8 Mile Soundtrack
8 Mile Soundtrack
Various Artists
Shady / Interscope / Universal
Ranking 6.5/10

There's no doubt that Eminem is a multi-talented man. It amazes me that among his duties as a rapper, CEO of Shady Records, and actor in his own 8 Mile movie, that he's still able to executive produce the movie's soundtrack. Unfortunately, the 8 Mile Soundtrack doesn't quite live up to Eminem's billing.

Nonetheless, Eminem is still able to hold his own on the soundtrack, as he produces seven tracks and delivers three of the albums best songs with the amazing first single, 'Lose Yourself,' '8 Mile' and 'Rabbit Run'. He even glaringly outshines his cohort Obie Trice on the slow-footed 'Love Me.' Other impressive non-Eminem produced tracks include Gangstarr's scratch-laden 'Battle'; Nas' 'U Wanna Be Me'; and Macy Gray's out-of-place feel-good 'Time of my Life.'

50 Cent provides catchy chorus on his two solo tracks, but apart from the collaborative 'Love Me,' fails to drop standout verses. Eminem's production on Jay-Z and Freeway's '8 Miles and Runnin' stands out on the chorus, but lacks luster throughout the rest of the song. As a result, I've concluded that Eminem's production is best suited for himself, as Obie Trice, 50 Cent and Jay-Z were all unable to impressively complement his beats.

The 8 Mile Soundtrack also came with piece of paper stating that the CD had special 'Desksite' software included with it. Being a computer science major and having followed the FAQ instructions on Eminem's website, I deduced that such software was not included on my CD. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed with the false advertising.

Overall, I found the 8 Mile Soundtrack impressive in some spots, but rather plain in others. It seems like Eminem is making a habit of following up each amazing solo album with a less impressive group effort (e.g. D12). As such, this album is probably best suited for hardcore Eminem fans.

Click here to buy the album or read CDNow's album review.

www.brockwayent.com

(Originally posted on HipHopCanada.com)

This review was written November 13, 2002