The 15 Best Hip-Hop Movie Soundtracks Of All Time
Quite often it's the music that makes the film - and in the case of these 15 soundtracks, they were bang on. Sit back and flick through what we rate as the top 15 movie soundtracks of all time.
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1. 8 Mile
Top of our list is unquestionably the soundtrack for Eminem's '8 Mile'. Not only does it feature strong tracks from Nas, Xzibit and Jay Z – it premiered 50 Cent's breakthrough single 'Wanksta' and was the birthplace of 'Lose Yourself' – the most successful track of Eminem's career, peaking at number 1 in 24 countries. Next year the film and soundtrack will be a decade old, and yet we still don't tire of listening to it.
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2. Dangerous Minds
Back in 95' the soundtrack to Michelle Phifer's Dangerous Mind's was released on CD and Cassette (for those that remember what that even is). It didn't take long to become certified triple platinum, and are you surprised? It homed Collio's absolute classic 'Gangsta's Paradise' along with Tre Black's 'Put Ya Back In To It' and a ton of other tracks that give us some 90's vibes.
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3. Black Panther
Executively produced by none other than Kendrick Lamar, the soundtrack to Marvel's powerful feature film is accompanied by the sounds of The Weeknd, Future, SZA, 2 Chainz, Khalid, Jorja Smith, Schoolboy Q, and Vince Staples as well as Lamar himself. This is HUGE.
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4. Bad Boys II
This 18 track album has a stellar tracklist featuring Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Mary J Blidge, Fat Joe, Snoop Dogg and Nelly and P Diddy's 'Shake Ya Tailfeather' – which, if you remember, boasts a hot video of the boys chilling with the ladies on a beach. Simply for the incredible amount of hip-hop greats, Bad Boys II soundtrack is in our top three.
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5. 2 Fast 2 Furious
Ludacris owned the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack, with his voice on three of the 17 tracks featured. In keeping with the film's story Luda raps about license plates, glove compartments and dashboards in 'Act A Fool' ' – but Joe Budden doesn't go overlooked on 'Pump It Up,' a classic still thrown around in clubs today. It makes it as our fourth favourite hip-hop soundtrack.
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6. Above The Rim
The 'Above The Rim' soundtrack (for the film of the same name) is proof that sometimes the old ones are the best ones. Released in '94 by Death Row and Interscope Records, Dr Dre was a producer on the album that gave 2Pac his debut with the label on record 'Pain'. It's also the home of Warren G's 'Regulate,' which we just love.
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7. Soul Food
Boyz 2 Men, BLACKstreet, Jay Z , OutKast, Cee-Lo, Missy Elliott, P Diddy (or Puff Daddy, as he was known back then) – included in our countdown is 1997 film 'Soul Food's' soundtrack and it's an album we aren't bored of nearly two decades later.
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8. Django
The newest of all the soundtracks that have made it onto our list, you wouldn't have thought a western would feature tracks from Rick Ross, Jamie Foxx, Anthony Hamilton and John Legend. But this is Tarantino we're talking about, and of course, he makes it work. Intersting fact: Frank Ocean wrote a track specifically for the film, but Tarantino decided not to use it, claiming he couldn't find a scene to use it in.
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9. Men In Black
"Here come the men in black…" if you're still singing it 14 years after it was released, you know it's a soundtrack that needs to make the list. Not only did Will Smith's own vocals feature in the hit film, but Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Alicia Keys and Destiny's Child all got involved.
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10. Juice
Although 2Pac starred in 'Juice' – a film about four black youths growing up in Harlem – he didn't actually feature o the soundtrack at all. That said, it's still an album to have on the iPod (or whatever it is you use) – with tracks from Big Daddy Kane, Salt-n-Pepa and Naughty By Nature making the cut.
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11. Rush Hour
The film Rush Hour has gone down as such a classic in the comedy genre that it's often overseen for its incredible hip-hop and r&b soundtrack. It birthed Dru Hill's 'How Deep Is Your Love' – a 90's r&b favourite that peaked at number 1 in the charts – and the album itself was certified gold
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12. Coach Carter
Samuel L Jackson stole the show as Coach Carter, a tough as nuts basketball coach for a bunch of inner-city teenagers in the 2005 film of the same name. Hip-hop was inevitably the genre of choice for the film, with Twista and Faith Evan's 'Hope' taking the spotlight as the standout track on the supporting album, but Trey Songz 'About da Game' is also a winner.
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13. Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
Fiddy's 2005 biopic was the perfect opportunity for him to showcase several G-Unit members' talents. Lloyd Banks, Young Buck and Nate Dogg are just some of the hip-hop greats that feature on the album, but of course, there was still room for 50 Cent himself. You'll catch him rapping on 12 of the 16 tracks, including Jackson's personal favourite 'Hustler's Ambition'.
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14. Freedom Writers
Mixing old with the new, the 'Freedom Writers' soundtrack took some hip-hop songs from the early 90's and added some fresh material, most notably from Will.i.am who teamed up with Common for 'A Dream,' The track heavily samples the iconic words from Martin Luther King's 'I Have A Dream' speech, but puts an infectious hip-hop spin on things. If you haven't seen the movie, you really should.
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15. Training Day
The Training Day soundtrack spawned two number 1 singles, Nelly's #1 and Dr Dre's 'Put It On Me'. The film also featured 'Still D.R.E,' although it didn't make it onto the soundtrack for unknown reasons. The album only peaked at number 35 on the Billboard charts, which could have had something to do with the fact it was released on September 11th 2001 – the same day as the attack on New York's Twin Towers.
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16. Step Up
The film was about two wannabe dancers, so of course, it had to feature some catchy dance floor filler tracks. Ciara's 'Get Up' feat Chamillionaire and Sean Paul's 'Give It Up To Me' feat Keyshia Cole awere just that, throw in some Chris Brown with 'Say Something' for an emotional love scene, and you've got yourself an awesome soundtrack.
