Circa 2002, a then up and coming rapper named Eminem aka Slim Shady–real name Marshall Mathers–had solidified himself as an American Rap Icon. Ths movie tells a fictionalized story of his life getting into the Underground Hip Hop scene. The majority of the movie is a bit of a yawnfest–by design–as the real meat of the movie is in the Rap Battles. The story goes, the movie’s director fell in love with the concept of Rap Battles while doing research for the movie. With the way he speaks of it in the interview footage on the DVD and Blue Ray copies, you know he gets it.

Mind you, this was back in 2002 when most hip hop purists went underground in protest of how corporate mainstream hip hop was becoming. The movie is set in the mid-90s when Tupac Shakur in LA and the Notorious B.I.G. in NYC were the faces of Hip Hop in America. Detroit’s Hip Hop scene was still in its infancy at the time though Eminem singlehandedly put it on the map once he was recruited by Dr. Dre.

Speaking of, remember Em’s “debut” track?

 

At the time, Eminem was still mostly unknown in the mainstream outside Detroit. As soon as this song hit in 2000, Eminem basically blew open the door to the world of Hip Hop to White America and dared the status quo to replace said door. Before Eminem, Vanilla Ice was credited with making rap “cool” for White Americans to sample. Eminem went well beyond that by proving skills matter more than skin color when it comes to Hip Hop.

That brings me back to Rap Battles, which was the meat of the movie and was a HUGE part of the Underground Hip Hop scene during the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. As the movie’s director summarizes, it’s basically a no-holds-barred duel between two people. Instead of fists or objects, you fight with words and often music. The two participants basically say the most provocative, insulting things they can think of to each other. Rule #1 is you must go all out. Rule #2 is naturally, you must rhyme. Rule #3 is nothing is off limits. The winners of most Rap Battles are decided by the audience but generally require at least one impartial witness. Yes, this is a real thing.

It’s not uncommon to see established artists travel across the U.S. to participate in or watch Rap Battles. If you do call out or challenge someone who is established, expect no mercy if they decide to accept. As was revealed in the movie, doing research on your opponent is smart strategy. Throughout the movie, Eminem’s character happened to overhear bits and pieces of info about his final opponent Papa Doc most probably didn’t think much of. This is what makes Eminem such a dangerous opponent in a Rap Battle: He notices EVERYTHING. Show any weakness and he will not only destroy you but berate you for daring to think you had a chance against him. That’s all he knows how to do basically and he will tell you it’s nothing personal. He hated to lose Rap Battles THAT much is why and he would tell people. It’s personal for him. I read somewhere he had an undefeated streak that lasted almost 14 years and all but two of his legit losses were avenged.

 

It goes without saying most Rap Battles are profanity-laced. MTV tried to monetize the concept with a short-lived TV show but given participants weren’t allowed to use profanity, it only lasted a short time. Sure, conducting a rap battle without profanity is possible and does require a high degree of skill but given speed and impact decide the winner, it’s common for those used to freestyle rap battles to struggle with the No Swearing rule in place. Don’t even get me started on two black people not wanting a “No N-Word” rule. It’s quite the paradox but that’s a topic for another time and blog.

 

There is one person who didn’t appear in the movie who ended up profiting heavily from it: Prodigy. The Instrumental version of his legendary track Shook Ones is the backdrop for Em’s Rap Battle against Papa Doc. Here it is:

 

 

It is universally considered even 25 years after it was made to be, for lack of a better term the greatest freestyle track ever composed. It doesn’t matter weather you rap fast or slow, you can freestyle to it.

 

Before I switch to talking about the 8 Mile Album, I want to urge people who haven’t yet to go watch the movie. Preferably the uncut version. The movie imfamously made its broadcast premeire in the mid-2000s on CW and was cut for time and content to run within a 2-hour block. I watched with amusement as I had the movie on DVD already–I still do now but recently bought a digital copy–and watched the edited version to see what would be cut. The sex scene toward the end of the movie was cut which probably wasn’t a surprise. The screen fades to black after a certain point–further broadcast releases do the blackout a little earlier–and then fades back in after the sex ends. You don’t see anything in the uncut version due to camera angles and they’re clothed–which was why I thought it was going to be left in the broadcast version–but the panting, opened legs and unzipped pants make it obvious they’re having sex.

 

All that said, the movie holds up well. It’s a fictionalized drama based on a part of Eminem’s past. The reason this movie was more positively received compared to Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ is because while both movies were raw and grittty, 8 Mile kept things simple and Em’s character was more relatable compared to 50 Cent’s. I have both movies so I can say that.

 

 

Now let’s talk about the Album version of 8 Mile.

Like Forget About Dre was for Eminem, 8 Mile was the album in which 50 Cent made his debut with this legendary track:

 

 

This ONE track made this album the hottest-selling rap album of the year. People were buying this in stores JUST for this one track. For those who are wondering, the music video had to be heavily edited due to YouTube’s policies on promoting violence as well as profanity and slurs. When 50 Cent released his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’, he had to release a revised version with Wangsta included since that was the track from 8 Mile people knew him from.

The 8 Mile album featured a who’s who of Hip Hop legends including Jay-Z, Nas, Rakim, Gangstarr and Xzibit. The album opens with its signature track Lose Yourself. As everyone might not be aware, this track won a Grammy Award for Best Sountrack in 2002. Eminem famously stayed home with his daughter because he did not think he had a chance of actually winning. He found out the next morning he had won. 19 years later, he would perform the song at the Grammy Awards and formally accept the award he won back in 2002.

The next track, Love Me was arguably one of the best diss tracks of the time. 50 Cent takes a shot at Bow Wow, Ashante and now quite ironically R. Kelly to name a few people. This was back during a time when you could still name drop on a diss track and not worry about being shot or sued. These days most who do diss tracks are careful not to name who they’re talking about.

The third track 8 Mile Road is basically a love letter from Eminem to his hometown Detroit. It’s since become a sleeper hit you vibe to. The rest of the Album features tracks by Hip Hop’s greatest from Jay-Z and Freeway in 8 Miles and Runnin’ to Xzibit in Spit Shine to Nas in U Wanna Be Me to D12 in Rap Game and of course, 50 Cent’s Wangsta to name a few. The talent who lent their voices was pretty incredible to say the least. Given the Album dropped a few years after the deaths of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, it heralded a time of transition for the world of Hip Hop. The industry was beginning to move away from the Gangsta Rap that defined the 90s. A lot of artists from the 1990s and 80s either had or would soon transition into acting.

Both the movie and album versions of 8 Mile showcases some really good Hip Hop quite well. You can still find physical copies online though digital copies are much easier to get your hands on. If you’ve never seen the movie, it’s worth watching at least once. If you never listened to the album, it’s worth listening to at least once even if you’re not into hip hop.

 

 

If you have enjoyed this post or other posts I have made on this blog, please consider making a monetary donation via PayPal. Whatever amount you can provide would be greatly appreciated.