Songfacts®:

• Many of us found ourselves with additional free time during the coronavirus lockdown, during which we devoured box sets and chatted with friends online. Eminem, however, kept writing rhymes. Here, he compares his lyrics to the infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus.
  
  They say these bars are like COVID
  You get 'em right off the bat
  Infected with SARS and Corona
  Like you took a bite off of that
  
  Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Some investigators believe the outbreak may have come from humans eating bats. During this song, Slim plays on the origins of the disease to show how his viral flow is contagious, current and hard-hitting.
• Throughout the rest of the track, Em incorporates several other references to the pandemic lexicon: dry cough, quarantine, stay at home orders, etc. "My penmanship at times tends to get ill," he raps, "violence but with skill."
• The song title comes from Eminem having another poke at his longstanding rival, Machine Gun Kelly.
  
  They come at me with machine guns
  Like trying to fight off a gnat
  
  Eminem is comparing Machine Gun Kelly to a small but irritating insect. The Detroit native wordsmith's beef with MGK dates back to 2012, when the Cleveland rapper tweeted that Em's daughter, Hailie, was "hot as f--k." Since then the pair have exchanged lyrical punches with Slim Shady targeting Kelly on such tracks as "Not Alike" and "Killshot."
• "Gnat" is the first promotional single from the deluxe version of Eminem's Music to Be Murdered By project. Released on December 18, 2020 with no prior announcement, the record contains a bonus disc with 16 new tracks.
• Chicago native D.A. Got That Dope supplied the beat. The producer, formerly known as DA Doman, contributed to six Music to Be Murdered By tracks in total, including three on the main album: "Godzilla," "Those Kinda Nights" and "No Regrets."
• Cole Bennett directed the music video, which sees Eminem alternating between playing a hospital patient and a man dressed in a yellow hazmat suit battling bats. Bennett previously shot Em's "Godzilla" clip.