82: Gang Starr - Battle

"I'm just a little bit older, plus a whole lot wiser, I might advise ya, or I might pulverise ya"

A choice that, most likely, falls totally under your personal radar, 'Battle' was track 15 on the biggest selling film soundtrack of the decade, the quadruple-platinum selling '8 Mile O.S.T'. Of course, it's mostly remembered for Em's chart-topper, 'Lose Yourself', but also featured some huge tunes by the likes of Xzibit, 50 Cent, Nas and Macy Gray. I'd rank it in my top 5 film soundtracks of all time* (even though some of the soundtrack was merely "inspired by" the film).

Gang Starr blew them all out of the water though. The smooth, funky jazz beats laid down by DJ Premier gave MC Guru an amazing base to work from, and he made the most of it. The subject matter of the song is the DJ battle, and specifically, of the beating doled out to other rappers by Guru at such battles. Guru has a remarkable flow and ability, sounding like a more alert Snoop Dogg.



* If you're wondering, the others would be 'Blade 2', 'Pi', 'The Wicker Man', and 'Juno'. Sorry, 'Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels O.S.T' - you gave me lots of good times and now I've betrayed you.