Hustle & Flow (Music from and Inspired By the Motion Picture)

Album Review

The lineup spread across the soundtrack for Hustle & Flow cannot be denied. T.I., Juvenile, 8 Ball, and MJG, E-40, Trillville, Boyz N da Hood, Mike Jones, and several others make this a timely and fitting companion to the film. More importantly, in keeping the connection between film and soundtrack as tight as possible, a couple tracks performed by actor Terrence Howard — as Hustle and Flow protagonist DJay, a pimp turned MC — are included, along with a handful of dialogue bits. Al Kapone, a Memphis-based rapper asked by director Craig Brewer to write DJay's rhymes, also appears, only adding to the authenticity. While the soundtrack complements the film, most of the tracks provided by the big guns aren't top-level. That doesn't mean that the disc is useless for those who don't see the film (altogether, the tracks are more memorable than the average cuts granted to a soundtrack), but it's more New Jersey Drive or Bad Boys II than Juice or Above the Rim.