Movie Review – “Bullet” (1996)

Release Date: October 1, 1996

Production Company: New Line Cinema/Village Roadshow Pictures/Clipsal Films

When looking at Tupac’s filmography, I know people would often think of “Juice,” “Poetic Justice,” “Above the Rim,” and then you have two that came out after his death, “Gridlock’d” and “Gang Related.” However, there is one that not a lot of people know about and that is “Bullet.”

There is kind of an odd history regarding this film. I remember hearing about it sometime in the late-1990s or early-2000s. I had looked it up but I wasn’t sure if I got it mixed up with the 1996 action-comedy, “Bulletproof,” which starred Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler. I do, however, remember that it was listed on local TV listings for it to be shown on local channels in the after-hours like around 2 a.m. when no one is likely awake, or when shown on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. Some information had said that this was given a limited theatrical run. I could have sworn I may have seen a trailer or TV spot at some point. I will say that this was released not long after Tupac’s death, but this wasn’t like “Gridlock’d” and “Gang Related,” which were released in 1997, months after the fact.

Now I had seen this one before but it was quite a long time ago. I can’t pinpoint the precise timeframe, but I think it was around the end of the 2000s to maybe the turn of the decade into the early-2010s. I remember kind of enjoying it, but now that I had seen it again, while I maintain those feelings, I can appreciate the film for its rawness and grit, and believe me, it definitely has a realistic feel of New York’s criminal underworld that I almost felt like I was watching an episode of the 1990s police drama, “New York Undercover.”

The film’s plot involves the titular character, Butch “Bullet” Stein (Mickey Rourke) getting out of an eight-year stretch in prison and suddenly he and his friend rob a couple of rich guys for drugs. Right from the jump, he also assaults another criminal to send a message to local crime boss Tank (Tupac Shakur). Of course, Bullet comes home and sees his family again, whether it’s his parents who want their newly-released son to do something with his life, a shell-shocked Vietnam veteran older brother, and a younger brother who is an artist with ambitions but chooses to paint on walls and stuff rather than canvas.

Now the film really doesn’t hold back on the grittiness. I am not from New York, so I don’t know how true to life this film is, but it feels real with some racial tensions. This movie does not hold back on the use of racial slurs and homophobic slurs but it isn’t like racism and homophobia are key elements to the plot. Plus, it was still the 1990s when homophobia was still a little more socially acceptable, but if you really think about it, it was also to show realistic sides of the criminal underworld. Besides, it’s not like the major characters (save for one who had a crucial role) were good people. Having watched a featurette on the DVD, it was said that Bruce Rubenstein, one of the writers of the film, based some of the script on some of his life experiences. I later found out that Rourke also co-wrote the script but used an alias for his credit.

To add to the overall gritty feel, there was very little lighting in many scenes. Even in some scenes where it took place in a bar or nightclub, there was some lighting but not a lot. There was also a fight scene that felt more painful to watch than be as epic as seeing a fight scene in a martial arts movie or even an epic final battle in action movies nowadays. Here is what I mean:

But then you also have this scene where it kind of goes Hollywood with its slow motion effects and wide angle shots with the gunfire. I am amazed that this scene didn’t feature civilian casualties, yet a scene earlier in the film took place in a drug den where some addicts were shot.

However, this scene in the climax actually stood out because it showed a kind of realistic end to the titular character, as well as a different side that didn’t want to see his brother get killed. I mean when I first saw it, I wasn’t sure if Bullet would make it, but it was unexpected.

When I watched the featurette, the director said something about how the movie itself about that there is some good in some people. Really, Bullet was not a good person. You weren’t supposed to root for him at all. It was like Caine in “Menace II Society” who was a criminal who was raised on the streets and had little interest in changing his ways but there was also a character who was worse than he was that he seemed like a saint compared to him. Here, it seemed that Bullet didn’t want to see his brother get hurt.

Another thing that I should talk about is Tupac’s performance. It felt like Tank was a cross between Bishop and Birdie. Tank was as crazy and intimidating as Bishop but was also as powerful and established as Birdie. Not to say Birdie was not intimidating but he was a little more subdued than Bishop. Here, it was like a cross between the two characters. It also amazes me how given that this movie was filmed in 1994, which meant that Pac was only 23 at the time of filming, it’s heavily suggested that he was playing someone older than his actual age. Then again, it’s implied about Ted Levine’s character being a Vietnam vet when he was about 36 or 37 when this film was shot. He was probably supposed to be older. Of course, he did well in his role as someone who is shell-shocked and suffers from PTSD, as well as how the character talks.

