Eminem’s new album, Music To Be Murdered By, may have been inspired by a Scottish rapper with a track by the same name, according to a report from Dundee’s Evening Telegraph. Darren Stewart, a 27-year-old resident of Scotland’s fourth-largest city who raps under the stage name Zee The Dungeonous, who says he released a song titled “Music To Be Murdered By” inspired by an Alfred Hitchcock sample five years ago to the date of Eminem’s album release.
“When I heard the Hitchcock samples, the same title and release date I did start to get a little freaked out,” Stewart said. “He is one of my idols and it could well be a coincidence but you do hear stories of richer artists with louder fan bases getting away with that sort of thing.” Stewart’s flow and delivery do share a slight similarity with Eminem’s as well, albeit filtered through Chris D’Elia’s hilarious, attention-getting impression of the real Slim Shady.
Stewart may actually have grounds to believe that his tracks inspired Eminem’s, because he does have a connection with the Shady Records head. Stewart collaborated with D-12’s Bizarre in 2013 after meeting him at a show in Glasgow five years prior, and drew a possible connection, although he doesn’t believe that there was any ill intent on Eminem’s part. “We have our connections to D12 and it doesn’t put it too far out of the realm of possibility that Eminem, through Bizarre, heard my track, dug for the sample I used, and took the concept,” he theorized.
However, Stewart counts it as a net positive, saying, “I’ve tweeted Eminem about it and also contacted Bizarre. I wouldn’t say I was annoyed, if it’s straight-up coincidence then I would be amazed. He is a hero of mine and if it’s not a coincidence I’m genuinely flattered by it all.” He also took advantage of the unique opportunity to get in a plug, noting, “I have new release on its way next month.”
