Decent, but too ambitious for its own good

This is one of those rap soundtracks that's trying to appeal to everybody. Priority Records recruited a large number of rappers from various coasts (East, West, South, Midwest), ranging from unknowns like Soldier B and Napalm to multi-Platinum pop artists like Nelly and P. Diddy. Unfortunately, trying to please everybody is a difficult task. This soundtrack ALMOST pulls it off, but not quite.

For me personally, the best songs were those that were included for the more hardcore rap audience (since that's the kind of stuff I like). The first song heard is an anti-police brutality anthem called "Wolves" that features Krumbsnatcha and M.O.P. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album; the distinctive jungle-sounding beat is pounding, and M.O.P.'s Billy Danze and Lil Fame spit hot fire as usual. Tracks by respected hardcore veterans, such as GangStarr's "Tha Squeeze" and Cypress Hill's "Greed", are also satisfying and enjoyable street-bangers. Pharoahe Monch's "F*** You" recycles the crooked cop theme from his older song "What Is The Law?", but I like this track better: His self-produced guitar-riff beat is sweet, and his sarcastic lyricism ("Psychologically, the guns you use will define you") is more on-point. I was also pretty impressed by the "Golden State" collaboration of Ras Kass, Xzibit and Saafir, all of whom are among rap's top lyricists, and they come off nicely here.

The tracks by some of the more mainstream rappers weren't quite as impressive. Dr. Dre and DJ Quik (two of the West Coast's most respected producers/rappers) do a decent collaboration with "Put It On Me", but I found that singer on the chorus (Mimi) to be rather annoying and I wish they'd just left her off. Then there's Nelly's "#1", which I'm sure most people remember because it was all over the radio back in 2001. I've never really been a fan of Nelly (and probably never will), but I can definitely appreciate his flow, and he actually has some pretty funny lines on this track ("Baby name not Sigel but I speak +The Truth+"). And then there's the much weaker "American Dream" by P. Diddy. This track was most frustrating because it contains one of the few beats P. Diddy's ever done that I really liked (a nice electronic groove), but then he went and ruined it by lacing the track with his crappy lyrics. Hopefully, he'll reuse this beat someday for somebody on his label who can actually rap (like Black Rob).

Unfortunately, most of the other material on this album ranges from "aiight" to downright mediocre. C-Murder and Trick Daddy have remade N.W.A.'s "F*** Tha Police" into "Watch The Police"; the title ALONE is a good indication of just how much they watered it down. The remade beat is decent enough, but they shouldn't have watered down the lyrics to sound less controversial; if you want to hear a good remake of this song, listen to the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony version. Clipse's "Guns N' Roses" is a passable track that's trying too hard to build on the raw style for which they're best known...and it succeeds in coming off only as average. And then there's the LOX's terrible "Dirty Ryders" and Roscoe's "In My Hood", both of which are boring and completely uselss throwaway tracks. Finally, there are some other throwaway tracks by a bunch of completely unknown rappers - "Protect Your Head" by Soldier B, "Crooked Cop" by Napalm, and "Let Us Go" by King Jacob. Soldier B's song was the only one I didn't mind - the other two are basically worth skipping over completely.

Overall, the strength of songs like M.O.P.'s "Wolves" and Nelly's "#1" will probably make this soundtrack worthwhile for most rap fans. Howevever, with so many different tracks by so many different types of rappers, and about half being only OK at best, this soundtrack risks dissapointing the same wide audience it's meant to appeal to. Frankly, I'd rather have given this soundtrack 2.5 stars (instead of 3, which is all that Amazon will let me give it), because it's about half-good and half-bad. Recommended mostly for hardcore rap fans looking to find some good street tracks.

Also, a note to the Australian guy whose review is below mine: The song heard in the Impala is that M.O.P./Krumbsnatcha song called "Wolves", and despite what you said, it IS on the soundtrack. I'm not sure how you could have missed it, since it's the second track on the album.

Great Soundtrack

This is one of the best rap soundtracks I've ever heard. It features rappers from the east, south, and west some known and some not known. All the songs except one or two are tight. You can listen all the way through without disappointment (except #14). Buy It, you'll be pleased.



#2 - 9 (Krumbsnatcha & M.O.P.)

#3 - 9.5 (Xzibit f/ Ras Kass & saafir)

#4 - 9 (DJ Quik & dr. Dre f/ mimi -- also on Quik's 2002 "Under the Influence")

#5 - 9 (Nelly - good song and I don't really like him to much -he's talkin' about KRS-One but never says his name)

#6 - 9.5 (Pharaohe Monch - song goes along w/ the movie)

#7 - 8 (C-Murder f/ trick Daddy)

#8 - 9.5 (Sheek & Styles w/ jadakiss on the hook {LOX})

#9 - 9 (the unknown - Napalm)

#10 - 7.5 (Puff Daddy, Mark Curry, Kain, Big Azz Ko, David Bowie)

#11 - 8 (Cypress Hill f/ Kokane)

#12 - 10 (classic from Clipse {Pusha T & Malice})

#13 - 9 (gangstarr)

#14 - 5 (worst song on cd --- Professor & King Jacob)

#15 - 9.5 (roscoe - Kurupt's lil bro)

#16 - 9 (the unknown - Soldier B)



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This cd is awsome

Yo Bob from St. Louis MO says: "I'm getting tired of all these hate crimes in rap..." [...] I love rap and I think that people choose what to listen to. Rappers are allowed to express their views. [...]