Eminem’s last album has drawn condemnation from the mayor of Manchester, England, over the rap artist’s flippant reference to the 2017 Manchester suicide bombing of an Ariana Grande concert that took 23 lives.
The mother of a young man killed in the attack has separately dismissed the rapper’s latest provocation as “totally pointless” and “not clever.”
On Friday, Eminem dropped a surprise record titled Music To Be Murdered By, his 11th studio album and his first since last year’s Kamikaze. The left-wing provocateur quickly grabbed attention for lyrics that advocated for gun control, urging viewers to register to vote for candidates who share his position.
Another part of the album also caught attention for its reference to the Manchester suicide bombing. In the track titled “Unaccommodating,” Eminem raps: “But I’m contemplating yelling ‘bombs away’ on the game / Like I’m outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting.”
The track also includes random references to Saddam Hussein, the Ayatollah Khomeini, Osama Bin Laden, and JonBenet Ramsey.
Manchester mayor Andy Burnham condemned the lyrics in a statement sent to the BBC News.
“This is unnecessarily hurtful and deeply disrespectful to the families and all those affected,” Burnham said.
Figen Murray (pictured), the mother of 29-year-old Martyn Hett, who was killed in the bombing, dismissed Eminem’s lyrics, calling them “not clever” and “totally pointless.”
Ok, I just watched the 11 min clip. Feels like he is piggybacking on the fame of Ariana grande and Justin bieber and says distasteful things about other celebrities. Not clever. Totally pointless. And before all Eminem fans pounce on me, I am not interested and will not engage. https://t.co/fE9MbepeqN
— Figen Murray (@FigenMurray) January 17, 2020
Yeah, I watched the clip. Totally no sense in any of his lyrics. I will ignore the possible barrage of insults I may receive from his fans. https://t.co/4A8PtrV0Po
— Figen Murray (@FigenMurray) January 17, 2020
The 2017 bombing of the Manchester Arena was carried out by 22-year-old Salman Abedi, a British-born man of Libyan descent. The radical Islamic suicide bomber had reportedly traveled to Syria shortly before carrying out the attack.
In addition to the 23 killed, an estimated 139 people were wounded when the shrapnel bomb went off as the audience was leaving the concert.
Eminem, 47, appears to be courting attention and controversy as the rap artist continues to attempt a career comeback.
He was reportedly interviewed in 2018 by the Secret Service over “threatening” lyrics against President Donald Trump that were contained in his album Revival.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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