Flashback to 1999 - I'm playing Final Fantasy Tactics on the Playstation to the sounds of Eminem, positioning a squire in just the right position to throw a stone at a goblin while trying to figure out what Vikodin is. Its almost twenty oh three now, and the rap scene is different. 2pac and Biggie are still dead, but finally rappers are being controversial again. Oh how soon they forget. Eminem, who was regarded at that point as a sort of footnote (see Bubba Sparxxx) has become rap's hottest icon, with a shelf of Grammys to prove it. Still controversial, he's gone from the apprentice to the teacher, from the rapper to the producer., from the poor druggie to the rich actor. Actor? Yeah, in case you haven't heard or stopped listening, Eminem's in this new movie "8 Mile" with help from such indie notables as Curtis Hanson and Amores Perros's cinematographer. Not only that, but he's started his own label and has released the film's soundtrack. The roster is a mix of who's who and who's going to be in rap. Eminem proteges Obie Trice and 50 Cent weigh in on four tracks between them, echoing Eminem's mass produced drugged out vibes, even teaming up with him on the cd's most impressive track "Luv Me." Showing plenty of promise in advance of solo cd's in the next year. Established vets and rivals Jay-Z and Nas deliver the goods with a solid track each, back to back. Even the ever-underachieving Xzibit manages to squeeze out a solid track with "Spit Shine," although it feels a little overproduced. Veterans Gang Starr even pop up on the soundtrack for a battle track, aptly titled "Battle." And of course, Em has to bookend the project with his radio hit "Lose Yourself" and the companion tracks "Run Rabbit Run" and "8 Mile," reminding us who's in charge.
The bad? Well try throwing this on at a party and watch the drunk girls, mere seconds from making out with each other, freeze up during Em's ex Taryn Manning's milquetoast love song. Or watch someone lock the door to try to keep Macy Gray out when "Time of My Life" comes over the speakers. Of course, that's why they invented CDs, right? So you didnt have to listen to filler and tracks that ex-boyfriends promised ex-girlfriends while they were drunk.
So it's late 2002, and I hear 50 Cent challenging everybody to take shots at him at his concert, and im picking off cops from my roof in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the Playstation2. The squire now looks like a real dude, and the gun looks deadlier than a stone, and when I shoot the cop he grabs the shot limb, not expecting a phoenix down anytime soon. So how does this soundtrack figure in? Well, ladies and gents, it looks like Eminem is here to stay, and his effect on today's culture is unavoidable. Just ask the guy at the Sinclair station who wears the loose long sleeve ribbed shirt and long gold chain with a long crew cut. By the way, he doesn't card. And if he does, just tell him that you think Macy Gray blows too.
- Drew Smith
