New Jack City - Original Movie Soundtrack
In 1991, Giant Records complemented a movie with a message in New Jack City. Do any of you remember this movie? How about the score? Just as fine & well casted the movie production gave, was just as fine of a line-up the soundtrack came with. You had Christopher Williams, Troop/Levert, Guy, Keith Sweat & a host of talented singers on one album. To say the least, with all of that talent, you would think this should have won lots of awards right? Maybe. Maybe not. But some of the music actually touched on the very social issue the production team went after.
Track Listing:
~ New Jack Hustler/Ice T
~ I'm Dreamin'/Christopher Williams
~ New Jack City/Guy
~ I'm Still Waiting/Johnny Gill
~ (There You Go) Tellin' Me No Again/Keith Sweat
~ Facts Of Life/Danny Madden
~ For The Love Of Money-Living For The City (Medley)/Troop/Levert feat. rap by Queen Latifah
~ I Wanna Sex You Up/Color Me Badd
~ Lyrics To The Rhythm/Essence
~ Get It Together (Black Is A Force)/F.S. Effect
~ In The Dust/2 Live Crew
And those issues dealt with the heart & soul, as well as making right decisions. Take Ice T's "New Jack Hustler". The lyrics explained it in great detail. Of how to make it big illegally. In speaking about the heart & soul, Christopher Williams "I'm Dreamin'" had set a different tone. His seductive voice pushed the song into a different dimension & possibly catapulted his career into mainstream status. Teddy Riley's R&B group Guy jammed "New Jack City" & Color Me Badds 'Sex You Up" grabbed the #1 hit for that time period. I do believe it was the only hit they had, although I didn't care too much for that song.
My favorites was Johnny Gill's quiet storming "I'm Still Waiting" (special note to the T.U.M.S. team, where is Johnny Gill?) & "Facts Of Life" from Danny Madden.
Keith Sweat does what he does best in "(There You Go) Tellin' Me No Again", as urban as the slow jam could ever be & the team-up of R&B boy group Troop with the masters of the love song, Levert, to "For The Love Of Money-Living For The City" was on hit.
I didn't care too much for the remaining number of songs & the use of explicit lyrics. I thought the 2 Live Crew track was quite tasteless, in my opinion. There was too many great songs that didn't require profanity. It may have overshadowed the entire soundtrack. I would just download my favs in to the ipod for the go. But for justice, this soundtrack was decent enough to carry out, compliment the movie. The movie, however, is instantly within arms reach whenever I feel the need to flash back for a moment. Its too funny (or not), the theme for the movie still relates to our community struggles with drugs & gangs. When you get a chance, go back & see the movie again. If you haven't seen it before, look for it at blockbuster or a movie rental store near you. Its destined to be a classic, considering many of the stars (Wesley Snipes, Ice T, Mario Van Peebles, Chris Rock, Judd Nelson) who acted in the movie have blossomed in their careers, respectively.
Peace,
Charles F. Sherard
The Urban Music Scene
This is a superbly magnificent performance by Johnny Gill and extremely nice production work from Jimmy Jam and Terry lewis. it really takes me back.
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