Music to Be Murdered By, Cover (Courtesy of Shady/Aftermath)
Rapper Eminem has returned with his eleventh studio effort, “Music to Be Murdered By”, and by no surprise, he doesn’t disappoint. OK, let’s keep it all the way one hunnid… In the current state of hip-hop, I honestly don’t buy a lot of music anymore. In com[parison to me, I stick with the people I know are going to give me solid material. While I listen to a lot of new music as a Journalist, I do find it difficult at times, and am often forcing my hand in the matter, simply because a lot has changed with the game of music. Many are no longer putting in the effort that used to be required. Music has shifted to a state where most can do it all themselves and put their own material out, so in many cases, the standards simply are not there. Artists are literally doing what they want, and paying no mind to the consumer anymore. I think that’s something that many, if not all of us can agree on. In today’s economy, it just isn’t as beneficial to purchase full albums anymore. So I’ll be even more honest in the fact I was not necessarily expecting anything super solid out of this album. It’s no dig to Eminem either; I think he’s definitely one of the best, and I’ve always been a fan. Reality though, is I haven’t bought an album in forever, and most new music I get, it’s been out for some time before I actually hear it. Life will do that to you when you have so many things going on.
All that being said, I’m pretty hyped and excited at Em’s latest. I think it’s truly a solid effort, and shows a tremendous amount of growth for someone who’s been in this circle for more than twenty years. It’s quite easy to see a lot of work was put into the project, and in my opinion, it stands stronger than a lot of what’s dropping today. Real talk, hearing just the first track, the intro “Premonition”, I was eager to hear more. It leads right into “Unaccomodating” featuring Young MA. I’ve always felt Eminem has some the best collaborations, and this here is definitely one of them. Honestly, there’s a number of standouts throughout the album, including “Godzilla” with Juice WRLD, “You Gon’ Learn” featuring Royce Da 5’9” & White Gold, “Marsh”, and “Lock It Up” featuring Anderson.Paak. Truthfully, the entire album is to be heralded, and that says a lot, given current state of music. It may sound silly, but Em and this new effort has kinda given me the boost to listen to more new music in general. I have no problem with supporting any artist I know is giving me quality product, and this is an album I definitely will be buying.