Unannounced album releases. Controversial themes and lyrics. Edge-of-your-seat, woven ballads. Monumental risks for most artists, but par for the course for Eminem, who just dropped Music to be Murdered By to instant fanfare and fury alike.
Marshall Mathers is competing for headlines… with himself, after releasing his 11th studio album, thanks to the divisive track, Unaccommodating, in which he appears to make light of the bombing during an Ariana Grande concert in London back in 2017. Critics have much more fodder than that “bombs away” line, as the track, Darkness, is also thrusting Em directly back into the (spot)light.
Following in the vein of Stan, Cleanin Out My Closet and Guilty Conscience, Darkness demands your full attention and satisfies a microwave society with a captivating tale that few could tell, much less even attempt.
Listening to the song is only half the story here, however. Whether intentional or otherwise, Eminem has also managed to revive storytelling through music video. Sure, millions of listeners still watch on YouTube or other web-based platforms, but this video is reminiscent of MTV’s must-watch yesteryear. In fact, the casual listener may not even realize Slim Shady was portraying the Las Vegas shooter until the very end, because of the sharp grit, the double-entendres and the Simon & Garfunkel sampling.
Do yourself a favor and watch the video, too. It’s the exact opposite of a rabbit-hole trigger. There is an impact that this song will leave, and it’s only just starting to take shape.
Unannounced album releases. Controversial themes and lyrics. Edge-of-your-seat, woven ballads. Monumental risks for most artists, but par for the course for Eminem, who just dropped Music to be Murdered By to instant fanfare and fury alike.
Marshall Mathers is competing for headlines… with himself, after releasing his 11th studio album, thanks to the divisive track, Unaccommodating, in which he appears to make light of the bombing during an Ariana Grande concert in London back in 2017. Critics have much more fodder than that “bombs away” line, as the track, Darkness, is also thrusting Em directly back into the (spot)light.
Following in the vein of Stan, Cleanin Out My Closet and Guilty Conscience, Darkness demands your full attention and satisfies a microwave society with a captivating tale that few could tell, much less even attempt.
Listening to the song is only half the story here, however. Whether intentional or otherwise, Eminem has also managed to revive storytelling through music video. Sure, millions of listeners still watch on YouTube or other web-based platforms, but this video is reminiscent of MTV’s must-watch yesteryear. In fact, the casual listener may not even realize Slim Shady was portraying the Las Vegas shooter until the very end, because of the sharp grit, the double-entendres and the Simon & Garfunkel sampling.
Do yourself a favor and watch the video, too. It’s the exact opposite of a rabbit-hole trigger. There is an impact that this song will leave, and it’s only just starting to take shape.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHQC4fAhcbU