"Everybody wanna be the king of the South" rhymes the P$C crew (featuring T.I. and Lil Scrappy), kicking off the Hustle & Flow soundtrack with the amped-up "I'm A King" remix. This film, about a Memphis hustler trying ... more »to become a respected rapper, won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, and appropriately, the soundtrack has the hottest dirty South (a.k.a. crunk) songs around. Lead actor Terrence Howard is a double-threat, not just playing up-and-coming rapper DJay, but also performing on a number of tracks in character. From the blacksploitation-affected "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" to the equally ('70s-esque title track, his contributions are respectable, but not nearly as pumped-up and crunked-out as the disc's standout tracks. Although the CD is rap-heavy, there are some great moments on the R&B front as well, including Eightball & M.J.G.'s lost-love track "Tell Me Why," and the disc highlight, "Still Tippin'", a Mike Jones/Nicole Wray remix that brings sweet Tweet-like grooves to the collection. Some of the CD's other contributors include Juvenile (who is typically clever in "Booty Language") and Webbie, who battles with Trina on "Bad B**ch Remix". Moms and dads should be forewarned, however, that there is nothing subtle about the lyrics on this disc: true to crunk, every imaginable expletive is crammed into these 20 songs and sound bytes, along with a hefty dose of gang-style posturing. For the under-18 set, best reach for the clean version. --Denise Sheppard--This text refers to the explicit lyrics version.« less
"Everybody wanna be the king of the South" rhymes the P$C crew (featuring T.I. and Lil Scrappy), kicking off the Hustle & Flow soundtrack with the amped-up "I'm A King" remix. This film, about a Memphis hustler trying to become a respected rapper, won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, and appropriately, the soundtrack has the hottest dirty South (a.k.a. crunk) songs around. Lead actor Terrence Howard is a double-threat, not just playing up-and-coming rapper DJay, but also performing on a number of tracks in character. From the blacksploitation-affected "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" to the equally ('70s-esque title track, his contributions are respectable, but not nearly as pumped-up and crunked-out as the disc's standout tracks. Although the CD is rap-heavy, there are some great moments on the R&B front as well, including Eightball & M.J.G.'s lost-love track "Tell Me Why," and the disc highlight, "Still Tippin'", a Mike Jones/Nicole Wray remix that brings sweet Tweet-like grooves to the collection. Some of the CD's other contributors include Juvenile (who is typically clever in "Booty Language") and Webbie, who battles with Trina on "Bad B**ch Remix". Moms and dads should be forewarned, however, that there is nothing subtle about the lyrics on this disc: true to crunk, every imaginable expletive is crammed into these 20 songs and sound bytes, along with a hefty dose of gang-style posturing. For the under-18 set, best reach for the clean version. --Denise Sheppard--This text refers to the explicit lyrics version.
They Omitted the Negro Spiritual by Jennifer Bynum
Valentine O. Nwanze | 08/16/2005
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Why on earth doesn't the soundtrack contain the Negro Spiritual: "Change Mah Name" or "Changed Muh Name"by Jennifer Bynum [Green]. She performs the song in a pivotal moment in the film and merges, with excellence, an operatic element that is sheerly captivating. They are wholly remiss in not compiling this soundtrack differently, so as to inconspicuously admit this into the body of music offered on the CD.
Valentine Nwanze"
Licensing problems?
. | Chicago, IL USA | 03/06/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"What's here is fine, but not all of the soundtrack's tunes are here. Another reviewer complained about a number from the movie not being here, and he has a point, but the song was part of the plot, not technically part of the backing tracks. What I'm referring to is most likely the producers weighing the commercial value of each track against it's licensing cost, and making cuts accordingly. This is a BS policy in most cases. Unless an artist is totally unreasonable in negotiating their music's licensing, every track should be represented. While watching a movie more than once over a short period of time is often -not- a pleasure, a properly done soundtrack can give the listener the pleasure of the movie experience over and over again. For that, we need all of the tunes."
A chance to understand
M. Butler | USA | 03/04/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First, please explain to me why there is a review of this movie from a child! This is not a movie or soundtrack for children and I find it apalling that there is a review listed here from one.
Secondly, to the "critic", and I use the term loosely, who claims that this movie and its soundtrack are ignorant you are showing your own ignorance and lack of intellectual capacity in understanding the purpose of this movie.
The truth is that the world is not all beautiful and positive. The truth is that there are places within this country where people have hard lives and that even in these circumstances people still manage to see beyond the negative and fight for a dream.
This movie and the soundtrack is inspiring. For those of us who ARE more priveledged it is an oppurtunity to see outsdide the box and allow ourselves to understand another's experience. Whether we like it or not, this is a depiction of what life is really life for individuals who live in these underpriveledged areas.
Instead of judging the lifestyle depicted in this move we should be wondering why in a coutry as rich as ours we allow fellow Americans to be forced to live in such a way."
No Jennifer Bynum Green? WTF?!?
Brett A. Tolino | East Windsor, NJ | 08/26/2007
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I would have paid double the price of this cd if only it had the Jennifer Bynum Green solo Changed Muh Name. But they didn't so I ain't buyin.
Anyone know where to find this song? It's one of the most moving, beautiful pieces in the history of recording sound."