrorcore seems to
be more amusing than frightening.
For you to go against me, it’s simply insane,
you will die / That’s why they call me Kami-
kaze, it’s plain suicide
THIS BEAT’S TAKIN’ “THIS COULD NEVER WORK,”
ME BACK TO MY IS WHAT WE SAID AT FIRST
D12 DAYS Eminem goes into relationship issues once again
on this track. This time it’s from a different per-
Sometimes you feel like you know so much about
spective than Recovery’s “Love the Way You Lie”
Marshall, all you can hear is the same story told
though. There’s no such thing as pure black and
using different wording and a whole package
white in this world. This applies to unfaithful-
of new punchlines and metaphors. But on this
ness as well. Marshall tries to portray how people
album, I feel like I’ve found so many new and
could be stuck in a relationship that’s not going
interesting details from his past. “Those Kinda
anywhere, and how having something on the side
Nights” is a tribute to his whiling out days with
could have more true love than anything.
D12 when they would go to clubs after shows to
pick up girls. But it ain’t just some trashy song. As
You’re laying there with him, thinking ‘bout me /
always Eminem goes humorous, sarcastic, witty
He’s asleep, you say, “Let’s meet around three” /
and wordy about telling the story.
You went to leave the house, he caught you sneak-
ing out, now he’s freaking out / You thought he
This beat keeps takin’ me back like my ex does
was sleepin’ soundly, woah / You say you’re going
/ Only ‘cause how good the sex was / Hit up the
for a drive, you don’t question him / When he
next club, met Alexa / But she was so extra, called
stumbles in, like, “Where the fuck you’ve been?”
her etcetera / Had her like “Oh, my God, my whole
/ Then you pump his ear with what he wants to
inbox filled with your songs, I mow my lawn to
hear / Tell him you love him, yeah, wipe each
‘em” / I said “Oh, my God, you know my songs,
other’s tears / But it’s been a couple years since
that’s totally awesome, I’m Marshall, what’s goin’
we been doin’ dirt / You or my girl, don’t wanna
on?” (Haha) / Seriously though, jokes aside, how
see either of you get hurt / But now the lines are
you doin’? You straight? / She said “No, I’m bi” /
getting super blurred / Can’t tell if I’m cheating
She said “Are you drunk?”, I said “No, I’m high” /
on her with you or cheating on you with her / But
I’m checkin’ out the chick, she said “So am I”
really, nobody’s at fault, can’t help who you love
I just go into hysterical laughter when I hear this.
And I love how he plays with Long John Silver in
The way he writes and the way he performs it
this part. Lyrical gems:
as he spits through the mic. This is like poetry
in motion at its finest. And it’s the best piece of
We’re laying here with them, thinking ‘bout us /
comical entertainment. Damn, I would suggest
‘Cause now when we get home, we get jealous /
Marshall going into comedy after he’s done with
Of each other being someone else’s / Call us Long
his rap career.
John Silver’s ‘cause we selfish
And in this album, for some particular reason
Is it “sell fish” or “cell fish”? Sometimes I can’t
[sic], the best is always left for last in the songs:
even tell anymore what’s intentional and what’s
not in his rhymes.
Roll up the car windows / Monte Carlo in park,
bumpin’ Bizarre’s demo / Gettin head in the
bucket, marshmello / Yeah, I never in the club FROM RAP GOD TO GODZILLA
met a woman worth knowin’ / But if your ho’in /
Opposite attract, / I’m someone, you’re a no one / Eminem’s stomping on civilians in this track,
I’m high and your bi / I’m comin’, you’re goin not just lyrically, but with fire-blazing fast killer
wordplay that surpasses Rap God’s performance
I ain’t even gonna go into details about what’s and sets another world record. I almost pictured
going on here lyrically. This is syllable-genius Godzilla from the 1998 film while listening to this
slaughtering of beats without wasting a word at massacre.
its finest. If you need some deeper explanation,
go dig up some dirt on Genius.
 Trigger happy, pack heat, but it’s black ink / Evil
half of the Bad Meets Evil, that means take a
back seat / Take it back to Fat Petes with a maxi,
single / Look at my rap sheets, what attracts
these people / Is my gangster, bitch, like Apache
with a catchy jingle / I stack chips, you barely got
a half-eaten Cheeto / Fill ‘em with the venom and
eliminate ‘em / Other words, I Minute Maid ‘em
/ I don’t want to hurt ‘em, but I did ‘em in a fit
of rage / I’m murderin’ again, nobody will evade
him / Finna kill ‘em and dump all the fuckin’
bodies in the lake / Obliterating everything, in-
cinerate and renegade ‘em / And I make anybody
who want it with the pen afraid / But don’t
nobody want it, but they’re gonna get it anyway
/ ‘Cause I’m beginnin’ to feel like I’m mentally ill
/ I’m Atilla, kill or be killed, I’m a killer, be the va-
nilla gorilla / You’re bringin’ the killer within me
out of me / You don’t want to be the enemy of the
demon who went in me / Or being the recievin’
enemy, what stupidity it’d be / Every bit of me is
the epitome of a spitter / When I’m in the vicin-
ity, motherfucker, you better duck / Or you finna
be dead the minute you run into me / A hundred
percent of you is a fifth of a percent of me / I’m
‘bout to fuckin’ finish you bitch, I’m unfadable /
You wanna battle, / I’m available, I’m blowin’ up
like an inflatable / I’m undebatable, I’m unavoid-
able, I’m unevadable / I’m on the toilet bowl, I
got a trailer full / Of money and I’m paid in full
/ I’m not afraid to pull the— / Man, stop / Look
what I’m plannin’, haha