Overall, I can see that this is a movie that is long forgotten. Yes, I know we are about three decades removed from this film’s release but even at that time or after that, like in the 2000s, I doubt people around me knew of its existence. While I do think it’s good for what it is, I don’t think it’s for everybody. It’s gritty, it’s raw, it’s realistic for the most part and that may turn off some viewers. If you can handle that, then I would recommend it.

3.75/5

Album Review: Christmas on Death Row

Year: 1996

Label: Death Row Records/Interscope Records

Track Listing:

1. Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto – Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Daz Dillinger, Bad Azz, and Tray Deee
2. Christmas Song – Danny Boy
3. I Wish – Tha Dogg Pound
4. Silver Bells – Michel’le
5. Peaceful Christmas – Danny Boy
6. Christmas in the Ghetto – O.F.T.B. (Operation From The Bottom)
7. Silent Night – B.G.O.T.I., 6 Feet Deep, and Guess
8. Be Thankful – Nate Dogg feat. Butch Cassidy
9. On This Glorious Day – 816
10. Frosty The Snowman – 6 Feet Deep
11. O Holy Night – B.G.O.T.I.
12. Party 4 Da Homies – Sean Barney Thomas feat. J-Flexx
13. White Christmas – Guess
14. This Christmas – Danny Boy
15. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – 6 Feet Deep
16. Christmas Everyday – Guess

It is now December and before I had started this blog, I had planned on doing a review on “Christmas on Death Row,” which was, as you would guess, a Christmas-themed album released by Death Row Records. Not just that, I just realized that today was the 20-year anniversary since its release, so what better way than to kick off this month than to review this album, especially on its anniversary?

Before I get into the album, let me just give some input on the deal regarding this album. Regarding the Death Row label, anybody who had listened to rap at any point in their lives would know what the contents of the music from this label consisted of, whether they involved drugs, violence, sex, misogyny, you get the picture. I will admit that when I was 10 years old, when I had heard about a Christmas album from Death Row coming out, I chuckled a bit. It just seemed a bit off because of what I was used to hearing from them, whether it was from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, etc. Hell, the album refreshed my memory about four or five years later when Death Row started re-releasing their albums and all the artworks had said “Digitally Remastered” on the cover. However, being that I was a teen then, I remember going on Amazon and looking at the listing and seeing a lot of negative feedback for this album. I was a naive kid then so I assumed that the album would suck. Then came when I reached my 20’s and the curiosity kicked in again.

I looked up the album again and finally listened to some samples and thought “Hey, maybe I would give this a shot.” I later bought it online and noticed that the copy that I got was the original 1996 release. Which I think was better considering how I liked on the “Parental Advisory” label, it had a red bow on top of it, unlike the 2001 re-release. Also, I will get to the part about the PA label.

Anyway, being that a lot of people would assume that this is a rap album that has people rapping about Christmas mixed in with violent content and other no-so-family friendly content, I decided that I would do the rap songs first before I go into anything else.

The song that kicked off this album was “Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto” from Snoop, Daz, Bad Azz, Nate Dogg, and Tray Deee. It is an interesting song considering how each guy talked about their experiences around Christmas time and as always, Nate Dogg (RIP) delivered a solid hook to the song. Plus, the song had a laid-back beat as it sampled “Do Your Thing” from the late Isaac Hayes. It’s a good song that was accompanied with an even better video. You just have to see it to believe it.

The thing that got me about “I Wish” from Tha Dogg Pound were the lyrics from Daz and Kurupt about how they wish they had love around the holidays. It was refreshing to hear them in a vulnerable state talking about how it was hard for them around the holidays. It had a good beat to go with it, produced by Daz, and also a chorus from a female singer, who I have trouble identifying.

