Artists appreciating one another is nothing new, and it can be extremely refreshing when they find the space to talk about exactly what inspires them. This can ring especially true when the choices are unexpected or in-depth.
When Funkmaster Flex was asked about his favourite moment from legendary rapper Eminem, he actually took a bit of a left turn, as his favourite moment has to do with the film 8 Mile and his love of the movie in general.
When speaking on it more specifically, here’s what he had to say, “To be honest, I really enjoyed the movie 8 Mile. You know why? Because he was OK with not being the cool kid. How many rappers or people you see in movies that would be OK with that? He was like ‘OK, I’m going to get punched in my face here.’ He was OK with that.”
He continued, “How many rappers have you seen in movies who just play the image that they are? Maybe Will Smith, no disrespect to him, but he was always an entertaining, non-hardcore rapper.” And that, for other reasons, was a comment that aged with relatively comedic timing.
Speaking further on the film, he said, “For me, when I watched that movie for the first time, I’m sure some of it was true, some of it wasn’t, but to be OK with all that [was dope]. Remember, that was before the Internet was crazy popping. He was OK with showing that.”
He continues, “I thought it was cool. It’s cooler to me now than when I was watching it because now I go, ‘Damn, a lot of other rappers didn’t do that.’ You remember 50 Cent’s movie right? You know and I love 50, but I don’t think 50 would’ve put himself in that type of a position. Would he? I think Em’s movie would’ve been just as successful either way, but I like that he did that. I look at it now in 2014, I like it even more now because a lot of artists didn’t do that.”
Even though he spoke to this in 2014, it’s clear that these are sentiments made to last, and the respect is one that clearly goes beyond the superficial. 8 Mile is a highly celebrated film, and Eminem is the presence who makes it that way. It’s exactly like Flex said—he put all of himself into it, and it shows.
