Par for the course, Eminem’s surprise drop Music To Be Murdered By: Side B has stirred up plenty of internet chatter following its Thursday (December 17) arrival. In addition to subbing longtime adversary Machine Gun Kelly on the new song “Gnat,” he also took the opportunity to do a little damage control.
On the song “Zeus,” Slim Shady issued an apology to Rihanna for a leaked song that made light of Chris Brown’s brutal assault on his then-girlfriend.
“But, me, long as I re-promise to be honest,” he raps. “And wholeheartedly, apologies, Rihanna/For that song that leaked, I’m sorry, Ri/It wasn’t meant to cause you grief/Regardless, it was wrong of me.”
The controversial track in question was crafted in 2009 for Eminem’s Relapse album, but it never made the cut. Last November, a snippet of the song was uploaded to REDDIT and included the lyrics, “Let me add my two cents/Of course I side with Chris Brown/I’d beat a bitch down, too/If she gave my dick an itch, now.” He also said earlier in the track, “I’m not playing Rihanna where’d you get the V.D. at?”
In 2011, an alternate version of the verse appeared on B.o.B.’s “Things Get Worse,” although neither Rihanna or Brown are mentioned. The diamond-selling MC does name drop other celebrity women, including Jessica Simpson, Angelina Jolie and Dakota Fanning.
Eminem and Rihanna’s collaborative relationship stretches back at least a decade with songs such as 2010’s “Love The Way You Lie,” 2012’s “Numb” and 2013’s “The Monster.”
Music To Be Murdered By: Side B boasts 16 additional tracks and includes special guests DJ Premier, Dr. Dre, Ty Dolla $ign and singer Skylar Grey, among others. While the release was somewhat unexpected, rumors of its potential existence heated up earlier this week after Aftermath Records affiliate Dem Jointz shared an Instagram post of all the projects he’d worked on this year and included the cover art of Side B.
“Godzilla” director Cole Bennett was also spotted in Detroit’s 8 Mile area recently and Em was caught in front of a green screen, presumably filming a video. Now, it looks the visual he was working on was for “Gnat,” which has already racked up over two million YouTube views in roughly 12 hours.
Check it out below.