And finally, in regards to the rap tracks of the album, we get to “Christmas in the Ghetto” from O.F.T.B.. I am mostly unfamiliar with these guys as I only know their songs from this album, the “Above The Rim” soundtrack, the “Gridlock’d” soundtrack, and the “Gang Related” soundtrack. I know that they had an album before signing with Death Row and later an album album on Death Row that was released way after the label’s heyday (When the label was seized by Wideawake and released a lot of their unreleased albums), both of which I may check out sometime down the line. Anyway, regarding this track, I have to give these guys credit for rapping about how Christmas was hard for them in the ghetto, but it really didn’t need the beat for the song as it was best suited for any other song. It’s one of my least favorite songs from the album, despite the lyrics and content, both of which also could have been better. Also, believe it or not, this song was the reason that this album was slapped with the Parental Advisory label. Yes, that is right, this song actually had profanity on there. Believe it or not, “Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto” and “I Wish” had no profanity in them at all. All three songs had minor drug references as they mentioned weed here and there, but that was about it, but the other songs were more appropriate to listen to around people.

That is about it for the rap tracks (Well, there is one other track with a rap verse that I will get to). What? You thought that this would be all rap? Well, that is not the case, because Death Row also had a lot of R&B acts on the label. That’s right, the majority of the album is R&B, which is not a bad thing. In fact, R&B works better for an album like this. First, I will touch on the original tracks before I touch on the traditional tracks.

“Peaceful Christmas” is one of three songs that Danny Boy had done for this album. This is actually a more original track as it isn’t one of those Christmas songs that you hear all the time during the holidays. In fact, some of the lyrics made reference to a few traditional Christmas songs. Danny Boy shined in this track with his soothing vocals, but regarding the beat of the song it gives off a rather dated feel. This album was released in the 1990’s, so it had a 90’s R&B feel. The beat reminded me a bit of “Pretty Brown Eyes” from Mint Condition. If you can look past that, the song is solid.

“Be Thankful,” on the other hand, is a very relaxing song to hear from Nate Dogg, along with Butch Cassidy, who provided additional vocals. Nate’s vocals didn’t come in until 30 seconds into the track as it started with an instrumental intro. The soulful vocals were strong with the two singers and the song’s message really stands out too. It had a nice soothing beat, too.

I was unsure if “On This Glorious Day” was a traditional track, but it seemed like it wasn’t as it had more of a holiday feel than it a religious feel from a more common song of the same name. This song was from 816, which I suppose was an R&B group on Tha Row at the time but never came out with anything new. The thing that I also must point out is that the intro to this song was also used in the intro bit for the video to “Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto.” Anyway, I have to say that this is actually a solid track. The beat and the lyrics can really get you in the mood for Christmas. It’s actually a standout, in my opinion.

However, the last of the original R&B tracks left a lot more to be desired with “Party 4 Da Homies” from Sean Barney Thomas. The beat was a little too fast-paced and a bit out of place, too. It was mostly a song about setting up a Christmas party with the guys and having a bunch of women over. J-Flexx provided the rap verse for this song, which was also a bit mixed in some areas, as in he rapped about partying in the majority and then at the end said to be thankful for what you have in life. I get that the final bit of the rap verse was to get people in the spirit, but it didn’t help. Also, the chorus was rather repetitive. This song was actually another one on here that I didn’t care for.

The rest of the album had covers of traditional Christmas songs. The main thing that I noticed is that a lot of them were done by the same artists. What I mean is that you had multiple songs by one artist, and other songs done by a group, and then it happened with another few.

“Silent Night” featured an ensemble of B.G.O.T.I. (Which stood for “Bad Girlz of The Industry), 6 Feet Deep, and Guess. I have no idea who 6 Feet Deep and Guess are, but I mostly know of B.G.O.T.I. from their contributions to the “Gridlock’d” and “Gang Related” soundtracks. That is about it. Anyway, this version actually had a gospel-like feel to it. I can’t complain about the vocals from the singers on this song, but I think it was a little too long. That was about it in terms of complaints. But it’s still good. Also, this song had a video to go with it.

As for the other covers, I wasn’t too big on 6 Feet Deep’s version “Frosty The Snowman” as it had the feel of a boy band covering it, but I’ll listen to it if it comes on. The same could be said about “White Christmas” from Guess, which feels dated now as it has that 90’s R&B feel. It had a unique spin on it, but it’s not too bad.

However, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from 6 Feet Deep was actually a pretty good song from them, but it did not need the interlude in the middle of the song with one of the singers talking about the group. So that docked a few points from the song.

Guess’s version of the Smokey Robinson song, “Christmas Everyday” actually surprised me a bit when I first heard it. It definitely has a more urbanized touch to it and the singers really did a good job in trying to do Robinson’s vocal style in it. I cannot complain about this one.

