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thrILL!
Joined: 28 Feb 2007
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
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 Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 3:53 am Post subject: |
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The Lost Art Of The Hip Hop Movie Soundtrack pt 1
Long before the introduction of iTunes or torrent sites where many get their music nowadays, movie soundtracks (especially those considered "urban" for lack of a better term) were key sources for all new bonus tracks by established hip hop artists as well as a jumpoff spot for new artists. If there was a movie coming out that catered to the hip hop crowd, there was going to be a soundtrack to rival (or sometimes outdo) it. Soundtracks are still important parts of the film itself, but as a separate album it has become virtually obsolete. It's a sad shame too but it is what it is. Over 4 parts, I'm going to give you the highlights of several movie soundtracks (including links to the soundtracks themselves) as well as personalized thoughts on the songs.
It should go without saying, but if you haven't seen these films you definitely need to at some point.
The Boyz n the Hood soundtrack was released on July 9, 1991
| Quote: | | Boyz N The Hood was the not the first, but arguably was the biggest stage where the classic hip hop film met the hip hop soundtrack. Laced with mostly West Coast artists, the soundtrack caught the perfect atmosphere for the beloved film and cult classic. The movie launched the movie careers of Ice Cube and future Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. and was anchored by heavyweight Laurence Fishburne. |
Ice Cube - "How to Survive in South Central" - produced by Sir Jinx & Ice Cube
| Quote: | | A bangin' track by Sir Jinx gave Cube the perfect vehicle to take you on a trip around his way. Interspersed with a tour guide who at first gently shares with outside visitors what they will see and then pulls their card in an abrasive manner. Great jumpoff song to the soundtrack. |
Yo-Yo - "Mama Don't Take No Mess" - produced by DJ Pooh
| Quote: | | Arguably the most underrated female MC, Ice Cube's right hand woman Yo Yo gives the listener the woman's perspective of her neighborhood and pulls no punches over a dope beat by DJ Pooh. |
Compton's Most Wanted - "Growin' Up in the Hood" - produced by DJ Slip
| Quote: | | An absolutely grimy cut with that iconic CMW sound provided by DJ Slip, MC Eiht takes you on the darkest side of South Central and shows you just how crazy things can get growin' up in the hood. |
Main Source - "Just a Friendly Game of Baseball" (cassette version) - produced by Large Professor
| Quote: | | Other than Chubb Rock's guest verse on the Tevin Campbell song, Main Source is the sole contribution from an East Coast hip hop artist. Vintage Large Professor on the track and gives a colorful baseball metaphor on how 5-0 gets down on young black males. This is the cassette version of the song as the CD features a different beat. The CD version is solid but the cassette version's beat is so dope. |
Kam - "Every Single Weekend" - produced by DJ Pooh
| Quote: | | The former protege of Ice Cube brought an authentic street mentality to the soundtrack but Kam has always been an underrated MC on the mic. This was the song to play with the crew when everyone was kicking it... when else? The weekend. |
The Menace II Society soundtrack was released May 26, 1993.
| Quote: | | Menace II Society can be considered similar in genre to that of Boyz n the Hood, but the film is far superior in many aspects including being a more realistic take on South Central Los Angeles. Fantastic performances by new faces Tyrin Turner (as Caine), the scene-stealing Larenz Tate (as O-Dog), and launched the career of Jada Pinkett who looked so damn good in braids. The soundtrack featured artists from both coasts and was a huge hit going platinum the following year. |
MC Eiht - "Streiht Up Menace" - produced by DJ Slip
| Quote: | | CMW's lead MC MC Eiht had his biggest hit with "Streiht Up Menace" which gave us a sobering perspective on the harsh realities of living the "young G's perspective." |
Brand Nubian - "Lick Dem Muthaphuckas" - produced by Brand Nubian
| Quote: | | Distinctly purveying a far cry from their Five-Percenter rhetoric, Brand Nubian returned to the scene minus Grand Puba (who left the group over creative differences) and a much darker and rougher sound. This track was a clear example that Brand Nubian was not to be trifled with. |
Boogie Down Productions - “P Is Still Free” - produced by DJ Premier
| Quote: | | KRS-1 and DJ Premier teamed up for this banger about the hustle of young tricks feenin' for that crack rock. This was one of 5 collaborations between the two hip hop legends that would appear on KRS-1's solo debut Return of the Boom Bap |
Hi-Five - "Unconditional Love" - produced by Art & Rhythm
| Quote: | | One of the staples of hip hop soundtracks soon included the R&B slow jam and this remains one of the best. Hi-Five made a few excellent albums but faced a variety of problems including a severe car accident as well as a member's incarceration. Lead singer Tony Thompson went on to release a solo album but later died of a drug overdose. |
Da Lench Mob - "Guerillas Ain´t Gangstas" - produced by QDIII
| Quote: | | I never was the biggest fan of Ice Cube's proteges Da Lench Mob and they became irrelevant after their best rapper J-Dee went to prison for life after being convicted of murder. This beat by QDIII (Quincy Jones' son) is slammin' and that's why I included it. |
The Juice soundtrack was released on December 31, 1991.
