For the second time this year, Eminem dropped a surprise album at midnight on a Friday morning with Music to be Murdered By-Side B, a follow up to January’s Music to be Murdered By. The album, which has largely received positive reviews, showcases the legendary artist’s signature versatility, complex lyrics, and of course- subtle and not-so-subtle disses.
Eminem pulled no punches on his album, eschewing political correctness for target practice, shading Ja Rule, Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon, Insane Clown Posse, Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Tekashi, and of course, Machine Gun Kelly.
On “Zeus,” Eminem kills two birds with one stone, throwing shade at Tekashi and MGK at the same time: “She says I am trash, but she listens to Tekashi (Damn)/B*tch, you lost me (Yeah)/Fairweather, wishy-washy/She thinks Machine washed me (What?)/Swear to God, man, her favorite rapper wish he’d crossed me (Yeah).” On “Gnat,” Eminem subtly references MGK in the hook:” “They come at me with machine guns / Like trying to fight off a gnat.”
While many of the rappers stayed silent, MGK addressed the beef, at first feigning indifference before switching to acknowledgment.
On an appearance on Howard Stern’s show, MGK responded that “I don’t feel any type of way about it…I’m like asleep on my tour bus and this f—ing guy drops an album with three songs talking about me.”
On Twitter, MGK appears to acknowledge Eminem’s diss, tweeting “I’m under your skin” with an upside down smiley face emoji and “those subliminals” with a laughing face emoji and trash can icon.
In addition to the surprise album, Eminem also released a music video for “Gnat,” in which he tackles heavier subject matter including COVID-19, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and more. Overall, the album’s release a week before Christmas is a reminder that Eminem is still judging who’s been naughty and who’s been nice- and letting everyone know his list.
