8 Mile - Soundtrack
Reviewed By: ULTIMATECDLINK
Album Rate: 3.75 out of 5 Stars
Eminem brings us the soundtrack to his first feature film "8 Mile". The albums features D-12, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Freeway, Nas, Obie Trice, Gangstarr, Rakim, Young Zee, Macy Gray, Boomkat, Xzibit, & singles "Lose Yourself" & "Wankster".
1. Lose Yourself (f/ Emimem)-- this track is the first single from the album. Eminem flows over an electric guitar beat over a snare bassline and rhymes about the lead character from the movie and his days of struggling while battle rappin trying to make it big in the rap game. This is a nice track to start the album with.
2. Love Me (f/ Obie Trice, Eminem, & 50 Cent)-- this track has a darker feel to it's beat. Obie Trice starts the track out with a decent verse. Eminem is up next and raps about how bad some of these rappers are these days and how they don't wanna fuck wit Shady. The newest Shady Records signee, 50 Cent, comes with a tight verse and rips on everyone he claims sold out to the money, from D'Angelo to Ja Rule. This is a very tight track.
3. 8 Mile (f/ Eminem)-- this track kinda samples the beat and hook from Stevie Wonder's "Part Time Lover". Eminem raps about about going out on his own to escape the world of 8 Mile Road, where he grew up. Eminem doesn't come as tight as he usually does on this one. Combined with the beat and subpar rhymes, this track isn't as tight.
4. Adrenaline Rush (f/ Obie Trice)-- this track has a West Coast feel to the beat and Obie Trice doesn't really deliver on the mic. I just can't really get into the feel of this one.
5. Places To Go (f/ 50 Cent)-- this track has a little of a rock feel to the beat produced by Eminem. 50 Cent brings some nice flows to the mic about how prison ain't the place for him and shows why he got signed to Shady Records. It's a nice song.
6. Rap Game (f/ D-12 & Eminem)-- this one starts off with a piano intro before the bassline kicks in. Each member of D-12 including Eminem drops a nice verse about how they won't sell their soul for the rap game. This track will have ya head bobbin along to the beat and the lyrics. This is probably one of my favorite tracks on the album.
7. 8 Mile & Runnin (f/ Jay-Z & Freeway)-- this track is first track on the album by an artist outside the Shady Records camp and it comes from the Roc-A-Fella crew. Jay-Z drops a couple of nice verses about how he's made it big even though no one would sign him when he first came up in the rap game, while Freeway lays down a decent verse about droppin his first album and how he's just getting started. This is an all right track with a nice beat.
8. Spit Shine-- this track brings us back to the West Coast with Xzibit. X raps about how he was a thug before it cool and how he's still goin' be standing once the fake rappers fade off in the sunset. Nice song.
9. Time Of My Life (f/ Macy Gray)-- I ain't really feelin Macy Gray so I won't speak much about this track. I hit skip on my CD player past this one.
10. U Wanna Be Me (f/ Nas)-- this track takes us to the East Coast with Nas who drops some jabs at Jay-Z by saying that he's gotta say his name to sell albums and how he ain't even half the rapper that Nas is. The beat ain't all that but Nas does come with some decent flows.
11. Wanksta (f/ 50 Cent)-- this is the other single from the album and is probably my favorite track on the album. The beat is tight as hell and 50 Cent comes tight on the mic with some lyrics about how the fake gangsters who claim to be hard but all they have to show for it is ending up in jail. The hook is catchy and the song overall has a nice tempo to it. The song is actually an older track by 50 Cent but was re-recorded and added to the album.
12. Wasting My Time (f/ Boomkat)-- this track is just like the title of the song--a waste of my time. Boomkat is a singer and this track just breaks up the entire flow of the album since this seems like a cross between a folk song and a country song. Skip this track because it sucks bad.
13. R.A.K.I.M. (f/ Rakim)-- this track has a nice mid tempo beat and the newest Aftermath artist. Rap legend Rakim drops some decent verses. It's an all right track.
14. That's My Nigga Fo' Real (f/ Young Zee)-- Young Zee is a member of the rap group the Outsidaz. This track has a slower pace to the tempo but I just ain't feelin his style of rap. Outsidaz fans will probably feel this one but I ain't a one of them.
15. Battle (f/ Gangstarr)-- this track keeps us on the East Coast with rap group Gangstarr. Again, like the previous track, I'm just not really a big fan of theirs so I can't get into their style of rap that they bring to the table.
16. Rabbit Run (f/ Eminem)-- the album ends the way that it started--with a tight track by Eminem. The beat is tight and Em drops some nice lyrics from the perspective of Rabbit aka Jimmy, the main character from the film. Nice track to end it on.
The bonus disc to the soundtrack is an Aftermath Records sampler disc. It features a new track by Eminem "Stimulate", the current single by Obie Trice "Rap Name", a 50 Cent track, and tracks from the new artists to the label, Brooklyn, Shaunta, & Joe Beast.
Overall, there is a definite downturn to the album once you get halfway through the album. Once you get to about track 8, not much there to listen to after that point besides "Wankster". There aren't really that many tracks with Eminem himself but the standout performance on the album comes from 50 Cent. I thought he came the tightest out of any of the rappers on the album. Definitely could have been better with more track from Eminem and less tracks from Macy Gray, Boomkat, & Gangstarr.
8 Mile - Soundtrack