“Darkness” is the lead single from Eminem’s surprise album, Music to Be Murdered By. It was released with its music video alongside the album.

It has become common for rappers to metaphorically compare the words they spit to weapons and their performances to murders. Here, Em both takes this convention to extremes and inverts it. While the beginning of the song might lead listeners to believe they are simply hearing an account of an artist’s pre-performance anxiety, à la “Lose Yourself,” it is eventually revealed that the narrator is Stephen Paddock, the murderer responsible for the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. As a result, a disturbing allegory is revealed that compares high-profile killings to an artist’s performance.

The song ends with a compilation of overlayed news clips from various shootings that have occurred in the United States in recent years, suggesting that Em is attempting to bring further awareness to America’s ongoing gun problems. He even has a quote on his website that states, “WHEN WILL THIS END? WHEN ENOUGH PEOPLE CARE.”