THE GHOSTLY VOICE ON EMINEM’S “GOOD GUY” CAME FROM A THREE-YEAR-OLD TOKYO GHOUL RECORDING

When Eminem surprise-released Kamikaze in 2018, one of its eeriest sounds had not been recorded in Detroit—or even for Eminem.

It came from an Australian singer, a Tokyo studio and a very unusual piece of vocal direction. 🎙️

Three years earlier, Donna Burke had recorded “Glassy Sky,” composed by Yutaka Yamada for the anime Tokyo Ghoul. Burke approached her first take with her big, powerful voice and let it rip.

The room went quiet. 😶

Burke remembered hearing plenty of teeth-sucking from the production team. She left the booth and asked them to tell her what was wrong.

They wanted her to sing “like a dead person.” 👻

The resulting performance accompanied a pivotal death in Tokyo Ghoul. Then that mournful voice took an unexpected second journey.

For Kamikaze’s Jessie Reyez collaboration “Good Guy,” producer Illadaproducer filtered, chopped and processed Burke’s recording. The vocal was also pitched upward, reversed and spliced until its origin became difficult to recognize. ✂️

Difficult—but not impossible.

Illadaproducer initially identified the source as music from the Kingdom Hearts games. Anime fans heard something different, while the songwriting credits pointed toward Yamada and “Glassy Sky.” The producer subsequently confirmed the mix-up. 🕵️

Burke learned through Twitter that Eminem had sampled her. Her assistant contacted the rights agency, which confirmed that Eminem’s team had properly licensed the recording.

She was shocked, delighted—and amused that even her mother knew who Eminem was. 🎁

No new vocal session was required. A haunting instruction in a Tokyo booth simply found an extraordinary second life three years later.

Sometimes a voice travels much farther than the singer ever expected. 🎧

#musicOnOff #Eminem #Kamikaze #GoodGuy #DonnaBurke #TokyoGhoul #HipHopHistory