America Shops At Home

The album is basically a lot of rap, with a good deal of New York-based work (obvious exception to the New York part: Mystikal; obvious exception to the rap part: New Order). It's not too bad, thanks to the fact that it stays within a single genre almost exclusively. Darker rhythms and beats predominate here, as they ought to for such a movie. There are actually quite a few masterful MCs here -- Mystikal is able to produce some high speed deliveries, and KRS-One is, of course, one of the accepted masters of the New York scene. Newcomers such as P.A. and Kasino are also able artists. On a related note, however, other newcomers, such as Wolfpak, provide rather inferior material ("this the gangsta bou-ou-nce, get off your ass and bounce -- bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce"). Dancehall master Bounty Killer also makes an appearance, which essentially adds a different flavor to the rap that's being presented. He still raps, but with a nice thick accent and a noticeably reggae-tinged delivery. Also, a few club worthy tracks appear in the latter half of the album: Mantronik's remix of an EPMD piece, New Order's new wave/club "Confusion," and Expansion Union's "Playing With Lightning." It's a nice album, overall, for the ability to stick more or less within a genre, and at least within a mood. This is a soundtrack album that could potentially stand alone, without simply backing a movie.