Eminem went on a full battle mode, again, on January 17, 2020, by surprise-releasing his eleventh album, Music to Be Murdered By. It's heavily inspired by legendary British filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 record, Alfred Hitchcock Presents Music To Be Murdered By. The album features guest appearances of A-list emcees like Royce da 5'9", Joel Ortiz, Kxng Crooked, Black Thought, Q-Tip, and hip-hop youngsters like Don Toliver and (the late) Juice WRLD.
Love him or hate him, the album puts Eminem back to the controversial spotlight once again. As the title suggests, Music to Be Murdered By features numbers of horror-core references, including the 2017 Manchester bombing, Las Vegas mass shooting, and serial killers like Richard Ramirez (known as The Night Stalker) & John Wayne Gacy. Not only that, but he also tackles many issues, including advocating for gun laws and his estranged biological father.
According to Hip-Hop By Numbers, the album drops more names than Tekashi 6ix9ine: 194 name-drops, 127 different names with an average of 13 names per-song, and one in every six bars. So today, we're breaking down the top 20 high-profile names Eminem drops on this album.
20 Dr. Dre
Lyrics: I need to get me some Dre beats / No, I should hook up with Tay Keith - Premonition (Intro)
Eminem's ninth studio album, Revival (2017), met with heavy critics, especially its production. Popstar features and lamely visible rock samples fill the entire album. Many suggested Em go back to his roots with Dr. Dre like the good old days, but many others also want him to work with modern days producers like Tay Keith.
19 Swae Lee
Lyrics: Got more hooks in me than Swae Lee - Premonition (Intro)
Dr. Dre or Tay Keith? Metaphorically, Eminem feels like he's being hooked by his fans and haters and pulled in two different directions with his music. He also namedrops modern-day rapper Swae Lee who is famous for his smooth singing hooks. Swae acknowledged the namedrop, and took to his Twitter to call Eminem 'a legend.'
18 Machine Gun Kelly
Lyrics: But when they ask me is the war finished with MGK? Of course it is
I cleansed him of his mortal sins, I'm God and the Lord forgives even the devil worshippers - Unaccommodating ft. Young M.A
Eminem and Machine Gun Kelly feud are well documented on numerous songs, including No Reason, Not Alike, Rap Devil, and Killshot. MGK responded on his Twitter, insisting that "this is BS" and "Eminem has been "rich and mad for 20 years straight."
17 Notorious B.I.G.
Lyrics: And you're from the school of Notorious, Puba, Cube and The Poor Righteous Teachers tutored my students / Showed them all the blueprint and formula - Unaccommodating ft. Young M.A
Eminem namedrops numbers of old school hip-hop references that he looks up to and young newcomers have to learn from: East Coast legend Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, hip-hop group Poor Righteous Teacher, rapper Puba, and N.W.A. founding member Ice Cube.
16 Ariana Grande
Lyrics: But I'm contemplating yelling "Bombs away" on the game / Like I'm outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting - Unaccommodating ft. Young M.A
This analogy line lads Eminem in hot water, again. He draws a parallel between his music and the 2017 Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester, England. Many were outrageous about the lines, but many also seemed to forget that Eminem helped raise 2 million for the victims.
15 World Leaders
Lyrics: They call me Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Khomeini / Where's Osama been? I been laden lately - Unaccommodating ft. Young M.A
Eminem compares himself to controversial world leaders: Iraqi Saddam Hussein, Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini, and Saudi Arabian's Osama bin Laden, as to how media always portray them to be. He also has referenced numbers of other controversial leaders in the past, as he raps on Guts Over Fear (2015), "The media made me the equivalent of a modern-day Genghis Khan."
14 Kanye West
Lyrics: They call me Kanye crazy (yah) - Unaccommodating ft. Young M.A)
Both Eminem and Kanye West have been criticized for their decision in the later phase of their career. Kanye faced a massive setback for his support for Donald Trump and his gospel-influenced record, Jesus Is King. On the other hand, Eminem has been attacked by many for his political album, Revival, and his harsh response to its critics.
13 Bizarre
Lyrics: Monte Carlo in park, bumpin' Bizarre's demo - These Kinda Nights ft. Ed Sheeran
Bizarre is one of the members of the Detroit-bred hip-hop group, D12, which Eminem was also a member of. Eminem recalls his early D12 days bumping to Biz' 1998 mixtape, One Sided Demo, in his old Monte Carlo car. Interestingly, Monte Carlo is also the car that is featured on Eminem's breakthrough album cover, Slim Shady LP.
12 Bobby Heenan
Lyrics: A cross between a zombie apocalypse and big Bobby "The Brain" Heenan which is probably the / Same reason I wrestle with mania - Godzilla ft. Juice WRLD
Eminem compares himself to WWE legend Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan, who gained notoriety back in the 1980s. After retiring from wrestling, Bobby remained one of the best wrestling managers, hence Em compares the similar success to launching numbers of successful artists through Shady Records. Bobby was famous for his WrestleMania 2 & III appearances.