Deeammmnnn boy, please don’t stop. Don’t be

afraid to pull whatever yous was gonna pull…
Shiiiitttt ...
I DON’T WANNA BE ALONE IN I love this part. It shows to us that Eminem is a
person, just like anyone of us, and he’s nervous
THE DARKNESS before a show. He’s afraid he won’t get that
same reaction from a crowd. He’s afraid that
Here I am, alone again / Can’t get out of this he’s fading out. He’s an artist and he always
hole I’m in / It’s like the walls are closin’ in / wants to perform the best he can. Give it all out
You can’t help me, no one can / I can feel these on the stage. Murder a show. But how can you
curtains closin’ / I go to open ‘em / But some- murder a show nobody’s at? It’s almost unbe-
thing pulls ‘em closed again lievable that an artist of his caliber would be
going through such thoughts. But this is true.
This will probably be my favorite song off the This is the true Marshall.
album. It’s personal like it was left off Revival
and impersonal, speaking on touching issues Plan is a go to wreck shit, cameras in all
of society. Comparing one experience and directions / The press is about to go ape shit
emotions with another. All bound together in bananas on all the networks / Commando with
the darkness. It’s a perfect cocktail. A venom- extra clips, I got ammo for all the hecklers /
ous cocktail contained with pain and rage and I’m armed to the teeth, another valium fall off
desperation. the bed / Fall off the bed, hit the ground and
crawl to the dresser / Alcohol on my breath as
I would argue that this song is a new version / I reach for the scope / I’m blackin’ out, I’m all
of Stan, except instead of two people commu- out of meds / With them benzodiazepines gone
nicating by facsimile, it’s two people commu- / Now it’s just magazines sprawled out on the
nicating within one single experience of going floor / Fuck the media, I’m goin’ all out, this is
through pain. The Vegas shooter and Eminem war / (Hello darkness, my old friend)
are one and he tries to crawl into his skin and
understand his emotion through this song. These are the last hours before the show and
before the shooting. Tension’s beginning to
I keep pacin’ this room valium / Then chase it spiral. Eminem continues getting loaded with
with booze, one little taste it’ll do / Maybe I’ll meds and alcohol while the Vegas shooter
take it and snooze, then tear up the stage in reaches for his scope. Fuck the media, they’re
a few / Fuck the Colt 45, I’ma need somethin’ going all out, this is war!
stronger / If I pop any caps, it better be off of
vodka / Round after round after round, I’m With People start to show up, time to start the
gettin’ loaded / That’s a lot of shots, huh? show up / It’s 10:05 PM and the curtain starts
to go up / And I’m already sweatin’ but I’m
Eminem’s getting loaded with booze, preparing locked and loaded / For rapid fire spittin’ for
for a show, while the Vegas shooter is getting all the concert-goers / Scopes for sniper vision,
loaded with his ammo. A true poet at work surprise from out of nowhere / As I slide the
here. I was perplexed as I was listening… clip in from inside the hotel / Leanin’ out the
window, going Kaiser Sosay / Finger on the