The other two Danny Boy tracks, “The Christmas Song” and “This Christmas,” were more of a bright spot as he had provided soothing vocals and both songs had quite a jazzy beat to them. Both songs stood out and I will also say the same thing about “O Holy Night” from B.G.O.T.I.. Those ladies really gave it their all on their vocals.

Michel’le had only one track on here and that was her version of “Silver Bells,” which was pretty straightforward and she provided some great vocals like always. It was a pretty good track from her. I don’t understand why she didn’t have any other songs on here.

Overall, I have to give Death Row credit for trying to do a holiday album. This album is not bad, by any means. It’s actually decent, even though there are a couple of songs that I did not like, and a few that I wasn’t crazy about but would still listen to. It’s definitely not a gangsta rap album like one would think. It’s kind of funny to see the Death Row logo decked out in Santa gear on the album cover. It also must be noted that with the exception of “Christmas In The Ghetto,” this album is appropriate to listen to around people. So don’t be afraid to blast it while doing stuff (Though skip that track if you must, otherwise just burn a copy without that song). Also, Christmas albums from hip-hop labels are nothing new. In fact, I will review “High Fo’ Xmas” very soon, as in West Coast Bad Boyz. Stay tuned.

Also, check out the artwork that was used on the inside of the booklet. It’s a nice touch how the artist put the wings and halo on Tupac, because this album was released after he was killed. I wonder if he hadn’t died if he would have contributed to it.

Top 5 Tracks:

1. Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto
2. I Wish
3. Be Thankful
4. On This Glorious Day
5. Silver Bells

Movie Soundtrack: Original Gangstas

Year: 1996

Label: Noo Trybe Records

Track Listing:

1. Inner City Blues – Ideal
2. The World is a Ghetto – Geto Boys feat. Flaj
3. X.O. – Luniz
4. On The Grind – The Click
5. White Chalk Part II – Junior M.A.F.I.A.
6. How Many – N.O. Joe feat. 3rd Degree
7. Flowamatic 9 – 3x Krazy
8. Ain’t No Fun – Dino of H-Town feat. Teddy
9. Rivals – Facemob feat. Scarface
10. War’s On – The Almighty RSO feat. Mobb Deep
11. Who Wanna Be The Villain – MC Ren
12. Slugs – Spice 1
13. How Does It Feel – Ice-T
14. Good Stuff – Smooth

Another soundtrack album I am reviewing, and it’s from the same year as the album I previously reviewed. Detect a pattern? That’s not important. What’s important is this review. This is the soundtrack to the 1996 film “Original Gangstas,” which starred a lot of veterans in those Blaxploitation films from the 1970s, particularly the likes of Fred Williamson, Jim Brown and Pam Grier, along with supporting roles from Richard Roundtree and Ron O’Neal and they basically played original gangsters battling against a new gang that took over their old neighborhood. Hence the title. The thing about this film is no matter how cheesy it was, it still had some good music in the soundtrack (Of course, there are worse movies out there that still have good soundtracks, and I WILL touch on those later).

The opening song, “Inner City Blues,” actually started a minute into the track, because there was actually dialogue from the movie right before the song started. Anyway, the song is from Ideal, an R&B group mostly known for songs that came out a few years after this one like “Get Gone” and “Whatever.” I will say that when Ideal came out with those songs, I thought to myself “Could this be the same group that did the song from the ‘Original Gangstas’ soundtrack?” and I am certain that nobody else around me knew of this song as I remember seeing a video for this song on TV back in 1996. I also must note that this song is a cover to Marvin Gaye’s song of the same name. The song itself had a good then-up-to-date sound to it. It did not sound like the original version, but it did not need to. Plus, it went well with the movie’s theme. This is actually one of my top favorite songs. 5/5

Right after one cover comes another as the Geto Boys covered War’s “The World is a Ghetto.” Okay, so it’s not a direct cover as the verses are completely different, but the chorus and the beat have similar vibes to the original version, however, with a hip-hop twist. This song is more socially-conscious, by the way. Scarface started the song with a good verse, but the second verse stood out more as Bushwick Bill delivered some of the hardest hitting lyrics in the whole song. Check this out:

