Berzerk (song)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Bezerk (song).

"Berzerk"
Single by Eminem
from the album The Marshall Mathers LP 2
ReleasedAugust 27, 2013 (2013-08-27)
Recorded2012–13
GenreRap rock[1][2]
Length3:58
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rick Rubin
Eminem singles chronology
"C'mon Let Me Ride"
(2012) 		"Berzerk"
(2013) 		"Survival"
(2013)
Music video
"Berzerk" on
YouTube

"Berzerk" is a song by American rapper Eminem. The song, released on August 27, 2013, is the first single from Eminem's eighth studio album The Marshall Mathers LP 2. The song was produced by Rick Rubin and samples Billy Squier's "The Stroke", as well as the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right", taken from their 1986 debut album Licensed to Ill, which Rubin had also produced, and Naughty by Nature's "Feel Me Flow". The song was heavily downloaded in its first week of release, resulting in the song debuting at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Composition

Rick Rubin produced "Berzerk".

The song, produced by Rick Rubin,

Vincent Brown, and Kier Gist of Naughty by Nature, Ziggy Modeliste, Art Neville, Cyril Neville, Leo Nocentelli and George Porter Jr. for the "Feel Me Flow" segment.[4]

The song starts with a "blast of static, hard guitar and Em roaring out of the gate sounding like the long-lost, fourth Beastie Boy", according to

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' I Love Rock 'n' Roll and Licensed to Ill-era Beastie Boys."[7]

Music video

During the halftime at the September 7, 2013 Michigan–Notre Dame football game, Eminem premiered a preview of the

Best Hip-Hop Video".[12]

Release and promotion

"Berzerk" originally premiered on August 26, on

MTV Europe Music Awards 2013, he performed "Berzerk" and also "Rap God".[15]

Commercial performance

"Berzerk" sold 362,000 downloads in its first week in the US, debuting at number three on the

Rap Songs chart.[16] "Berzerk"'s debut is just below the debut of the lead single for Recovery, "Not Afraid", which sold 379,000 copies in its first week.[18] It has sold over a million copies in the US as of October 2013.[19]

In Canada, the song debuted at number two with 50,000 downloads sold, which more than doubled the 24,000 downloads sold in the debut week of "Not Afraid".[20] It was Eminem's best one week download total ever in the country, until it was surpassed by the 54,000 downloads sold for Eminem's later single, "The Monster".[21] The song was certified Double Platinum in Digital downloads in Canada on November 1, 2013.[22]

The song debuted at number one on the

UK R&B Chart[23] and was replaced on the chart by his single "Rap God".[24]

Critical reception

Will Hermes of Rolling Stone gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, highlighting its goal to "celebrate old-school hip-hop".[25] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, stating the song "harks back" to Eminem's "Slim Shady days". Copsey compared the song to Beastie Boys circa 1986, although the song as "inimitable" and "unmistakably Eminem".[26] VH1 India gave the song 8/10 concluding, "Whether you shudder under 'Berzerk's' cacophonous assault or wear its raps like an emblem — it's 2013, and Eminem still got your attention."[27]

Awards and nominations

See also: List of awards and nominations received by Eminem
Year Ceremony Award Result
2014 Grammy Awards Best Rap Performance Nominated
2014 World Music Awards Song of the Year Nominated
2014 MTV Video Music Awards Japan Best Hip-Hop Video Nominated
2014 Detroit Music Awards Outstanding Video / Major Budget (over $10,000) Won
2014 MTV Video Music Awards
Best Hip-Hop Video
 Nominated

Track listing

Digital download[28]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Berzerk"
Rick Rubin3:58
CD release
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Berzerk" (explicit)
Rick Rubin3:58
Total length:7:57

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[64] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[65] 2× Platinum 160,000*
Germany (BVMI)[66] Gold 150,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[67] Gold 20,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[68] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[69] 4× Platinum 4,000,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Radio and release history

Region Date Format Label
Italy[70] August 27, 2013 (2013-08-27) Contemporary hit radio Universal Music
United States[28] Digital download Shady, Aftermath, Interscope
Mainstream urban radio[71]
September 3, 2013 (2013-09-03) Contemporary hit radio[72]
United Kingdom[73] October 6, 2013 (2013-10-06) Digital download

References

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