Eminem on Manchester bombing: what the rapper says about the Ariana Grande concert attack in new album Music to be Murdered by

Eminem has referenced the 2017 Manchester Arena bombings in new album Music to be Murdered by, appearing to compare himself to bomber Salman Ramadan Abedi.
Eminem has rapped about the Manchester Arena attacks on two occasions (Getty Images)Eminem has rapped about the Manchester Arena attacks on two occasions (Getty Images)
Eminem has rapped about the Manchester Arena attacks on two occasions (Getty Images)

The controversial rapper released his 11th full length album on Friday morning to the surprise of many fans, with track two Unaccommodating featuring a lyric about the attack which occurred during the conclusion of an Ariana Grande concert.

The Detroit performer "But I’m contemplating yelling ‘bombs away’ on the game / Like I’m outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting.”

Previous Manchester Arena rap

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It's not the first time Eminem has made light of the attack - in 2018 during a freestyle rap, the divisive performer joked about the attack.

He rapped: "Squashed in between a brainwashing machine / Like an Islamic regime, a jihadist extreme radical / Suicide bomber that’s seeing / Ariana Grande sing her last song of the evening / And as the audience from the damn concert is leaving / Detonates the device strapped to his abdominal region / I’m not gonna finish that, for obvious reasons."

Preempting controversy the 47-year-old said that "nothing's off limits" in freestyle battles.

Mother of victim Charlotte Hodgson described the 2018 performance as “disgusting” and “disrespectful” to Manchester Evening News.

Manchester Arena victims

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

23 people were killed in the terrorist attack, including several from the North West.

Jane Tweddle, 51, a receptionist from Blackpool, was waiting with her friend, who survived, when she was killed.

Georgina Callender, 18, from Whittle-le-Woods, was in her second year at Runshaw College in Leyland.

Michelle Kiss, 45, a mum-of-three from Whalley, died when she went to pick up her then 12-year-old daughter Millie, who survived.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And Saffie Roussos, eight, from Leyland, was the youngest to die. Her mum Lisa and her oldest sister Ashlee Bromwich were injured but survived.

Other controversies in new album

In Unaccomodating the Slim Shady performer also makes reference to the 9/11 terror attacks, rapping: “And you backpedal that as a cowardly act / Like a Saudi attack when the towers collapse."

The album opens with track Premonition (intro), which appears to contain the sound of a woman being stabbed to death.

The performer also compares himself to Charles Manson and serial killers the Boston Strangler and The Night Stalker in Music to be Murdered by.