11 Richard Ramirez
Lyrics: The original Richard Ramirez / Cristhian Rivera, 'cause my lyrics never sit well - Godzilla ft. Juice WRLD
As the title of the album suggests, Eminem name-drops numbers of serial killers to highlight the fact that he remains as Shady as ever. Richard Ramirez, known as The Night Stalker, was an American rapist, burglar, and serial killer. Along Richard, other eerie associations are made in the album: John Wayne Gacy, Albert de Salvo (the Boston Strangler) and Charles Manson
10 Bad Meets Evil
Lyrics: Evil half of the Bad Meets / Evil, that means take a back seat - Godzilla ft. Juice WRLD
Bad Meets Evil is a powerhouse hip-hop duo consisting of two Detroit-bred finest emcees: Eminem and Royce da 5'9". Eminem is the evil half, while Royce is the other bad half. Eminem gives a shout-out to the duo, which many fans assume that there will be a new project by BME.
9 Keyser Söze
Lyrics: Leanin' out the window, going Keyser Söze / Finger on the trigger, but I'm a licensed owner - Darkness
On Darkness, Eminem tells an eerie & chilling story of Stephen Paddock, a massive shooter who opened fire onto a large crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas. Keyser Söze is the leading, mysterious villain that centers the twisted 1995 movie, The Usual Suspects. To Eminem, who raps the shooter's perspective, going Keyser Söze can be interpreted as doing something so twisted.
At the end of the music video, Eminem calls fans to vote for gun laws in the US.
8 De’Angelo Bailey
Lyrics: Where the [censored] you were at / When De'Angelo done hurt me real bad at the Rio Grande? - Leaving Heaven ft. Skylar Grey
D'Angelo Bailey is the name of Eminem's high school bully who tormented him as a teen. The story is well documented on the 1999 song Brain Damage. He raps, "Way before my baby daughter Hailie / I was harassed daily by this fat kid named DeAngelo Bailey."
On Leaving Heaven, Eminem talks about his father absentia during the lowest time when D'Angelo and other peers bullied young Marshall Mathers. Eminem's father passed away on June 26, 2019.
7 Eazy E & N.W.A.
Lyrics: N.W.A and Eazy-E, and D-R-E was like my GPS / Without him, I don't know where I'd be - Yah Yah ft. Royce da 5’9”, Black Thought, Q-Tip, & Denaun
Eminem is a product of the golden age of hip-hop. On Yah Yah, he thanks Eazy-E, N.W.A, Dr. Dre, and dozens of other hip-hop acts. They all are LL Cool J, Big L, Rakim, Eric B, G Rap, Evil Dee, Schoolly D, Del the Funky Homosapien, and others.
6 Trippie Redd
Lyrics: Then he said kill emcees / Trippie Redd, with pills and lean / Sipping meds in the limousine - Marsh
Eminem name-drops 20-year-old rapper Trippie Redd on the song Marsh. The 2018 XXL Freshman took to his Instagram to respond. He might not explicitly mention Em, but many fans assume it was aimed at him. Trippie wrote, "N*ggas be 50 beefing wit a 15yr old." He ended the message with a hand peace sign and sleeping emojis.
5 Jay Z
Lyrics: Ball like J, but not Jay as in / Jay-Z, J as in Leno / 'Cause I got a huge mansion / No, huge man chin, new Manson, loose cannon - Little Engine.
Rapper and businessman Jay-Z and Eminem had collaborated many times. They linked up for one of the most iconic collaboration songs in hip-hop, Renegade (2001), and a joint tour called The Home & Home Tour (2010). He cleverly uses homophones to string bars and refers to Ghanaian rapper and record producer Ball J, who is said to rap like Jay-Z.
4 Lord Jamar
Lyrics: I'm more than you bargained for and I am far more worse / Than a forty-some bar Lord Jamar verse - I Will ft. Kxng Crooked, Royce da 5’9”, & Joell Ortiz.
Rap veteran Lord Jamar has withdrawn criticism and established himself as the most notorious Eminem hater on the internet over the last few years. Previously in 2013, he infamously said that white people are guests in hip-hop. He responded to this namedrop to VladTV and called Em 'a f**kin' filthy piece of trailer park s**t."
3 Earl Sweatshirt
Lyrics: Misplacin' my anger enough to give Earl and Tyler, The Creator the brunt (yeah) / Shoulda never made a response, shoulda just aimed for the fake ones - No Regrets ft. Don Toliver.
Rapper Earl Sweatshirt is one of many targets Eminem aimed at on his surprise album Kamikaze. He previously told SPIN in 2015, "If you still follow Eminem, you drink way too much Mountain Dew and probably need to like, come home from the army."
Eminem felt betrayed, and responded in an interview with Sway Colloway in 2018, "You guys were just on tour with us! We cracked jokes!"
2 Tyler, The Creator
Lyrics: Misplacin' my anger enough to give Earl and Tyler, The Creator the brunt (Yeah) / Shoulda never made a response, shoulda just aimed for the fake ones - No Regrets ft. Don Toliver.
Rapper Tyler, The Creator was a huge fan of Eminem at one point, and he even named the Shady Records boss as the reason why he started rapping. His personal favorite album was 2009's Relapse. But in 2017, the Californian rapper trashed Eminem's collaboration with Beyonce, Walk On Water. Eminem fired back in Fall and even called him the f-slur, which he later acknowledged and apologized for.
1 Joe Budden
Lyrics: Tryna save at Kroger (Yeah) / So why would I give a [censored] about backstabbin' Trader Joe for? - Lock It Up ft. Anderson .Paak.
The former Slaughterhouse member dissed his former boss numbers of times. Eminem fired back at him on 2018 track, Fall.
But it seems like both are about to call a cease-fire. Recently, Joe called MTBMB as the best Eminem's album in the last couple of years, and that he 'should stop dissing him.' Who knows what happens next? Maybe a Slaughterhouse reunion?