![]() In October 2002, the last thing Eminem needed was a hit he already had plenty of those. Brad CallasĪlbum: 8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture 1 album, The Massacre, which hit shelves in March of that year. He hadn’t lost his hunger, which he made apparent on the soundtrack for the loose biopic, Get Rich or Die Tryin'. While “Window Shopper” was, and still is, the most popular track on the project, opening cut “Hustler’s Ambition” doubles as the unofficial theme song for 50’s rags-to-riches story. ![]() After signing a million-dollar record deal, he scored the biggest opening-week hip-hop debut of all time with his first proper studio album, 2003’s Get Rich or Die Tryin'.īy the end of 2005, though, Fiddy was coming off his second straight No. One tape landed in the hands of the biggest rapper alive, Eminem, who invited him to come to Los Angeles and meet Dr. He recorded song after song after song in a Queens basement and got hot on the mixtape circuit. Think Eminem’s iconic “Lose Yourself.”Ĭue up the theme music to Rocky, and let’s get to it.Īlbum: Get Rich or Die Tryin': Music from and Inspired by the Motion Pictureĥ0 Cent’s come-up was mythical: After getting shot nine times outside of his grandmother’s home, he was dropped from Columbia and blacklisted from the industry. While not every rap song that inspires is necessarily an anthem, all anthems are inspirational, so it’s hardly surprising that our canon of all-time great motivational hip-hop songs is chock-full of them. There aren’t many musical experiences more beautiful than when a rapper waxes poetic over an earth-shattering beat-a core tenant of all anthems. ![]() An anthem is like a banger or slapper, in that it’s carried by the type of production that’ll have your group of friends throwing bows in the club like Disturbing the Peace circa 2000, only it doubles as gospel. Then there is the top tier of motivational rap songs, which is made up of tracks that embody qualities similar to the aforementioned group but share an unmistakable identity. Banger isn’t the word anthem, more like. Somewhere in the middle lies rags-to-riches classics (see “C.R.E.A.M,” “Juicy,” “Exhibit C”) that are inspirational largely because they tell tales of young men fighting their way out of poverty by any means necessary. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are uplifting hymns like “Keep Ya Head Up,” “Ultralight Beam,” and “Love Yourz,” which inspire by radiating hope and positivity. There are certain tracks -songs like “Dreams and Nightmares” and “Knuck If You Buck”- that are motivational to the extent that, if played at a specific volume with a particular group of individuals, can convince you to commit violence against another person. You just know one when it smacks you upside the head. You know the ones that get you hyped, and the ones that make you move. Through it all, Mill has established himself as a kind of throwback-a passionate ambassador of classic rap who pitched street stories with a feverish sense of drama: You knew he meant it not just because he said it, but because he yelled it.Every interpretation of music is subjective, and people are motivated by different things, so there is no single way to define a “motivational” hip-hop song . In 2018, it was discovered that Mill’s arresting officer might have mishandled the case, freeing Mill from jail and, potentially, bringing to a close a decade-long ordeal. Mill continued to release music throughout the 2010s, interrupted by stints in jail and house arrest, often for violating parole stemming from his initial 2007 arrest-a case that drew widespread interest from artists and activists, including an op-ed by JAY-Z in The New York Times. Sidelined by an arrest for gun and drug possession, and a seven-month prison sentence, Mill bounced back by signing to Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group in 2011 and dropping a couple of high-profile collaborations with his new label boss (“Ima Boss,” “Tupac Back”). ![]() Raised in North Philadelphia, Mill (born Robert Rihmeek Williams in 1987) got his start with local group The Bloodhoundz, honing his skills in the city's vicious battle scene and turning out a string of solo mixtapes that eventually caught the interest of T.I.’s label, Grand Hustle. Meek Mill’s the kind of rapper who treats life like a battle even when he’s winning-or, as he spun it on the intro to 2012’s Dreams and Nightmares, “I’m the type to count a million cash then grind like I’m broke.” It’s not that his themes-struggle, triumph, repeat-are new, but that he manages to make them personal, retaining the urgency of a street artist even while working the mainstream.
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