That’s when you know you’re schizo / (Hello trigger, but I’m a licensed owner / With no
darkness, my old friend) / ‘Cause I keep peakin’ prior convictions, so loss, the sky’s the limit /
out the curtain from the hotel / The music is So my supplies infinite, strapped like I’m a sol-
so loud, but it’s almost as though / I don’t hear dier / Got ‘em hopping over walls and climbing
no sound, I should get ready for the show now fences / Some of them John Travolta, staying
/ Wait is this the whole crowd? I thought this alive by inches / Cops are knockin’, oh, fuck,
shit was sold out / (Hello darkness, my old thought I blocked the entrance
friend) / But it’s only the opening act, it’s early,
don’t overreact / Then something told me relax Here we see Eminem firing at his show with
and just hope for the show to be packed / Don’t firearms from small to large caliber, assault to
wanna hit the stage before they fill each row to sniper rifles to heavy machine guns, you can
the max / ‘Cause that’d be totally wacked, you almost see him jumping on stage and spewing
can’t murder a show nobody’s at / But what if fire from his mouth through the microphone.
nobody shows? / Panic mode ‘bout to snap and He’s killin but some of them John Travolta,
go motherfuckin’ wacko at any second / ‘Bout staying alive by inches, while the Vegas shooter
to cancel the show, just as fans below rush the finishes them all off and leaves a scene of
entrance bloody massacre.
And after it’s all said and done… Flippin’ sofa cushions over just tryin’ to see /
If I could find some change and scrape up for
Fing Guess show time is over no suicide note a bite to eat / If Denaun and me find a couple
/ Just a note for target distance / But if you’d dimes a piece / Twenty five cents each’d get us
like to know the reason why I did this / You’ll a bag of chips / We’d be glad to get that even
never find a motive, truth is I have no idea / I we if we had to split / We’d do backward flips,
am just as stumped, no signs of mental illness looking back at it / I think that would fit with
/ Just tryin’ to show ya the reason why we’re the definition of not having shit
so fucked / ‘Cause by the time it’s over, won’t
make the slightest difference / (Hello darkness, The way he tells the story is so vivid, you
my old friend) almost feel like you’re reliving it together with
him. This only happens when you are deal-
Nobody knows our true motives but ourselves. ing with a true artist. Like Rakim once told in
But sometimes even we struggle to figure it an interview, he grew up listening to Jazz and
out. The true motives of the Vegas shooter Blues music, and a lot of didn’t have no words,
are gone with him to the grave. But I think but you could feel and see it. You could smell
this song gives you a bright picture of what he the grass, you could imagine a silent night or
might have been going through. the loud neighbors across the street, or your
mom’s best dish cooking on the stove. Rakim
I don’t wanna be alone in the darkness / would then say that his motivation would be to
I don’t wanna be alone in the darkness any- create the same experience using words. This
more… is what we see in this song.

