The film is an account of a young white rapper named Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem) living in inner city Detroit, Michigan set in 1995, and his attempt to launch a rap career in an industry dominated by African Americans.
The film was a critical and financial success. Eminem won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Lose Yourself".
The film begins at the club, The Shelter, with protagonist Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith, Jr. (Eminem) at a local rap battle emceed by his friend David "Future" Porter (Mekhi Phifer). A nervous Rabbit "chokes" at the mic and leaves the club and his friends.
Rabbit is struggling with different aspects of his life. He has moved back north of 8 Mile to the rundown trailer home of his alcoholic mother Stephanie (Kim Basinger), his sister Lily (Chloe Greenfield), and his mother's abusive live-in boyfriend Greg (Michael Shannon). Rabbit is focused on getting his music career started, but he seems unable to catch a break. Just prior to the events of the film, he ends a relationship with his girlfriend Janeane (Taryn Manning), and during the film, he begins a new relationship with Alex (Brittany Murphy) although their relationship quickly unravels.
With his onstage choke still fresh in his mind, he appears to decide that he will give up on or postpone his dream of a music career in favor of devoting more time to his day job and building a home life. Rabbit's newfound responsibility becomes evident to his supervisor at the factory as well. At the beginning of the film, when Rabbit requests extra shifts, his supervisor laughs at him since he's usually late to work, but by the end of the film, his improved attitude and performance earn him the extra work he had wanted. However, a late night shift conflicts with the next battle tournament. Rabbit initially doesn't want to go, but a visit from Alex changes his mind.
The tournament has three rounds, and in each of them Rabbit faces a member of the "Leaders of the Free World", the group that feuds with Rabbit and his friends throughout the film. Rabbit wins both of the first two rounds with progressively more impressive freestyle raps. In the last round, he is paired against Papa Doc (Anthony Mackie), the tournament's most feared battler and Jimmy's main antagonist throughout the film. Rabbit is aware that Doc knows all his weak points so he decides to address them preemptively when he is the first one to rap. Rabbit acknowledges without shame his impoverished roots and the various humiliations the Free World gang have inflicted on him and his friends, and then uses the difficult life he's had as a springboard to reveal the truth about Papa Doc. Doc ends up choking when it's his turn to rap, and Rabbit wins the tournament.
As Rabbit leaves the venue, Future suggests that he stay and celebrate his victory while also offering a position that would allow him to host battles at the shelter. Rabbit turns him down, claiming he has to get back to work and do everything his own way. The final shot shows Rabbit walking away from The Shelter club, appearing more confident about his future than he was at the start of the film.