| Quote: | | Juice was the story of 4 HS friends in Harlem, NY whose mischievous way to lead to a dangerous robbery and an ultimate betrayal by own of their own. Omar Epps played Q who was an aspiring DJ who participated in a DJ event which featured several of the songs on the soundtrack. Juice's most talked about character of course is Bishop played impressively by a young Tupac Shakur. You may have heard of him. |
Naughty by Nature - "Uptown Anthem" - produced by Kay Gee
| Quote: | My favorite Naughty By Nature song of all time features Kay Gee's trademark piano samples. A fresh lead-in quickly becomes an in your face banger where Treach (who just might be the most underrated MC ever- a conversation for another time) rips your ears apart with his wordplay. The first song on the soundtrack sets the stage for the perfect complement to the film. The video features a cameo by 2pac who along with Treach made his acting debut in the film.
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Eric B & Rakim - "Juice (Know the Ledge)" - produced by Rakim
| Quote: | The film's theme song was also the first single from the soundtrack. Rakim sampled Nat Adderley's "Rise, Sally Rise" for the aggressive track where Rakim shares a first-person narrative of a neighborhood drug dealer who is forced to come to grips with his violent and reckless lifestyle.
| Rakim wrote: | | They let me go up in a little room and see the movie. It was funny I was living in Manhattan downtown on 19th street. So when I got to the crib, me and wifey, she knew I was zoning in the cab. When I got to the crib I had my studio in a little room. I went straight up into the room and found the sample. The bass line. I took the bass line and put the regular drum sample underneath that [inappropriate/removed]. Half an hour later I had the lights off because I was in there zoning. Wifey came in I was like turn the lights off and close the door back. About an hour later I came out of there with three verses man. It was crazy. |
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Big Daddy Kane - "Nuff Respect" - produced by The Bomb Squad
| Quote: | | Big Daddy Kane is unequivocally one of the top greatest MC's of all time IMO and was the first to perfect the multisyllabic wordplay that we now see from MC's like Jay-Z and Eminem. Following a substandard album in Prince of Darkness, Kane began his return to form in the kinetic attack both verbally and sonically in "Nuff Respect." This would lead to one of his best albums Looks Like A Job For... (link included). |
EPMD - "It's Going Down" - produced by EPMD
| Quote: | | One of my all time favorite EPMD tracks. Slow tempo but a straight anvil dropped off a NY skyscraper onto your dome. E-Double and PMD add some swarming drums to a sample of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" and just kick the ballistics for the listener's pleasure. |
Cypress Hill - "Shoot 'Em Up" - produced by DJ Muggs
| Quote: | | One of a handful of West Coast artists on the soundtrack, Cypress Hill brings you their vintage style of getting caught up. DJ Muggs laced a gem for B-Real (and his lackluster co-d Sen Dog) to spit over and add some of that Los Angeles sound to the film's ambiance. |
Aaron Hall - "Don't Be Afraid" - produced by The Bomb Squad
| Quote: | | Aaron Hall. Man, I could do an entire post on this guy. How's that for a play on words? Aaron and his brother Damion were in the very popular and successful R&B group [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_(band)]Guy[/url] with super-producer Teddy Riley. Aaron Hall went solo and this was his first track featuring a thumpin' track by Hank Shocklee of the Bomb Squad well known for producing Public Enemy and Bell Biv Devoe. I'm not really sure what happened to Hall initially as it took a long time for his solo album to come out and by that time a young upstart had essentially jacked Hall's sound and look. This young upstart's name? R. Kelly. |
Hopefully, these 3 soundtracks will tide you over until I post part 2. Also, I'm sure you will find other songs on these soundtracks very enjoyable but I did not have the time to break them all down. Enjoy.
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Last edited by thrILL! on Thu Oct 27, 2011 1:35 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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BayArea07
Joined: 25 Feb 2007
Posts: 23272
Location: 8*3*1
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 4:42 am Post subject: |
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No love for the Above The Rim soundtrack? Pour Out A Little Liquor and Pain are 2 of my favorite Pac tracks.
EDIT: Just saw that you're going to break it down into 4 parts. My bad.
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BayArea07
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 5:08 am Post subject: |
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Great thread BTW. It's nice seeing seeing some of these songs and artists refreshed in my mind again. I began to forget about how much I used to love underground, and classic hip hop. So real, creative, and pure. Wish it didn't take me this thread to reminisce on what was once a big part of my life. I'm going to upload a lot of my old albums to my Mac because of this thread. People Under the Stairs, Tribe Called Quest, Little Brother, Murs, Nujabes, Pete Rock, J Dilla, Common, Heiro... ahhh. Peace to my ears. Keep up the good work.
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IrishGreen
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
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Location: Wisconsin
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 7:29 am Post subject: |
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Love it! Juice is one of my favorite movies.
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S. Taylor
Joined: 20 Mar 2005
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Location: Where my AMBITION takes me...
