Eminem, Various Artists - 8 Mile

How Eminem was able to assemble so many credible emcees of today and yesteryear (Jay-Z, Rakim) to endorse his Holly'hood coming out party is anyone's guess. What is clear, however, is that (dare we say it) the Shady One might be growing up. On "Lose Yourself" Em abandons his callous, hardcore posturing to write thoughtful hood-centric coming-of-age lyrics that would make Melle Mel proud. On "Battle," Gang Starr's Guru tears through a sick beat from rap's most prolific producer, DJ Premier. Sadly, Nas wastes more valuable studio time dissing Jay-Z (ho hum) on "You Wanna Be Me." Interestingly, once you get past the living-legend love-in and peep the skills from Em's lesser-known Shady Records roster of underground wordsmiths, such as 50 Cent ("Wanksta") or Obie Trice ("Adrenaline Rush"), you might urge Em to consider giving up his thespian pursuits to become a full-time record executive. Not even the baffling inclusion of Macy Gray's humdrum "Time of Your Life" can sink this project. --Dalton Higgins Amazon.com

 Great CD
Another GREAT CD by Eminem, a must have if you like his music. January 12, 2007

 A Collection of Excellent Rap
Back when I was still determining what music genre to call my own I developed an interest in rap. After a while I got my first real rap album, 8 Mile. It still remains one of my favourite albums. Every song (excluding 2, you'll know which ones I'm talking about) has been burnt in my memory. I'll break it down for you...

1. LOSE YOURSELF-Eminem: (5/5)- What better way to start an album than with the first rap song to win the Academy Award for Best Song. This is, without a doubt, one of Eminem's best ever, and don't forget that he produced it too. This will always be a rap classic, need I say more?

2. LOVE ME-Eminem ft. Obie Trice & 50 Cent: (4.5/5)- Maybe it doesn't sport the best content, but I can't get enough of this one. Em's production is excellent, the light vocal chorus contrasts very well with the hard rap. All three artists are hungry and they deliver well.

3. 8 MILE-Eminem: (4/5)- Another good production by Eminem, at 6:00 minutes it's a little long, but recreates that dirty Detroit street feeling from the movie.

4. ADRENALINE RUSH-Obie Trice: (4/5)- Obie definitely captures your attention with this one, nowhere else will you here muthaf***** spit so many times in one chorus. Perhaps the most over-the-top on this album, but I love it.

5. PLACES TO GO-50 Cent: (4/5)- Now that we're well acquainted with Trice, it's 50's turn to introduce himself. This is a good one, especially considering it's 50 Cent. He doesn't sound bored in this one, and it's yet another great production from Eminem.


6. RAP GAME-D12: (4.5/5)- This one sports all six members of D12, with a dope chorus from 50 Cent and chilling joint-production between Eminem and Denaun Porter (Kon Artis). This is D12's hip-hop 101, and the raps compliment the music well.

7. 8 MILES AND RUNNIN'-Jay-Z ft. Freeway: (3.5/5)- Good production by Eminem. Less then spectacular performance by Jay-Z and Freeway but not bad by no means. Jay-Z reflects on his career and Freeway's getting his started, which was what 8 Mile was about.

8. SPIT SHINE-Xzibit: (4/5)- Solid performance by X to the Z with solid production from Porter. Xzibit takes a chance to reflect on his rap career as well and provide some advice for others.

9. TIME OF MY LIFE-Macy Gray: (0.5/5)- I have no idea why this is here, other than it adds to the theme of the album as a whole. Basically, you'll listen to is once, ask "why's that on there?" and never listen to it again.

10. U WANNA BE ME-Nas: (3.5/5)- I'm impressed that Nas is on here, but this diss track is definitely not his best work. However, still a good song produced by Nas.

11. WANKSTA-50 Cent: (3.5/5)- Nice one mixed by Dr. Dre. 50 Cent is already picking fights with Ja Rule, I agree with 50, Ja is a wanksta.

12. WASTING MY TIME-Boomkat: (0.5/5)- Well...it lives up to its name. I just pretend this was never here, when you copy the CD on your computer you can just leave this and Gray's out and you'll forget it was even there. This album still holds very strong with 14 tracks.

13. R.A.K.I.M.-Rakim: (4.5/5)- It's an honour to have Rakim on this album since he influenced rap so greatly. Ra takes this chance to put down what he stands for, and certainly takes advantage of the rock hard beat produced by Denaun Porter and mixed by Dr. Dre.

