Volume 2
Issue # 10

October 1, 2002

"Shady Hits The Big Screen"

Love him or hate him, Marshall Bruce Mathers III (a.k.a. Eminem, Slim Shady) has become a social icon. Discovered by long time West Coast rapper and producer Andre Young (a.k.a. Dr. Dre), Eminem quickly exploded on the scene with the instant hit My Name Is, and soon started pumping out hit after hit, filling local and national airwaves alike. Riding on the recent success of The Eminem Show and more specifically of the song that stayed among the top of the charts for weeks (months?) Without Me, Eminem will be 'gracing' the silver screen next month (November 8th) in 8-Mile.

Directed by Curtis Hanson (Wonder Boys, L.A. Confidential, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle), 8-Mile stars Eminem, who is joined by the likes of Brittany Murphy (King of the Hill, Don't Say A Word, Sidewalks of New York) and Kim Basinger (Bless The Child, L.A. Confidential, Batman) who star as the love interest and Jimmy's mom, respectively. Contrary to popular belief, you have to realize just how smart Eminem is. Being a recording star, one hand washes the other . . . or more specifically pays the other. Two singles (Cleaning Out My Closet, and more recently, Lose Yourself) from the 8-Mile soundtrack are already on heavy rotation on such radio stations as recent local upstart The Beat 94.5 FM. Even with large scale pirating of his music (I can just see all of you opening WinMX to get Lose Yourself), the success of the soundtrack, with artists such as Dr. Dre, Obie Trice, 50 Cent, D-12 and Eminem himself, is pretty much guaranteed.

What many people do not realize is that this is not the first time Eminem has appeared in a theatre near you. Although he was seen in films such as The Wash (2001) and Da Hip Hop Witch (2000), his role as Jimmy can easily be considered his true feature film debut. Loosely based on his real life experience, Eminem plays a young white rapper (a stretch role, I know) trying to make it in the business and find a life outside of Detroit. 8-Mile is considered by people who live in the Detroit area as the city's city limit. (Get it?)

When word first came out of an Eminem movie, what most people were expecting was a movie riddled with controversy and non-stop profanity. I suppose that is not too far from the truth, but what may come as a surprise is the rave reviews 8-Mile is getting after being previewed by some truly top-notch movie critics. (Too bad I don't have those kind of connections, eh?) Yes, the movie is loosely based on Slim Shady's life. Yes, it will be filled with cussing, violence and sexuality. But it's looking like it will be a great film. After all, such legends as The Godfather were also filled with gruesome violence and f- this and f- that.

Those of you who know me, you know that I am an Eminem fan. I, like many of you today, once thought that he was annoying and was not enjoyable to listen to. I didn't particularly like My Name Is, but as songs like Guilty Conscience, Stan, The Way I Am, and Without Me starting coming out, I took a liking to his style. It's fresh; it's different. Sometimes I think that he tries too hard sometimes to be controversial, but that's his thing. That's why he's so popular. He dares to be different, and I think we all should commend him for that much. He has never been conventional. He goes against so many stereotypes (and pushes so many more), that he has developed a subculture all his own. Before Eminem, who would've thought that the top rapper would be white. Yes, we've seen the Beastie Boys, but their style was still arguably more of a hard rock than hip hop.

I'm looking forward to 8-Mile, and not just the film itself, I'm waiting on that soundtrack too. Like I said at the top of this piece, love him or hate him, Eminem is THE social icon of new millenium. From the official website, 8-Mile is "a drama set against the 1995 hip-hop scene in Detroit [and] is about the boundaries that define our lives and a young man's struggle to find the strength and courage to transcend them." Look for it November 8th.