Five hundred niggas died in guerrilla warfare
In a village in Africa, but didn’t nobody care
They just called up the goddamn gravedigga
And said come get these muthafuckin niggas
Just like they do in the 5th Ward
In the South Park and The Bronx and the Watts
You know they got crooked cops
Working for the system
Makin’ po muthafuckas out of victims
Don’t nobody give a fuck about the po
It’s double jeopardy if your black or Latino
They got muthafuckin drugs in the slums
Got us killing one another over crumbs
Think I’m lying? Well muthafucka I got proof
Name a section in your city where minorities group
And I’ma show you prostitutes, dope and hard times
And a murder rate that never declines
And little babies sittin on the porch smellin’ smelly
Cryin cause they ain’t got no food in they bellies
They call my neighbourhood a jungle
And me an animal, like they do the people in Rwanda
Fools fleeing their countries to come here black
But see the same bullshit and head right back
They find out what others already know
The world is a ghetto

Willie D also delivered some hard rhymes right after Bill’s verse, but in my personal opinion, Bushwick Bill killed it in his verse. Another one of my top favorite tracks. 5/5

After two covers of classic songs, we now get an original track,”X.O.” from Luniz. The one thing that stands out the most about the song is the beat. It has a smooth, yet intense feel to it. The song’s subject matter was mostly about alcohol and getting drunk. It’s kind of basic, but the beat’s nice. 3.5/5

“On The Grind” from The Click was decent, but there were some parts that could have made the song better. Maybe it was the chorus, because the verses from Suga-T and D-Shot at the beginning were decent, but B-Legit and E-40’s verses in the second act were better, and then all four had back-to-back verses in the third act of the song. The beat wasn’t bad either. It still could have been better. 3.5/5

Junior M.A.F.I.A. kicked this album into a higher gear with “White Chalk Part II.” I am a little unfamiliar with this group other than the fact that The Notorious B.I.G. was a part of it, as well as Lil’ Kim, neither of whom had verses on this song. However, the beat was nice as were the verses, but the beat stood out more, in my opinion. 3.5/5

Still in that same gear comes “How Many” from N.O. Joe. Did I mention that this is actually one of three songs that he contributed to on this compilation? Well, it’s true, as he produced “The World is a Ghetto” and “X.O.” but here is a song that he produced and has his name as the main credit. I am not sure if he rapped on this song, because there was another guy on here. The beat is sick, though. The subject matter is sort of basic as the lyrics are rather violent. On the beat side, I rate this a 5/5 and the lyrics part probably gets 4. Overall: 4/5

It’s about to get crazy up in here. Three times crazy, that is. Okay, that sucked. Anyway, “Flowamatic 9” from 3x Krazy is one of my other favorite songs from this album. Sick beat, ill rhymes, and not a bad chorus from Suga-T of The Click. What I find weird is that 3x Krazy had named one of their compilations “Flowamatic 9” and did not include this song. Seriously, this should have been included. 5/5

Now we slow things down with another R&B song on this album. “Ain’t No Fun” from the late Dino from the group H-Town has a sexual type of feel to it that could probably get people in the mood, but the song’s subject matter left more to be desired. It’s not much different than Snoop Dogg’s “Ain’t No Fun (If The Homies Can’t Have None),” except it’s R&B, not rap. The beat and the vocals weren’t bad at all, as it does set the mood, but the subject matter made the song lose some points. 2.5/5

Now we’re back to that hardcore gangsta shit. “Rivals” is a song from a short-lived super-group called Facemob, that has Scarface as one of the top members, along with somewhat-known artists like DMG and Devin The Dude. Now I am familiar with Devin The Dude to some degree, but in hindsight it seemed that he was out of his element trying to be a gangsta rapper. The worst part of this song is probably the female rapper 350, but I could go on about this more on their album, “The Other Side of the Law,” which I also own and may review in the future. I have to hand it to Devin for trying and DMG had a good verse on this song. Scarface mainly had the chorus to work with, so it was mainly just to have the rest of the group shine. One of my least favorite songs on this album, but not terrible. 2.5/5

“War’s On” is from a little-known group called The Almighty RSO, and better-known group called Mobb Deep. Now I will say that I am familiar with ONE of the members of RSO, and that is Raydog aka Benzino, who was mainly known for initiating a beef with Eminem back in the early-2000s, but that’s neither here nor there. Back to the song. One thing to know is that the credit may say Mobb Deep as part of the song, it’s mainly Prodigy who has a verse. However, Havoc produced this song, so it’s still a song that involved both members. Now as for the verses in this song, the only one that stood out the most was Prodigy’s verse. Benzino (I am mainly calling him this as he was mostly known by this name) was never a great rapper and he didn’t really have a great verse either, but it was not horrible. The other RSO members were okay at best. 3/5, mainly for Mobb Deep’s contribution.

