The 90s were a golden age for Black cinema. There were tragic coming-of-age films like Boyz N The Hood and Menace II Society, zany comedies like Friday and Don’t Be a Menace, and rom-coms like Boomerang thrived. Hollywood hardly trusted that audiences would show up for movies made by Black directors. But now, they are some of the most celebrated films of all time.
Part of that success could be attributed to some fantastic soundtracks. The fact there would always be incredible music in these movies made it even easier to sell tickets. Sometimes, the soundtracks would turn out even better than the film like Damon Wayans’ Mo’ Money.
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In the spirit of celebrating fantastic hip-hop music in the lauded golden age of rap, we’ve selected four of the greatest soundtracks for 90s classic.
Four of The Best 90s Hip-hop Movie Soundtracks
Above The Rim
Above The Rim was essentially an all-star game for Death Row Records. They were operating at the peak of their powers in the mid 90s, landing Tupac after putting out G Funk classics in The Chronic by Dr. Dre and Doggystyle by Snoop Dogg. Branching out into film was the most natural step for the label to take.
The soundtrack results in arguably Tupac’s best song in “Pain”, a succinct encapsulation of his entire life and career. Additionally, the R&B cuts really made Above The Rim soar, with classics from SWV and H-Town alike.
Friday
This might be a hot take but Friday is undoubtedly the greatest comedy of all time. Chris Tucker gives the performance of a lifetime as Smokey, beating out the ensemble effort from Seth Rogan and co. for Superbad.
The soundtrack is equally as memorable, sifting through classic Bootsy Collins needle drops to hefty Dr. Dre anthems that absolutely blew out old speakers back in the 90s.
Juice
Juice is a fascinating time capsule for hip-hop and R&B. At the time, the two genres were in a transition period; New Jack Swing was towards the tail end of its prime and New York hip-hop hadn’t quite shifted to the age of Nas, Biggie, and Jay-Z.
Consequently, you end up with a mashup of fantastic Teddy Riley dance records and classic Eric B. & Rakim tracks like “Know The Ledge”.
Menace II Society
A majority of this entry is credited to the heartbreaking “Streiht Up Menace” by MC Eiht. No song quite captures the Shakespearean tragedy that is Menace II Society by the Hughes brothers. Eiht raps like death isn’t just inevitable; it creeps around the corner at every moment, waiting with cold hands to take a life far too soon.
Bonus points also go to Menace II Society for giving UGK their first big mainstream break by including “Pocket Full of Stones“.
