During the heated discussion about rap battle movies, Math Hoffa and Ms. Fit tried to catch Eminem attention and persuade him to make another contribution to the culture.
Interestingly, the only movies in question are “8 Mile” and “Bodied”, both firmly attached to Eminem. While “Bodied” represented many more real battle rappers than “8 Mile”, it did not leave the same mark on the culture and outside of it. Maybe because being a satire and did not touch the heartstrings of the general public to which it catered.
Math Hoffa and Ms. Fit are examples of that – they looked at “Bodied” as a chance to represent the battle rap scene and could not recognise it or believe the story.
So now they shout out to Eminem and put themselves forward as people whose stories can capture public attention and who can also act and deliver them to a big screen. They also believe that the battle rap fanbase is strong enough and should be the primary audience. The time of making adjustments to cater for the wider public is over, believes the host of My Expert Opinion.
It is true that Eminem was involved in the two most prominent attempts to open the battle rap culture to the world. However, he did not have much creative control over any of them. Yes, the “8 Mile” plot was loosely based on Em’s story, but he was not involved in writing or producing the movie. He acted brilliantly and wrote music that won the first Oscar for hip hop. With “Bodied” again, he had no influence over a story that was already written when he picked up the project, mainly to support it with the weight of his reputation. He is credited as a producer on “Bodied” – together with other 22 people who have production credits on the movie. Marshall stepped in as an executive producer to the “Total Slaughter” show, but as we know, it did not fly high. Partly, “Total Slaughter” creators believe because battle rappers were apprehensive about exploiting and commercialising the culture.
Math Hoffa believes that it is time. Will Eminem be willing to take complete control of something that can bring the battle rap world to the masses, or will he prefer to focus on what he loves the most — making music?
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