Former N.W.A. member MC Ren dropped his contribution to the soundtrack with “Who Wanna Be The Villain.” The beat is a little different from what has been heard here so far, as it has more of a scary/creepy vibe to it. Ren had always been the most underrated members of the legendary group, and he should have gotten more exposure. This song shows that he was lyrically gifted. 4/5

Now for one of my other top favorite songs on here. Spice 1 kicks dope verses in his song “Slugs,” which doesn’t have anything to do with a certain creature I will tell you that. One of the parts that I like in this song is when it pays homage to “Slippin’ Into Darkness” from War. This song reminds me of a few songs from his album “1990-Sick” which came out months before this soundtrack did. 5/5

Second to the last song and we get one from a legend in the game, the one and only Ice-T. However, “How Does It Feel” is not one of his strongest songs. That does not mean it was bad. It could have been better. I see that it’s one of those “dirty raps” so it has sexual lyrics. It has a smooth beat, and Ice delivered on the lyrics a bit, but part of it still feels weak in some areas. 3/5

The soundtrack closed out with “Good Stuff” from Smooth. This is an R&B song, by the way. The song is sort of typical with Smooth singing and talking about she needs passion and a man’s touch and all that stuff. I liked the beat, and Smooth didn’t have bad verses, but the talking parts were a weak point in the song and it overshadowed everything else. It could have been a lot better. 2/5

Does this album still hold up? I will say that this was not a top-to-bottom great album, but there were hits than misses on here. I will say that out of the R&B tracks on here, only one was actually good, another could have been better even though it had some moments, while the last one just was not great at all. As for the rap tracks, a lot of them were good, even some of the lower-rated ones had some shining moments. I like the soundtrack, but it was not a great soundtrack by any means. I recommend it, though.

3.5/5 overall

Top Five Tracks:

1. Inner City Blues
2. The World Is A Ghetto
3. Slugs
4. Flowamatic 9
5. Who Wanna Be The Villain

Movie Soundtracks: The Substitute

Year: 1996

Label: Priority Records

Track listing:

1. Hoo-Bangin’ – Mack 10
2. Licorice Stiks – Intense Method
3. Danger – Road Dawgs feat. AllFrumThaI
4. Miami Life – Ras Kass
5. Bring It On – Organized Konfusion
6. Bang ‘Em Up – TRU feat. Mr. Serv-On
7. Head Up – Young Murder Squad feat. Sh’Killa
8. I Got That Cream – Master P
9. Hood Life – Lil 1/2 Dead
10. Money, Power & Women – G-Spot Geez
11. All of Puerto Rico – Afro-Rican

Many years ago, it would seem that a lot of movies were made in order to also sell soundtrack albums to said movie. That is not to say that the movies weren’t made for people to watch, but there was once a time when an advertisement for the film’s soundtrack was placed in a trailer/TV spot, particularly a list of artists on the film’s soundtrack.

This takes me back to when I was only a young boy. Having become a hip-hop fan at a rather young age, one thing that I will note was that when I saw a TV spot for the film, “The Substitute,” the main thing that caught my attention was the list of artists there. It had a good lineup, even though I was unfamiliar with a few of them at that time. Hell, a couple of acts on this album probably didn’t even have much work after this. However, that is not to say that they didn’t have bad tracks. Regarding the film, on the surface, it looked like a knockoff of “Dangerous Minds,” which came out a year prior, except the movie had more of an action twist and the school that Tom Berenger taught at made the school that Michelle Pfeiffer taught at seem like a Christian school.

But enough about the movie, it’s time to talk about the soundtrack, and how does it hold up compared to 20 years ago.