Should I feel upset? You were dead to me ‘fore

NO COMING BACK FROM you died / Me? Tear no shed / Should I have
WHERE I’M GOING… made a mural at your funeral? / Had your cof-
fin draped with a hero’s flag? / Where the fuck
DIG WITH THE BLADE UP you were at / When De’Angelo done hurt me
real bad at the Rio Grande? / Never met your
This is my second favorite track. Naghh. It ain’t
grandkids, fucking coward / Only gut you had
even second. They go in line. And it’s hard to
was from your stomach fat / I couldn’t see your
put in words what emotions you are filled with
ass gonna Heaven / So I’m asking for a pass
while you’re listening, but I’ll try. This one’s
to go to Hell / So I can whip your fucking ass /
another golden gem.
I hate that I’ll never get to say “I hate you” to
your face / No coming back from where I’m go-
Call me the Grim Reaper, sleep is my cousin /
ing / Sky is dark, my soul is black, hand on the
You dead to me now and I’ma be the last face
shovel / Dig with the blade up, and then I step
you see / ‘Fore you die cussin’
on the metal / Vendetta to settle, tell the Devil
/ I’m leaving Heaven Yeah…
At first, you don’t know who he’s talking to, but
that’s the beauty of it all.
Now you see why he was painting it so vivid.
This whole storytelling is meant for his father.
Like around six thousand times since I was a
This is Marshall finally saying all he wanted to
kid / As a child, picked on, clowned / Count-
say. This is him finally letting it out fully. And
less times I’ve been outed / Gotta remind
this is him letting it go:
myself of it every now and then (Yeah) / So
the route I went’s self-empowerment / In a
You know, I should dig your motherfucking ass
hole, taught myself how to get out of it / And
up / Just to spit in your fucking face / Holding
balance it with talents, wit / ‘Cause life is like
my baby pictures up like you’re proud of me /
a penny / (Life is like a penny) / ‘Cause it’s
Fuck you, bitch / You know what? Maybe if I
only one percent / Who overcome the shit /
had had you / I wouldn’t have went through
They’ve underwent
half the shit I went through, so I blame you /
Or maybe I should say, “Thank you” / ‘Cause I
You would think he told this story over and
wouldn’t have been me / So I’ma let it go now,
over again throughout his career, but this time
rest in peace / Cocksucker / See you in Hell.
he is not telling it to you.

Okay, so while Macklemore was keeping his

room nice and neat (Yeah) / I was getting my
ass beat twice a week (What?) / Looking for a
place for the night where I could sleep
FINAL KILLSHOT AT
THE GRAVE
We can see Marshall putting the last nail in
the coffin for a lot of characters throughout
the album. Here’s what I most liked about the
entertaining “Yah Yah” track:

I’m a sight to see, but you can see from the

ring / I’m wearing / Me and this game, we got
married already / Had the prenup ready, fuck,
all that’s ever seen her belly / She barely was
three months pregnant / Bitch had to give me
a baby, we named it Machine Gun Kelly

And as you could see from MGK’s pathetic

reaction to these lines on social media, they
hurt pretty bad. Now, Machine Gun Kelly is no
longer named after a murderous gangster. He’s
named after a premature birth-giving act: as
soon as he sprayed fast outta mom’s belly, they
called him Machine Gun Kelly.

MY NAME IS MARSH AND,

I’M OUT THIS WORLD
Sorry, it’s getting fucking late and I’ve still
haven’t gone on some ccommodating, so Ima
skip some tracks and try to end this on a high
note. I leaving some space for you to do some
grave digging of your own. Let’s move on,
cause

My name is Marsh and, I’m out this world (This

world) / S on my chest (Superman) like it’s
plural (It’s lit) / Call me extra, extra terrestrial
/ Extra, extra, extra terrestrial

I fucking love this chorus. :) Put it on repeat. :)

Daaaeeemnnn… where should I start?

My girl’s cheatin’, I’m kickin’ that fuckin’ bitch

to the curb / But the word “fuckin’” ain’t meant
to be a descriptive word / The type of bitch she
is ain’t no adjective, it’s a verb / Ho thinks her
snatch is magical but that’s how she attracts
men / And who traps ‘em and attack similar
to an actual arachnid / Or a vaginal tarantula
or black widow / In fact it’ll be nothing to
throw that lil’ Bitch / With a capital B at the
back window out the black Cadillac limo like
a whack demo / When I’m strapped, when I
spit rapid, like a ratchet / I have wit, Been fire
bitch, I can’t outrap Reynolds

