Mobb Deep legend Havoc alongside Nas, is one of the most respected Queensbridge MCs of all time. As a lyricist and actor, Havoc has created some of the most exceptional music and film. However, in a recent interview, the emcee revealed that his material in the 2002 Eminem movie 8 Mile earned him so much money it is still lining his pockets today.
Released in 2002, 8 Mile was a semi-autobiographical film starring and produced by Eminem. The Detroit musician (real name Marshall Mathers) played the lead role of Jimmy Smith, a young man striving to make it as a mainstream rapper. The film followed Smith as he continuously failed to launch take-off in hip-hop as a white rapper.
Directed by Curtis Hanson, the film features both music and cameos from a range of hip-hop icons from 50 Cent to Dr Dre. However, the 1995 Mobb Deep track Shook Ones (Part II) featured heavily in the motion picture and, as such saw an influx of cash for the artist (real name Kejuan Muchita).
One of Eminem’s freestyles as the character B-Rabbit in the film sees him flow over the ‘Shook Ones’ instrumental which took Muchita by surprise. Speaking with HipHopDX about the scene, Havoc recalled, “I was really taken back because I didn’t even know if Eminem was a fan. So to hear that, I found out he was a fan and then the cha-ching sound went off in my head. It bought this Fendi sweater.”
Havoc not only rapped on the original but produced it. Revealing it was his late crewmate Prodigy who noticed the track’s brilliance, Havoc unveiled, “I mean Prodigy definitely knew that because I made the beat in my crib in the projects or whatever. I didn’t think too much of it. Prodigy came upstairs and said: ‘What the hell is this?’ I said, ‘whatever,’ and he said, ‘No’ and then we made ‘Shook Ones.’”
The ominous beat was first used for a film by Eminem but has also appeared in the Marvel TV show Luke Cage as well as in video games like Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and NBA 2k13 and 2k18. The cash flow sparked by Em’s use of ‘Shook Ones (Part II) was so great Havoc bashfully admitted, “It’s still paying my bills today.”
You can watch the interview with Muchits below.
