8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture
8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture is the official soundtrack to the 2002 movie of the same name. The album, performed by various artists, was released under Shady Records. It spawned the hit single "Lose Yourself" by Eminem, who also stars in the semi-autobiographical movie. The album also spawned a follow up soundtrack, More Music from 8 Mile, consisting of songs that appear in the film and were released as singles during the film's time setting of 1995. One of the songs was performed by 2Pac, who would be the subject of a with a, who also produced a posthumous album by 2Pac. The album also features four songs by Wu-Tang Clan and its members, and two songs by Mobb Deep, who eventually signed to G-Unit Records. Both albums were also made available in censored versions, removing most of the strong language and sexual and violent content. 8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling over 700,000 copies in its first week. It sold 510,000 copies in its second week and eventually became the fifth-best-selling album in the US of 2002, with sales of 3.4 million copies. It is certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album featured the universal number-one hit "Lose Yourself", which won the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Charts
The album debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 Albums Chart that year with over 702,000 copies sold in the 1st week and 510,000 copies sold in the 2nd week also finishing the year as the 5th best-selling album of 2002 with US sales of over 3.4 million. As of July 2013, it has sold 4,922,000 copies in the U.S. As of January 2016, the soundtrack has sold 11 million copies worldwide. It debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart with sales of 45,000 copies. It also reached #1 on the UK Compilations Chart Australian ARIAnet Albums Chart. It featured Eminem's worldwide chart-topping single, "Lose Yourself".
Content and censorship
The clean version of the 8 Mile soundtrack removes most of the strong language and sexual and violent content. The only word left uncensored on the soundtrack, is the word "ass". No other words are uncensored on the clean version of "8 Mile". "That's My Nigga Fo' Real", by rapper Young Zee, is listed as "That's My ***** Fo' Real" on the clean version. In "Rap Game" by D12 featuring 50 Cent in Proof's verse, the word "shit" is uncensored, and in Eminem's verse, the words "White House" and "Cheney" are censored on both edited and explicit versions. A very rare version of "Rap Game" can be heard on the internet, which the words "White House" and "Cheney" are left uncensored. In "Rabbit Run" by Eminem, the word "fuck" was left uncensored once in the clean version of the soundtrack. In "Love Me" by Obie Trice, Eminem and 50 Cent, the word "goddamn" is left uncensored in 50 Cent's verse.
Eminem has earned praise from hip-hop producers and pundits for including authentic, era-appropriate beats in the film, despite the expense associated with clearance relative to original music bearing a similar sound.