There aint a fucking descriptive word of how

he’s masterful with these slurs. This portion
shows exactly how he’s good with alliteration
and consonance. It makes his wordplay seem
like he’s juggling 50 objects at the same time
when you hear him spit.
This whole track reminds me of the Relapse Sometimes you just flying too low for Shady’s
album… This is Slim Shady in his purest form: radar. Yeah, and these words are not just the
final nail in a coffin, this is the final stone to
Checked in at the Royal Garden / To chill and Marshall’s Necropolis.
avoid my problems / Until paranoia caused
me to feel like I’m going bonkers / For real,
think my toilet’s talkin’ / I spilled like, like forty
THIS CONCLUDES OUR
bottles of pills / Think your boy is startin’ to DANSE MACABRE
feel like a spoiled carton of milk … / A pad and
pen’ll be great, but a napkin’ll do / Return of Final words. The album is a work of art, its po-
the whack sicko / Head spinnin’ like Invisibl etry in motion, and it’s written, composed and
Skratch Piklz / Yeah, Shady’s back, see the bat presented in such a way that you can almost
signal / It’s time to go bat shit, like you acci- mistake it for prose. I was just as fascinated
dentally ate a Louisville slugger and crapped it listening to Music to Be Murdered By as I am
/ I’d like to introduce myself / Hi there, bitch... when I’m reading a 600-page novel. It’s that
much dense with content. Fuck all of you who
FROM NO APOLOGIES TO think that reading develops more intelligence
than listening to music. The medium of telling
NO REGRETS: NOTHING’S stories has been evolving throughout history.
CHANGED From our ancestors telling tales while sitting
and glancing at the fire to Shakespeare’s trag-
edies like Hamlet and Othello, to motion pic-
This reminds me of that track from “The
tures plunging us into a whirlwind of emotions
Re-Up” album called No Apologies. It was my
when we see the actors perform on screen.
favorite track off that album, and this just takes
me back to the good old days and the not so
Eminem has become the medium of overcom-
good old days for Shady.
ing struggle against all odds and of the eternal
fight for your dreams and beliefs. In Music to
Yeah, they miss the old me / I think they want
Be Murdered By we see the incarnation of a
me to OD on codeine / They want my life in tur-
murderous MC, ripping and tearing apart his
moil like in ‘03 / They want front row seats, I
adversaries in healthy competition. For that is
give ‘em nosebleeds / They want me imploding,
forever been the essence of Hip-Hop - competi-
exploding, self-loathing, eroding / I’m scream-
tion. Whether it’s through freestyle battling, or
ing at ‘em with no regrets and I’m hulking /
just constantly retaining the throne at the top
I’m rippin’ out of my clothing / I had to go see
of the game.
the doc like Kool Moe Dee (Yeah) / Never took
much to convince Dre / Never been swayed by
This concludes our danse macabre / Portions
color or skin shades / Since day one, Hellraiser
of the proceeding were recorded / As for the
with twin blades of a sensei / Givin’ up, no
rest of it, I’m very much afraid it was all in
comprende (Woo) / Tin brain, prolly fucked
your mind / I don’t intend to indulge in any
in the membrane / Slim Sha- minds of a God, I
post-mortem / If you haven’t been murdered,
been insane
I can only say / Better luck next time / If you
have been, goodnight wherever you are.
Yeah the rage and the hate, and the vengeful
emotion always makes a powerful song. That’s
If this won’t get the best hip-hop album of the
why we love vintage shady so much. But I love
year, I see no future for modern hip-hop.
the new Shady as well. He did not get old, he
And yeah, beware if you are still alive, cause I
just evolved.
bet there’s more music to be murdered by.
They talk about my daughters hopin’ I fly off of
the handle / ‘Cause my first thought is to tram-
ple and write a thousand bars / But sometimes
it’s like dropping’ an anvil on a house of cards

“
/ Or Godzilla squashin’ a crouton with combat
boots on / Or droppin’ a goddamn nuke bomb
on top of an ant hill / (I’m screamin’ out no BETTER LUCK NEXT
regrets) Can’t do it, nah
TIME, GOODNIGHT
WHEREVER YOU ARE
 CREDITS:
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Igor Basenko

EXECUTIVE EDITORS
NK
Kirill Bursov
Alexey Zakharenkov
Katerina Malik

COVER & ISSUE DESIGN

Igor Basenko
Olga Olegovna

SPECIAL THANKS TO
Marshall Mathers
Alla Yusupova
A.K.
Universal Music Group
Shady Records
Mike Saputo
ARTICLES
SIDE B: Igor Basenko (p.:
6-32)
SIDE A: Katerina Malik (p.:
36-37), Alexey Zakharenkov
(p.: 38-48)

PHOTOS
Danny Clinch: MTBMB Album
Shot (p.: 1, 3-4, 12-23, 31, 33,
35, 38-39 42-45, 48-49)
Jeremy Deputat: Eminem Abu
Dabi Live Shot (p.: 5)
Jeremy Deputat: Higher
Photoshot (p.: 10-11)
Jeremy Deputat: Godzilla
Photoshot (p.: 24-29)

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