In the 90's, Eminem cut his teeth as a battle rapper in Detroit's underground scene. The goal was to insult your opponent with the most brutal, or cleverly crafted rhymes, which were often improvised on the spot. The winner received fame and glory, and maybe money. The loser went home in shame, rushed to the bathroom, and vomited up mom's spaghetti.
Battle rap was famously displayed in the movie 8 Mile, which was based on Marshall Mathers' unique experience, as a struggling white rapper going through the hip-hop gauntlet. After Eminem became an international superstar, the battle rap evolved. Leagues sprouted up, like Canada's King of the Dot, New York City's URL TV and Los Angeles' Grindtime. Instead of spitting improvised rhymes for a minute on a beat, they spat pre-written verses in a spoken-word style, acapella, and they got to time to flex, with multiple rounds lasting 3-5 minutes.
Eminem hasn't lost his passion for battle rap. In 2014, he collaborated with the supergroup Slaughterhouse to launch Total Slaughter, a pay-per-view event and online reality show. This year he captured the world's attention by getting into a vicious - and very entertaining - battle on wax with fellow tattooed white rapper Machine Gun Kelly. He also joined the production team of Bodied, a new comedy that satirizes the current battle rap scene and today's constantly outraged PC culture.
In Bodied, a progressive graduate student researches battle rap for his thesis, and develops a surprising passion for it. The official synopsis reads, "Words are weapons in the world's most brutal lyrical sport. Produced by Eminem and directed by world-renowned music video director Joseph Khan, Bodied is a go-for-the-jugular, hilarious look inside the competitive world of rap battles." The film is written Alex Larsen, who battle-rapped under the name Kid Twist.
Today the film hits theaters, and Eminem bought out an entire cinema in Detroit so fans can watch his movie for free. Tickets were limited to one person each, and apparently they're already gone, because I don't see the post on Shady's Instagram page anymore. But there is another post promoting the movie, directing IG users to Eminem's bio for information on tickets.
You might be wondering, what exactly did Marshall do to produce this movie? Frank Barwah, a co-executive produced told The Daily Mail the rapper is is "one of the hardest working people I have ever met. He is very serious and is always thinking, he is so focused. There is nothing crazy about this guy at all... He has incredible ideas, things most people would not think of, he's very creative. On Bodied he was very involved. He helped with casting, with the music selection. He would come to set all the time. "
Bodied currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88%. Eminem, feel free to send me a ticket when you get a chance. I'd also take a free meal from your restaurant, Mom's Spaghetti.
