The soundtrack from the 1998 debut film from hip-hop visionary Hype Williams consists of a hodgepodge of hip-hop and RB. The majority of the album showcases the talent of hip-hop's heavyweights in the post-Biggie/2Pac mass-consumption era of hip-hop. The soundtrack also serves as a coming-out party for a promising next wave of MCs. The songs on the album reflect the central theme of the film: the paper chase from the disenfranchised point of view and the treacherous road to the riches that ensues. The opening track, No Way in, No Way Out by R. Kelly project Lady, is an RB rendering of this central theme. The soulful D'Angelo builds poignantly on this theme with his defiant anthem Devil's Pie, produced by the spellbinding DJ Premier. Aside from two RB ballads (including a decent remake of Stevie Wonder's Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer by Bad Boy wunderkind Jerome), the remainder of the album features a number of blazing hip-hop tracks with fierce, sinister beats and hardcore MCs committing verbal murder. On Grand Finale, the three male stars of the film (DMX, Method Man, and Nas) team up with the growling Ja Rule for a skills exhibition over a fiery composition. DMX gets versatile on Top Shotter, using his rabid flow over a dancehall rhythm with assists from raggamuffins Mr. Vegas and Sean Paul. Ja Rule goes solo on the icy Story to Tell. Jay-Z collaborates with his Roc-A-Fella protégés Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek on Crew Love. The Wu-Tang Clan chime in with the eerie Windpipe and Noreaga wistfully laments the loss of loved ones on the moving Sometimes. The LOX and Made Men grab listeners by the throat on Tommy's Theme and the final cut, I Wanna Live by NAS' entourage Bravehearts, encapsulates the social Darwinistic themes of the film and soundtrack. Overall, a solid album. ~ M.F. DiBella, Rovi

1		No Way In, No Way Out
2		Devil's Pie
3		Grand Finale
4		Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer
5		What About
6		Two Sides
7		Movin' Out
8		Top Shotter
9		Story To Tell
10		Crew Love
11		Sometimes
12		We All Can Get It On
13		Militia[Remix]
14		Windpipe
15		Pre-Game
16		Tommy's Theme
17		Some Niggaz
18		I Wanna Live