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Album Review: 8 Mile

Eminem's heavyweight soundtrack amounts to less than the sum of its parts.

by Douglas Passion | 2002.10.23

After the success of soundtracks from films like Juice and Above the Rim, it seemed like Hollywood started churning out movies for the sole purpose of marketing an accompanying Hip-Hop album. For fucking out loud, did anyone really think Sunset Park was created because of the undeniable chemistry between Rhea Perlman and Fredro Starr? The wave of rap-oriented soundtracks has certainly ebbed, but with a lineup boasting some of the industry’s biggest names, 8 Mile attempts to resurrect the glory days of the Hip-Hop movie compilation.

On paper, the lineup on Interscope’s 8 Mile looks great. Eminem, insightfully cast in the film as a white rapper from Detroit, uses the soundtrack as an opportunity to feature artists from his Shady Records imprint alongside a nice collection of rap royalty. With Eminem, 50 Cent, Xzibit, Rakim, Jay-Z, Nas and Gangstarr aboard, 8 Mile looks about as stacked as the 2002 Yankees. Then again, the Bronx Bombers went out in the first round. As they say in sports, that’s why you play the games.

Like the film, the soundtrack is an Eminem vehicle – and he appears to take his position in the driver’s seat seriously. By contributing four appearances and a healthy portion of the production, he definitely takes pains to insure that the album’s content mirrors that of the film. Eminem’s three solo tracks are all dark and gritty odes to the desperate struggle of the aspiring artist. On “Lose Yourself”, he emphasizes that the story told in the song is more poignant than just a fictional narrative from his character in 8 Mile – “these Goddamn food stamps don’t buy diapers/ and there’s no movie, no Mekhi Phifer/ this is my life.”

Throughout his career, Eminem has always been more than willing to give his extended family a chance to shine. The 8 Mile soundtrack is no different; Obie Trice, 50 Cent and D-12 all make appearances. Although non-New Yorkers might not immediately see what all the fuss was about, 50 Cent’s “Wangster” became the Big Apple’s September soup du jour after a potent mix of street buzz and industry politics made it a once-every-fifteen minutes Hot97 staple. Besides “Wangster” and “Places To Go”, 50 Cent makes a memorable appearance on “Love Me”, in which he proves that his mix-tape shit-talking has remained undiminished. “I ain’t gonna front, I thought R. Kelly was the shit,” he recollects, “lemme find out he fuckin’ round with Bow Wow’s bitch/ niggas eating popcorn, right, rewinding the tape/ now shorty’s mama in the precinct hollerin’ rape/ I’m convinced, man, something really wrong with these hoes/ I thought Lil Kim was hot ‘til she started fucking with her nose/ I used to listen to Lauryn Hill, and tap my feet/ then the bitch put out a CD [that] didn’t have to beats/ that boy D’Angelo, he determined not to fail/ that nigga went butt-ass for his record to sell.”

The idea of Jaz-Z and Nas each submitting a track for 8 Mile sounded promising. In practice, however, the archrivals seem fairly unresponsive to engaging in any real soundtrack brinkmanship. Although his staccato delivery is intricate, Jay’s true motivations seem apparent on “Eight Miles and Running” when he declares in the hook “eight miles and running, got my seventh album coming.” Sloppy chorus aside, Jay still comes through with a few of his typical gems. “You what?” he asks. “Where was you before I blew this up?/ I didn’t see you in the courtroom when everybody was suing us/ I didn’t see you in all black when everybody was suiting up/ back on the block, getting it in, it wasn’t no you and us.”

To his credit, Nas stays away from advertising his upcoming album. Over a minimalist track of drums and tinkling keys, he takes a few jabs at his numerous rap-world adversaries. Unfortunately, his vitriol-filled verses on “You Wanna Be Me” run out of steam when his rapping devolves into a rambling quasi-freestyle that probably shouldn’t have left the cipher. “I’m passed eight miles of every state line”, he says cryptically, “eating alligators and hummingbird hearts at the player’s ball/ Brioni suits, ya’ll birds watch.”

As for the veterans, both Rakim and Gangstarr make nice additions to the 8 Mile soundtrack. Rakim’s self-titled “R.A.K.I.M.” is almost spoiled by an oddly clashing drum, but the R’s omnipresent lyrics and wordplay rescue the track from mediocrity. Despite his advancing age, lines like “to my dogs hearing sirens on and firearms/ out come dotted walls and behind irons bars/ the boulevard retire frauds when I evolve” ensure that Rakim will not be shipped off to pasture any time soon. Meanwhile, Gangstarr supplies more of that old boom-bap that has made the group a long-time favorite of Hip-Hop purists. By combining scratched vocal samples, a thumping drum, orchestral horns and a vintage Guru performance, Gangstarr proves that they are ready for any “Battle”.

While the star-studded lineup on the 8 Mile soundtrack doesn’t quite live up to the billing, there are certainly enough joints to make it a worthwhile listen. Although most of the high-profile cameo appearances fail to showcase the artists’ best efforts, the album definitely avoids becoming one of those generic soundtracks that feature a mishmash of R&B singers, newjacks and has-beens. Most importantly for Eminem, 8 Mile proves that the Shady Records collective can shine bright when stacked up next to Hip-Hop’s elite.

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