Eminem is hailed as one of the greatest rap writers, but now that he’s dabbling in film production, he’s sticking to one of the most sacred rules of the craft: Write what you know. He may not have been the actual writer for his upcoming battle rap flick, but the subject is firmly in his wheelhouse.
Directed by music video director Joseph Khan, Bodied will debut next month at the Toronto International Film Festival, complete with a battle rap to promote the event. The film is a satire featuring a graduate student who eventually becomes obsessed with battle rap, the subject of his thesis. Battle rap has risen from an underground, street-honed form of musical competition to an internationally-televised, mainstream “sport,” so it’s no surprise that some of its biggest names would be tapped in support of the premiere of a film built on the premise of trading intricately-rhymed insults.
Veteran battlers Kid Twist and Madness will reprise their 2009 Grind Time Battle Of The Bay 5 match, which you can watch below. Twist is also the head screenwriter of Bodied, as well as a former King Of The Dot battle rap champion, wile Madness is one of the many professional battle rappers who appears in the film. The battle will take place on King Street, between Peter Street and University Avenue. Other notable performers to appear in Bodied include Loaded Lux, Dizaster, Dumbfoundead, and Hollow Da Don. Bodied premieres September 8.