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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The soundtrack to Jason's Lyric was really good. This thread just reminded me of how good soundtracks used to be...
I love the soundtracks posted, thus far...
Menace II Society made me an MC Eiht fan.
His role, and the music he contributed...
Great thread, homies!
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You can see the truth a whole lot better with the lights on... |
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thrILL!
Joined: 28 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 1:26 pm Post subject: |
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| S. Taylor wrote: | | The soundtrack to Jason's Lyric was really good. This thread just reminded me of how good soundtracks used to be... |
Esp for the R&B tracks. BMU's "U Will Know" still gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. HBO has been playing the film lately and I watched it about a month ago for the first time in years. Great flick.
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Calibucsfan
Joined: 05 Sep 2011
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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damn all those movie take me back to elementary school days(thats when i first saw them)
and so does comptons most wanted....i really have not heard growing up in the hood since 4th grade or so...this is trippy lol
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He Hate Me
Joined: 02 Apr 2006
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Location: Unconquered Territory
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 12:24 pm Post subject: |
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I listen to Straight Up Menace at least once a month. It seems to always come up on my "gangsta" playlist in itunes.
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thrILL!
Joined: 28 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:36 pm Post subject: |
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Thought this deserved to be posted here in case it got missed in the Hip Hop/R&B thread...
Any fans of Dilla need to peep this before it's gone.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016g2c2
| Quote: | It's a name you might not recognise - but you'll certainly know his music... James Dewitt Yancey, Jay Dee or more commonly known as J Dilla, is one of hip hop’s most influential producers and artists, but his genius was cut short at 32 after battling the incurable blood disease, lupus.
As part of the Gone Too Soon series, Benji B presents this 1Xtra story celebrating the incredible music J Dilla created during his lifetime which includes tracks for Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes, Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, The Pharcyde and De La Soul to name but a few.
Through interviews with Plug 2 from De La Soul, Mos Def, Questlove from The Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, J.Rocc, Slum Village members T3 and Wajeed, his brother Illa J and his incredible mum, Ma Dukes, we learn about how he made those beats, what he was like as a person and the legacy he left behind. |
If anybody rips this audio before it's taken down, PM me and please send that joint my way.
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Cheesehead430
Joined: 29 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:50 pm Post subject: |
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| thrILL! wrote: | Thought this deserved to be posted here in case it got missed in the Hip Hop/R&B thread...
Any fans of Dilla need to peep this before it's gone.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016g2c2
| Quote: | It's a name you might not recognise - but you'll certainly know his music... James Dewitt Yancey, Jay Dee or more commonly known as J Dilla, is one of hip hop’s most influential producers and artists, but his genius was cut short at 32 after battling the incurable blood disease, lupus.
As part of the Gone Too Soon series, Benji B presents this 1Xtra story celebrating the incredible music J Dilla created during his lifetime which includes tracks for Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes, Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, The Pharcyde and De La Soul to name but a few.
Through interviews with Plug 2 from De La Soul, Mos Def, Questlove from The Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, J.Rocc, Slum Village members T3 and Wajeed, his brother Illa J and his incredible mum, Ma Dukes, we learn about how he made those beats, what he was like as a person and the legacy he left behind. |
If anybody rips this audio before it's taken down, PM me and please send that joint my way. |
Rip. Gone way to soon.
Lol, I was just listening to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOcLLeWKC7o
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thrILL!
Joined: 28 Feb 2007
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Cheesehead430
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| Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 12:12 am Post subject: |
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| thrILL! wrote: | I know there are a lot of Murs fans on here but what you know about his first and IMO his best album?
http://www.mediafire.com/?fnnzmmyiqmj
"4 tha Record" is still FiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiRE!!!!!!!!! |
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thrILL!
Joined: 28 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 12:22 am Post subject: |
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True story that my homie from Carson used to get these tapes from DJ Babu and he would dub them and send them out to me. F'real was actually originally a blue tape and was called 3:16 years before Murs even met 9th. I really like 3:16 the 9th edition but nothing is better than that early raw Living Legends sound IMO.
I met Murs in Cleveland when Living Legends were opening for Hiero when they were touring to support Third Eye Vision. I kicked it with all those dudes. Del and I talked about video games for like 15 minutes and then a few of us went up the street to Buffalo Wild Wings (called BW-3 back then) with Murs and Eligh. Grouch was all impressed I not only knew who he was but knew his music. Fantastic show all around.
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Willink
Joined: 26 Nov 2007
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Calibucsfan
Joined: 05 Sep 2011
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| Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 5:57 pm Post subject: |
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Murs is dope. Loved listening to him over the years.
3:16 is my favorite album by him, I met him last year at Paid Dues hip hop festival, he got off the stage after his performance and chilled by the booths that sold T-shirts and stuff, he is a super cool, down to earth dude.
My favorite song by him is tiebraker between the 2 of
LA(BANGER)
Silly Girl
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| Cheesehead430 wrote: | | Mac Miller and Eminem are popular for the same reason |
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