Search - Eminem, Various Artists :: 8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture

Amy T. (simplyamy) from DAKOTA DUNES, SD
Reviewed on 8/16/2007...

rocks hard!

A Collection of Excellent Rap

Ren Höek | Canada | 08/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Garbage

Mohammadi Rabbani | NEW YORK | 06/24/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"ONLY GOOD SONG WAS FROM NAS AND RAKIM AND LOOSE YOURSELF

50 CENT SUCKS"