Fittingly--she stars in the action flick with Jet Li--Aaliyah shines the brightest on the R&B- and hip-hop-filled soundtrack of Romeo Must Die. The new "Try Again" echoes the combo of heartfelt vocals and brain-grabbin... more »g production that marked her earlier triumph "Are You That Somebody?" while her duet with DMX, "Come Back in One Piece," continues the trend of songs built on sensible female-to-male-gangsta advice. Aside from Aaliyah's two other cuts, the rest of the disc is uneven; Chante Moore's "This Is a Test" ("I gotta take you to school / Be there at nine o'clock") and Dave Bing's "Somebody Gonna Die Tonight" rank in the high end of the remains. --Rickey Wright« less
Fittingly--she stars in the action flick with Jet Li--Aaliyah shines the brightest on the R&B- and hip-hop-filled soundtrack of Romeo Must Die. The new "Try Again" echoes the combo of heartfelt vocals and brain-grabbing production that marked her earlier triumph "Are You That Somebody?" while her duet with DMX, "Come Back in One Piece," continues the trend of songs built on sensible female-to-male-gangsta advice. Aside from Aaliyah's two other cuts, the rest of the disc is uneven; Chante Moore's "This Is a Test" ("I gotta take you to school / Be there at nine o'clock") and Dave Bing's "Somebody Gonna Die Tonight" rank in the high end of the remains. --Rickey Wright
Aaliyah, Timbaland and Destiny's Child never fail!
Hannibal Alexander | Richmond, ca USA | 04/02/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"C'Mon, it's Aaliyah. It's gotta be hot. If every other song on here was weak, the 4 songs Aaliyah contributes would still be worth buying the CD. The new hit "Try Again", the hit from "Next Friday Soundtrack" "I Don't Wanna" (which actually should have been a single, but I'm not bitter). Her collabo with DMX "Come Back In One Piece" is major hot. Her last song "Are you Feelin Me" is alright, but still much better than most of the tired R&B that is out today. But You know what the rest of the songs are also hot. Destiny's Child's "The Perfect Man" is really really really good. Even though it's obvious that Destiny's Child is just Beyonce, it's all good cuz they keep on putting out hot music (for anybody who doesn't have it yet, buy "The Writing's ON The Wall", I can't stress that enough). "The Perfect Man" is hot. Also Joe surprised me with "Rose in a Concrete Road" cuz I don't normally like Joe. BG I like, his song is cool. Ginuwine's song is hot. Timbaland and Magoo's is hot. You know what I don't have anything bad to say about this CD. I just can't wait till Aaliyah's 3rd album comes out."
Great soundtrack, but............
thelightmemyselfandi | Las Vegas, NV | 04/07/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's amazing how well the music blends in with the movie, complenting it beautifully. The best songs are the Aaliyah ones, like Try Again and Are You feelin' Me, It Really Don't Matter from Confidential, Dave Bing and Lil Mo on Somebody Gonna Die Tonight, This is a Test from Chante Moore, Come On from Blade and the Aaliyah and DMX collabroation Come Back in One Piece. Which brings me to my next point. Whoever has seen the movie knows that there's another DMX song, at the start, called I'm Gonna Crawl. The song is absolutely AWESOME. But, it's not on the soundtrack. I don't know why either, because it's actually one of the most memorable songs from the film, and better than most of the songs on here. Too bad, cuz many ppl will buy this based on that track, and'll be very disappointed when they don't see it. It's not even on any of X's albums, either. Oh well. It's still a great soundtrack, and you have to see the movie before you listen to it. The only thing besides the missing DMX song that I wish this thing had was little snippets from the movie, like The Rush Hour Soundtrack. Even so, you should pick this one up. It'll be better than most Hip-hop releases this year."
Smooth, hot, ready to jam.
PEPPER | Oakland, CA, USA | 04/25/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The CD has a few extraneous tracks that could be clipped, but otherwise it is a tight disc that proves to be among best hip-hop soundtracks in recent memory.The Aaliyah offerings absolutely highlight all the young singer has to offer, and she is really allowed to shine here. [Note: Chris Astoyan, whose review is found below, says to buy the "Try Again" single in place of the album--but that is listed as a soundtrack cut in BILLBOARD Mag, meaning it's not a commercially available single].Joe ("Rose in a Concrete World") and Destiny's Child ("Perfect Man") offer typical fare, which is always palatable. And the DMX/Aaliyah joint project "Come Back in One Piece" and Dave Bing/Lil' Mo's "Somebody Gonna Die Tonight" offer the requisite, irresistible rap nuggets for which these soundtracks are known.However, in my opinion, it is the infectious, radio-friendly "This Is a Test" by the underappreciated Chante Moore that steals the show. This one is a must-have for hip-hop fans."
It's been a long time....
jbthabiggafizigga | T-Town, WA | 04/15/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"It's been a long time, Tim shouldna left U, w/o some dope beatz 2 step 2! If you've heard Aaliyah's newest single, "Try Again", you definitely know whut I'm talking about. After listening 2 this album thoroughly, I heard new talent from some hot new Blackground artists and I also heard tha audio masterpieces of an old friend.. tha man they call Timbaland. Once again, Tim has done it with 2 outstanding Aaliyah trax, a smooth, laid-back Ginuwine track, and he reunites with long-time potna-in-rhyme, Magoo. Although I expected a little more Timbo and his awesome production on tha LP, there were cutz that make U wanna cop this album. From Confidential's "It Really Don't Matter" to BG's "Rollin' Raw", this album has a variety of hiphop and R&B artists. Although some cuts are a bit sluggish (esp. Mack 10's "Thugz"), this album iz solid and a good soundtrack period. Plus, any album that's been blessed by tha soundz of Timbaland iz a good one. Well, that's my opinion, but you know & I know that Tim will make you bounce."