8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture

8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture is the official soundtrack album to the 2002 film of the same name. The album, performed by various artists, was released by Universal Pictures' then subsidiary Universal Music, through Interscope and 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 documentary with a soundtrack produced by Eminem, 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, 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 sextuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album featured the universal number-one hit "Lose Yourself", which won the Oscar for Best Original Song. In 2024, the soundtrack was included in Rolling Stone's list of the 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time.

Singles

• "Lose Yourself" was released as the soundtrack's lead single on October 28, 2002.
• "Wanksta" was released as the soundtrack's second single on "12 on November 5.
• "8 Mile" was released as a promotional single on December 15.
• "Rap Name" by Obie Trice was released as a single on "12 on October 22, 2002 and was included on the album's special edition bonus CD.

Critical reception

8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on 20 reviews.

Eminem received 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.

In 2024, the soundtrack was included in Rolling Stone's list of the 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 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 number one on the Canadian Albums Chart with sales of 45,000 copies. It also reached number one on the UK Compilations Chart Australian ARIAnet Albums Chart.

Track listing

8 Mile

More Music from 8 Mile

Notes

• ^[a] signifies an additional producer
• ^[b] signifies a co-producer

Other songs

• These songs did appear in the film but were not released on any soundtrack:

1. "Last Dayz" by Onyx
2. "Time's Up" by O.C.
3. "Unbelievable" by The Notorious B.I.G.
4. "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
5. "Insane in the Brain" by Cypress Hill
6. "This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan
7. "Gang Stories" by South Central Cartel
8. "Who Shot Ya?" by The Notorious B.I.G.
9. "Temptations" by 2Pac
10. "Next Level (Nyte Time Mix)" by Showbiz and A.G.
11. "Player's Anthem" by Junior M.A.F.I.A.
12. "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" by Wu-Tang Clan

Charts

Notes:

• A^ In the UK, compilation albums were excluded from the main album chart from January 1989. 8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture was classified as a compilation album for chart purposes and peaked at #1 on the compilations chart, not the main albums chart.

Certifications and sales