The Monster (song)
"The Monster" is a song from American rapper Eminem's album The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013) featuring a guest appearance from Barbadian singer Rihanna. The song was written by Bebe Rexha, Eminem, Rihanna, Aalias, Jon Bellion, Maki Athanasiou, and Frequency, with the latter also handling production. Released on October 29, 2013, as the fourth single from the album, "The Monster" marks the fourth collaboration between Eminem and Rihanna, following "Love the Way You Lie" (2010), its sequel "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" (2010), and "Numb" (2012), and is a hip-hop and pop song, with lyrics that describe Eminem pondering the negative effects of his fame while Rihanna comes to grips with her inner demons.
For songs with similar title, see Monster (disambiguation) and The Monster Song."The Monster"
October 29, 2013
2012-2013
4:12
Upon release, the song was met with positive reviews from music critics, who compared the song to "Love the Way You Lie". "The Monster" has successfully charted worldwide, topping the charts in twelve countries including Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States' Billboard Hot 100. It also marks Eminem's first number one on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and has reached the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Italy and Spain.
Composition[edit]
The song runs for 4 minutes and 10 seconds and is set in the key of C-sharp minor in common time, with a chord progression of C#m-B-A, and a tempo of 110 beats per minute. Vocals span from C#4-D#6.[8]
Critical reception[edit]
The song was generally well received by critics. Writing for the IBTimes, Tarun Mazumdar reacted positively to it, praising its "memorable lines" and Rihanna's "soulful" vocals and rating it 3.5 out of 5.[9] Amy Sciaretto of PopCrush gave it the same rating and noted that "it's not nearly as powerful or affective as the previous partnership, but it's not supposed to be."[10] Allan Raible of ABC News also enjoyed the song, calling it "a career highlight" and a "personal rhyme about his history."[11] About.com's Bill Lamb had similar thoughts, opining that Eminem's introspection "lends the song engaging power" while also praising Rihanna's vocals.[12] Idolator's Mike Wass noted that while it did not meet the standard of the duo's previous collaboration, the song was still "undeniably catchy and hook-filled enough for top 40 radio success."[13] Keith Murphy of Vibe praised the lyrical content of the song but otherwise found the single lackluster.[14] Jim Farber of The New York Daily News found it inferior to Eminem's previous single, "Rap God" and too similar to "Love the Way You Lie", but appreciated that "at least Em gets off some good lines in the new song."[15] XXL positioned it at number 19 on their list of the best songs of 2013.[16] Atlanta Black Star described the song as sounding "like an old school rap song as it blends genres with Eminem's rap vocals, rock guitars, and Rihanna's pop-style singing of the chorus."[17]
Music video[edit]
Released on December 16, 2013, the song's accompanying music video, Eminem's third to be directed by the American filmmaker Rich Lee,[27][28] depicts Rihanna as Eminem's therapist in a session, as previous videos from his career are shown and referenced including "Mockingbird", "My Name Is", "Lose Yourself", "3 a.m.", "The Way I Am" and the 2001 Grammy Awards performance of "Stan" with Elton John.[29] The video was well received and earned three nominations at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, in the categories for "Best Male Video", "Best Collaboration" and "Best Direction".[30] Eminem and Rihanna performed the song live at the 2014 MTV Movie Awards.[31]
Cover versions[edit]
The Russian-American guitarist Alex Feather Akimov, released a guitar cover of "The Monster",[32] a recording that was recognized by Billboard.biz (Web Trends).
The Welsh band the Beef Seeds recorded a bluegrass version of "The Monster" on their album Keepin' it Beefy (EP) (released January 27, 2014 on iTunes)
In November 2013, Rudimental covered the song at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.[33]