Shady’s back, bro!! Yes, Eminem has done it again, dropping another unexpected album, his second for 2020.

Music To Be Murdered By: Side B’s arrival out of the blue follows rumors that began circulating last week that the deluxe album was going to drop soon and now they have come to fruition.

And while some of us spent the year baking bread, watching TV and chatting to friends online, Eminem pulled out his notepad. The extra tracks, released just before Christmas, carry all the aggressive, sinister, occasionally unacceptable themes we’ve come to expect from the legendary rapper. But they’re timestamped with references to the pandemic lexicon: social distancing, hand sanitiser, quarantine, etc. “They say these bars are like COVID,” he raps on “Gnat”. “You get ’em right off the bat.” (Source: Apple Music’s Editor’s Notes). 

Arriving at the stroke of midnight, the deluxe edition delivers 16 additional tracks, making it a sprawling effort, spanning 36 songs in total (Side A+B) and nearly 2 hours in running time. Marshall Mathers taps Dr. Dre (who appears on “Guns Blazing”, and co-produced “She Loves Me” and “Discombobulated.), Ty Dolla $ign, Skylar Grey, and DJ Premier and many others for guest spots.

Eminem - Music to Be Murdered By
Eminem – Music to Be Murdered By: Side B album artwork (Picture: Genius)

This is not the first time that the Detroit rapper has surprise released an album. He also surprise released his tenth studio album, ‘Kamikaze,’ back in 2018.

The original version (Music To Be Murdered By) featured the late Juice WRLD. Black Thought, Q-Tip, Ed Sheeran, Young M.A, Anderson .Paak, and more, as well as production from Dr. Dre. Just like side A, this one too has been Executive produced by Eminem and Dr. Dre

Earlier this year, Eminem hopped on a track with Kid Cudi titled “The Adventures of Moon Man & Slim Shady” and joined Jessie Reyez on her single “COFFIN.”

He announced the surprise album, and shared streaming links, tweeting: “Uncle Alfred heard you screaming for more… enjoy Side B,” the hip-hop star tweeted.

The album, which does happen to be Eminem’s 12th  was released under Aftremath Entertainment/ Interscope Records. Stream it below.