Today In Hip-Hop: ‘8 Mile’ Soundtrack Is Released

On this day, October 29, in hip-hop history...

2002: Before the release of the Eminem’s semi-biographical film, 8 Mile, the highly anticipated soundtrack was released.  Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture 8 Mile featured the movie’s star, Eminem, his co-star Taryn Manning’s band BoomKat, Jay-Z, Nas, 50 Cent, D12, Obie Trice, Macy Gray, Xzibit, Freeway, Gang Starr, Rakim and Young Zee.

The soundtrack’s most successful cut was Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” The song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Eminem’s first number one single on that chart.  It was nominated for five Grammys and was the first rap song to be nominated for Song of The Year.  “Lose Yourself” won for Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song at the 2004 Grammys.  The song also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and was the first rap song to win this award.

The soundtrack as a whole was commercially successful. Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture 8 Mile debuted at number one of the Billboard 200, selling 702,000 in its first week.  It became the fifth best selling album in 2002, selling over 3.4 million copies while only being on shelves for 2 months.  The album is currently certified quadruple platinum. -Ariana LaBarrie