14. THAT'S MY N**** FO' REAL-Young Zee: (3/5)- Probably the weakest track on here (pretending that it's a 14 track CD), it uses a nice collaboration of guitars, but Young Zee isn't trying hard enough. It's still not bad, but had Zee done better, he might at least have an album by now.

15. BATTLE-Gang Starr: (4/5)- Another one of the hip-hop icon appearances that make this album a classic. Battles were also a big part of 8 Mile. This track uses heavy base coupled with record scratching and in-your-face raps that make this another solid track.

16. RABBIT RUN-Eminem: (5/5)- A 3:12 minute song with no chorus, so what makes this a five star track? Eminem is simply UNLEASHED on this one! It's as if he's focusing all his frustration and pent up rage and vents it all in these precious 3 minutes. Aided by an ominous Eminem production with a slight clock ticking in the background, you can feel all of the raw emotion in this song that is hard to find anywhere else.

So there you have it. If you want a tight collaboration of new and old school artists, this is the album for you. The only thing that could improve this album would be to get rid of the 2 degenerate songs and get a couple tracks by Dr. Dre, 2Pac, Notorious Big or DMX. But lets not get greedy, for $13.88 I find it impressive enough that Em assembled Xzibit, Nas, Gang Starr, Rakim and introduced us to Obie Trice & 50 Cent.

I hope you found this review helpful. August 25, 2006

 8 Mile
Seeing I am a big fan of Eminem I had to get this soundtrack. It has the new single Lose Yourself and other songs by Eminem + lots of others by other artists. It has the song "8 Mile" the movie title and "Rabbit Run" a great lyrical song. Only two of these songs (Lose Yourself and 8 Mile) were actually played in the movie but the rest of them were good to make up a whole album of good rap material. You should also get "More Music From 8 Mile" which has all the songs played in the film, with songs by 2pac, Mobb Deep, Notorious BIG, Outkast, Naughty By Nature and more all pretty good. On the soundtrack Lose Yourself would have to be my favourite song. Lose Yourself is actually one of my favourite of all Eminem songs with great lyrical verses etc. However i'm also a fan of 50 Cent and D12 so their songs I am a fan of aswell. Good Eminem July 12, 2006

 The Unsinkable Eminem
Eminem has proven once again that he is unsinkable. With a brilliant ensamble here he also has proven to be a suitable producer as well, boasting a label with talent like 50 Cent and Obie Trice, both of which have blown up now, but at the time of this release they were small potatoes. The album track list reads like a whos who of the best in the rap industry, everyone from Nas to Jay-Z to Xzibit, all of whom lay down decent tracks, but the shining star is none other than Slim Shady himself, with more than a few killer cuts like the blistering anthem 'Lose Yourself' which stands alone as Shady's most glorious moment. D-12, the Dirty Dozen who up until now have ceased to impress me actually hold there own on 'Rap Game' while 50 serves up a luke-warm track dissing none other than Ja-Rule on 'Wanksta' but he makes good for it with 'Places to Go' while Obie Trice stands out on 'Adrenaline Rush' and makes it obvious why he's been signed to Em's label. I do want to point out that while I don't know why Macy Gray was included on the roster, to answer a question from one reviewer, Boomkat is here because the lead singer Taryn Manning was in the film and as a favor to help boost her career Eminem gave her a track...that's why she's here, although she doesn't quite fit the bill. The best track here is the closing track 'Rabbit Run' where Eminem freestyles a track with no hook, just straight in you face 'look at me now' type lyrics that grab the listener and let them know what this album, what this movie and what Eminem, the man, is all about. Great album and great boost for the unsinkable Eminem! May 2, 2006

 Eminem - 8 Mile Soundtrack
A good soundtrack put together by Eminem. All great songs, except the ones with 50 Cent, :-). Since this has to do with D-12, I'd like to give a R.I.P to Proof, youll always be remembered. If you liked the movie 8 Mile, then I know for sure that youll like this sound track. Songs by Eminem, 50 Cent, Obie Trice, Gang Starr, Nas, D-12 etc. You cant go wrong with it. There is a few weak tracks and ill explain which ones those are. But this cd is definately worth 4 stars, just not 5. "Time Of Your Life" and "Wasting My Time" shouldnt have been on there, because they do not go along with the soundtrack AT ALL, but all good. Check this joint out!!

My Top 5 Songs
1.8 Mile
2.Rap Game (R.I.P Proof!)
3.You Wanna Be Me
4.R.A.K.I.M (Insane beat)
5.Battle (Hott beat also) April 16, 2006

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