The first track that is heard on this album is “Hoo-Bangin'” from Mack 10. This song was actually a single for this compilation back in 1996 and being that Mack 10 was at one time Ice Cube’s protege and frequent collaborator, Cube had a production credit for this song. He was also heard in the song’s chorus. As for the song itself, it has a similar sound to Mack 10’s song “Foe Life,” not to mention that he mentioned it in a verse. Here is what I mean:

I’m on the hunt for the loot, watch your pockets cause I pat em
Bailin through the hood in chucks and stacey adams
Got the spot still poppin, got your legs still rockin
Ever since foe life, my ex bitch been jockin

The song is still quite a banger. It had a good beat and Mack 10 had spit some good rhymes in it. One of my top favorite songs on this album. 5/5

The second track is “Licorice Stiks” from Intense Method. No, this song is definitely not about a certain snack. I am not familiar with this group at all. In fact, I don’t think that they had many cuts apart from this one, let alone an album. This song was produced by West Coast rap producer Rhythm D, and there was a good rhythm to it. Plus, the group’s members had some good rhymes in their verses. However, the main flaw about this song is the chorus as it got a little repetitive after a while when it talked about having “phat beats.” But still a good song, nonetheless. 4/5

“Danger” from Road Dawgs and AllFrumThaI (And that is pronounced “All From The I”) is a typical West Coast gangsta track about gangbanging with violent lyrics. One thing to know about the Road Dawgs and AllFrumThaI is that they were collaborators of Mack 10. The album’s chorus is kind of infectious, though, as it would stay in your head for a bit. However, that doesn’t mean the track is bad. It’s still a good song to listen to despite its subject matter. 4/5

The irony about this album is that while the movie was set in Miami, FL, a lot of the artists on here are West Coast rappers. Ras Kass, who is from Carson, Calif., did the song “Miami Life,” which does go with the movie’s theme, but it doesn’t really talk about the events of the film. It’s more of a song that is inspired by the film, if anything. Ras Kass’s raw vocals are backed by a smooth beat. Ras Kass did not fail to deliver his lyrics on this track. Also, the beat had an interesting feel. One of the other top tracks on this soundtrack. It was even a single back then, too. 4.5/5

Now we take it to the East Coast with Organized Konfusion’s “Bring It On.” Pharoahe Monch delivers the goods whenever he rocks the mic, and the verse he did was no exception. Prince Po also delivered some ill rhymes in his verse. One of the best tracks on this album. 5/5

Now we head down to the South in No Limit territory with “Bang ‘Em Up” from TRU (The Real Untouchables is what that stood for) and Mr. Serv-On. Truth be told, I will say that I got this song confused with “Danger” in the past because the chorus repeated itself and the beat is somewhat similar, or at least the intro to the song was. The beat was actually good, as it was produced by KLC. Mr. Serv-On had a good verse, but the weak link to this song was Silkk The Shocker’s verse. It is still a decent track nonetheless. 3.5/5

“Head Up” from the Young Murder Squad, along with a female rapper named Sh’killa, is one of my other favorite tracks from this album. This song is different from what has been heard. The beat is fast-paced, and some of the rappers on this song had good verses. I was also impressed by Sh’killa, who, like even the Young Murder Squad, is someone who I am unfamiliar with. I heard that YMS and Sh’killa have albums. I may have to cop those someday to check them out. Maybe review them, too. 5/5

And now we return to No Limit with Master P’s “I Got That Cream.” Now Master P was never a good rapper, but this song was actually decent. Actually, during this time, he was not bad. The song had a good beat, though the subject matter of this song was basic, as it talked about drug-dealing. Not a bad track. 3.5/5

“Hood Life” from Lil 1/2 Dead is also another standout track on this album. Now I know that this rapper never achieved success like some other people in the DPG family did like Snoop, Kurupt, Daz, etc. but he actually had some raw lyrics about, you guessed it, the hood life. 5/5

The next track is from an unknown group called G-Spot-Geez, and it’s called “Money, Power & Women.” Now it’s obvious that the song title was taken from a particular line from the movie “Scarface,” however the song has a smooth beat and the rappers from this group actually had some decent lyrics that weren’t braggadocious about getting money and power. I wonder what happened to this group after this came out. It doesn’t seem like they had done much after this. 4.5/5

And now for a total shift into something different. This album closes out with “All of Puerto Rico” from Miami drum and bass group Afro-Rican. This song is kind of the oddball of this album, but it’s not a bad track by any means. It just felt like a dramatic shift considering the other 10 tracks were of a certain context, even though they varied in styles. It’s a decent dance track, though. 3/5

Overall, this was a good soundtrack album. I found this at a record store in 2010 for a rather cheap price. It’s a good mix of West Coast rap with a touch of East Coast and South, and a decent dance track to cap the album off. I highly recommend you track this down.

Top Five Tracks:

1. Hoo-Bangin’
2. Head Up
3. Hood Life
4. Miami Life
5. Danger