UPDATE 1/17, 5:29 p.m. ET: Manchester mayor Andy Burnham criticized Eminem over the rapper's "hurtful" lyrics. "This is unnecessarily hurtful and deeply disrespectful to the families and all those affected," Burnham told the BBC.
See original story below.
There's a surprise-dropped Eminem album out today, complete with Hitchcock-nodding cover art, and this is indeed another article about the lyrics therein.
As reported overnight, the Young M.A collab "Unaccommodating" sees Em reflecting on his Kamikaze era back-and-forth with Machine Gun Kelly, ultimately declaring the war "finished" because he "cleansed him of his mortal sins." Another line from later on in the track's second verse, however, is receiving attention of a different kind.
Just before diving into another round of the song's Kanye West and John Wayne Gacy-referencing chorus, Em compares his impact on the game to the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing:
Em previously made a reference to the suicide bombing, which occurred after an Ariana Grande show and ultimately claimed the lives of 22 people, in his 2018 "Kick Off" freestyle.
Read the "Unaccommodating" lyrics in question below:
Showed them all the blueprint and formula
But it seems like the more they studied my music
the more they remind me of eyeballs
I'm watching my pupils get cornier
But I'm contemplating yelling "Bombs away!" on the game
Like I'm outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting
The lyrics have been met with criticism, including from Figen Murray, whose son was killed in the attack.
Meanwhile, Em fans have pointed out that the artist previously helped raise money for victims' families via online donations. Fans have also noted that Ariana Grande's former partner Pete Davidson once made a joke about the bombing, with Grande later defending the joke as "unfortunate" but not malicious.
