Taylor Swift’s go-to music video director- the creative force behind Bad Blood, Look What You Made Me Do, and Blank Space, among others- reunites with a past artist to bring the story of Bodied to the increasingly popular small screen format of YouTube Premiere.

Joseph Kahn, whose videos have racked up billions (yes, billions) of views in the last four years alone, continues to do what he does best by working once again with Eminem aka Slim Shady aka Marshall Mathers who acts as producer on this indie feature. The duo, who first collaborated on Eminem’s 2002 hit Without Me, bring the fire to Bodied, an entertaining and introspective look at the underground rap battle scene, which also poses as a cultural celebration of this game and its inventive players.

With the ability to effortlessly drop rhymes like bombs in a war zone, Adam (Calum Worthy) has a secret skill that, on the surface, goes against his seemingly predetermined, white boy privilege. As a student at UC Berkley, Adam’s love for the sport of battle rapping is the focus of his thesis paper, and he uses the opportunity to immerse himself in the local Oakland scene. One night, an encounter with his rapper idol, Behn Grymm (Jackie Long), forces Adam out of his comfort zone of passive spectator to amateur rapper, standing front and center with the big boys.

Much to the dismay of his neurotic, vegan girlfriend, literary critic father, and other affluent Berkley students who consider the dissection of what makes someone racist an acceptable form of dinner party conversation, Adam continues to excel and move up in the rankings of the rap scene. His raps, while incorporating the common tropes of violence and misogyny, remain very self-aware aware. Adam’s privileged white perspective isn’t lost on himself and is the subject of many self-deprecating and hilarious insults. Success was never the goal, but now that Adam finds himself matched against some of the biggest players in the game, he begins to question whether or not the strained relationships that have developed, as a result of his obsession with battling, are worth it in the end.

Like a male-centered counterpart to the Sundance-championed independent film Roxanne, Roxanne, Bodied is an equally engaging and all-encompassing hype film that will have you in awe of these divisive lyrical masterpieces. The film shows the depth and extreme talent one must have in order to engage in a battle, and those who are the most skilled make the spitting of insults look easy. With Adam as its white male protagonist, Bodied makes it a point to call out that his interest and acceleration is not an appropriation of black culture, rather an admiration of the poetic mastery of the written word that is on par with Nobel Peace Prize winners.

There’s no doubt that Eminem brings his years of experience as a rapper to the film, even going so far as to poke fun at himself (which, in all fairness, is equally balanced out with abundant praise). “Eminem is the greatest battle rapper of all time”, says Adam, in admiration of his ability to transcend race as a rapper, and even going as far as to call him the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all Time). Watching Bodied changed my perspective on the role of the battle rapper, and while wrapped up as lighthearted fare with a provocative edge, Bodied is fully fun and entertaining film that may just change your perspective too. 

‘Bodied’ is rated R for strong language and sexual content throughout, some drug use and brief nudity. 120 minutes. Now streaming on YouTube Premiere.