Review: Eminem-Music To Be Murdered By, 2020 (11th Album)
By: Tristian T. Browne
Tags: Hip Hop, Album Review, Rap, Lyrics, Music

Must Listens-Godzilla, Marsh, Little Engine, I Will

Premonition 10/10

In this track Eminem’s flow is annihilating as he addresses his haters and naysayers badmouthing his previous several albums

2. Unaccommodating Ft Young MA 8/10

Young MA for the feature struck me as an odd choice, due to flow, word count, references, unique references, Eminem’s verse stands out in radical fashion however Young MA did a solid job as well.

3. You Gon Learn Ft Royce Da 5’9 & White Gold 7/10

Story Song Royce and Em illustrate the long road they’ve traveled to get where they are at now in their respective lives, with strong and catchy flow especially considering the slower beat choice

5. Those Kinda Nights Ft Ed Sheeran 8/10

Not as deep or first hand as ‘River’ may have been when these two got together on the 2017 ‘Revival’ album but for a catchy, “feel good” vibes song this definitely brings it home. Ed Sheeran handles the chorus superbly, Eminem dances around the versus playfully joking around and in a good mood for a change which is shown by the lack of intensity in his bars this track

6. In Too Deep 7/10

Story Song Eminem depicts a relationship in which the two parties are previously married but the love they share won’t let them stay away. Not a song I resonate with but he certainly does a solid job describing the situation while rhyming and changing his flow a few times as well

7. Godzilla Feat Juice WORLD 10/10

Breaking his own record in “Rap God” he utters even more words in a 30 second period now totaling 229 words coming out to almost 8 words a second. Proving that to Eminem, rhyming is more important than breathing. Absolutely amazing beat choice and he absolutely decimated it as he should’ve. This song is Bars in a relationship with bars, cheating with bars at local bars.

8. Darkness 2/10

Story Song Public Event / Attempting to take the perspective of the Las Vegas shooter, Eminem speculates what the mental state of the shooter during the final hours before he chose to kill himself taking many lives with him that night. I wanted to like the song based on the fringe uniqueness of perspective, and his confidence to bring up mental health in an interesting although unpopular fashion, however, I don’t really feel he does a good job accomplishing anything by bringing this up in the way he did. It did not strike me as profound, or methodically provocative in any way and because of this I feel it was provocative for the sake of provocation and that is not something I support

9. Leaving Heaven Feat Skylar Grey 7/10

Story Song Domestic / This song he addresses his absolute distain for his father even after his passing, discussing the indifference he feels for the pre and postmortem versions of his father while realizing the hardships his farther abandoning him presented helped create the Eminem that is as emotionally strong as he is today

10. Yah Yah Ft Royce Da 5’9, Black Thought, Q Tip & Deanaun 8/10

The hook is catchy, solid beat choice, and I loved the cypher vibe to it with so many features that you really do not get from an Eminem song as of late. Royce is never a disappointing feature I absolutely love hearing new ‘Bad Meets Evil’ whenever I can

12. Stepdad 8/10

Story Song Domestic song / This song paints the relationship of an abusive stepfather and a complacent mother allowing such abuse to continue while the child struggles to find a way out of this situation alone. I appreciate the playfulness of his perspective in that it shows the strength of the victim in the situation to do their best to not let it dictate their mood. There is a strength in laughing at the worst of the worst.

13. Marsh 9/10

His flow switches crazy in this one, great beat choice, bars among bars as we have come to expect from the “rap god”. One of my favorites off the album. Chorus is tolerable but it must grow on me.

14. Never Love Again 6/10

Story Song Breakup / This song describes a love-hate addictive unhealthy relationship like that of Romeo and Juliet. I like the beat it’s subtle behind the focus of his lyrics yet catchy. I really didn’t like the chorus at all it just didn’t fit the rest of the song in my opinion, however lyrically I feel he describes his feelings well with a noteworthy flow that is everchanging

15. Little Engine 10/10

I love the awesome ominousness of the beat, the switch of his flows and the way he dances upon it is eerie entertaining fire. I love that he narrates conversations between people without losing any flow or attention. The catchiness of the chorus is stellar as well. Overall amazing track and one of my favorites on the album.

16. Lock It Up Feat Anderson Paak 4/10

Bad feature choice, putting these two artist together makes it insanely obvious that they shouldn’t be. The chorus was a poor attempt at catchy in my opinion, and because Eminem’s second verse that was admittedly fire, is this track’s only saving grace sadly I won’t be hearing it any more times

17. Farewell 7/10

Story Rap Breakup / Love the beat choice, very catchy and the base hits hard. The chorus is catchy though it has to grow on me more to say I like it. The verses syllable and wordplay is very strong catchy

18. No Regrets Feat Don Toliver 4/10

Comparatively for the rest of the album, this song is “meh”. Somewhat forgettable beat chorus feature and all.

19. I Will Feat Royce Da 5’9, KXNG Crooked & Joell Ortiz 10/10

Okay beat choice, Royce brings another superb feature presence his flow coaching and bars are unparalleled, Solid chorus, KXng Crooked brings a dope verse lyrically and with switches to the dope flow.

I want to make a point that even though Eminem is in his 40s there isn’t anything disingenuous or “whiney” about writing from a feeling in time, or to be an instrument of healing, and possibly help someone struggling in their current plight. The speed, the flows, the syllables and word play is unmatched. I find it so difficult to pin an Eminem album against another in hopes to compare. That said, when I force myself to do so, I hold this album in high regards. I enjoyed seeing Royce Da 5’9 on a few more tracks with Eminem, Bad Meets Evil is an impeccable duo. Certainly not Eminem’s best album of all, but there will be several tracks on here I will continue to listen to when a given situation beckons me to do so. Overall, I enjoyed listening to this album and personally, many songs have replay value. Can’t wait to see what’s next for Eminem

7.7/10