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Since the mid-1980s when hip-hop fully entered the popular culture, filmmakers have been including dope beats and great rhymes in the soundtracks of their movies, creating some of the best soundtracks of all time. Just as hip-hop hasn’t faded, nor has the use of it in movies over the last four-plus decades. Here are some of the best examples of hip-hop soundtracks in film.
Black Panther
There are a lot of wonderful things to be said about Marvel’s Black Panther. When ranking the MCU, it is consistently near the very top. One aspect that doesn’t get talked about as much as it could is the phenomenal soundtrack that includes the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, SZA, Travis Scott, and more.
Street Fighter
The first Street Fighter movie, released way back in ’94, isn’t all that fondly remembered today by fans of the video game or movie critics. It does, however, have a fantastic soundtrack that is very worth mentioning on this list. Ice Cube, Nas, The Pharcyde, LL Cool J, MC Hammer, and more stars from the day all have songs on it, and even if you never watch the movie (and we can’t recommend it), you should definitely check out the soundtrack.
Wild Style
1983’s Wild Style is an amazing relic of its era. The early, exciting days of hip-hop, musically and culturally were first brought the the big screen in the movie and it features some of the most important and influential artists of the day both in the movie (like Fab 5 Freddy), and on the soundtrack. Collected and produced by Blondie’s Chris Stein, it features early rappers and DJs like Grandmaster Caz, Funky 4 + 1, Grand Wizzard Theodore, and The Cold Crush Brothers.
Colors
Director Dennis Hopper’s 1988 Colors was very controversial when it was first released. Suburban America wasn’t really ready for such a brutal and honest look at life in urban America at the time. While some of it is definitely over the top, it was still a groundbreaking film. It’s also very fondly remembered for Ice T’s title cut from the movie, which is still a banger all these years later.
Creed
Director Ryan Coogler really knows how to put together a soundtrack for his movies, including, of course, Creed in 2015. Future, Meek Mill, Childish Gambino, and other hip-hop artists from the era are featured on this one, and it also has some great throwbacks like “Bridging the Gap” by Nas, and “Hail Mary” by 2Pac.
He Got Game
Spike Lee’s joint He Got Game was one of the coolest movies released in the late 1990s, and one big reason it had such an impact is Public Enemy’s title track. Featuring a sample from Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” some sick rhymes by Chuck D, and a contribution from The Springfield’s Stephen Stills, the song is a masterpiece. The rest of the soundtrack is pretty great too.
New Jack City
There aren’t really enough words to explain the impact of New Jack City on the movie world when it was released in 1991. It was one of the early examples of how much impact hip-hop was having on the broader culture and that was exemplified by the title cut by Ice T. The soundtrack also featured pioneers like Queen Latifah and even an appearance by 2 Live Crew.
Belly
One could argue that 1998’s Belly is the first fully “hip-hop” movie (besides Wild Style in the ’80s). Directed by Hype Williams, who was known for his video direction, and starring a slew of the best rappers of the day, including DMX, Method Man, Nas, Ghostface Killah, and T-Boz. The soundtrack featured all of them too, of course.
Get Rich or Die Tryin’
In the grand scheme of things, 2005’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was really all about taking advantage of 50 Cent’s huge popularity at the time, and while the movie isn’t exactly great, it’ll likely be forever loved and remembered for Fiddy’s fantastic album of the same name that served as the soundtrack for the film.
8 Mile
8 Mile, which is loosely an autobiographical take on the life and upbringing of Eminem is a fantastic movie that, despite being so great, has been actually overshadowed by the amazing soundtrack by the Detroit-born rapper. “Lose Yourself,” is considered one of Eminem’s masterpieces and it became the first hip-hop song to win an Oscar for Best Song.
High School High
Sometimes bad movies can produce amazing soundtracks. Such is the case for High School High. The movie itself, a comedy about a white teacher out of his depth in a Black school is inane. The soundtrack, however, is anything but with some real bangers by The Wu-Tang Clan, Lil’ Kim, De La Soul, and others.
Boyz N The Hood
John Singleton’s 1991 directorial debut, Boyz N The Hood, hit American culture like a bomb. Gangster rap was on the rise and the movie was the first real look into the modern “hood,” as Ice Cube would call it in the movie. The soundtrack is as powerful as the film, with some of the biggest hip -hop artists of the day including Ice Cube (of course), Too $hort, 2 Live Crew, and Compton’s Most Wanted.
Hustle & Flow
Any movie about a rapper, like Hustle & Flow, better have a great soundtrack. Luckily Hustle & Flow does. Three 6 Mafia’s song “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp” became just the second hip-hop song to win the Oscar for Best Song and it’s since gone on to become a big part of the cultural zeitgeist.
Bad Boys: Ride Or Die
The Bad Boys franchise just keeps going and going and when a new one comes out, like 2024’s Bad Boys: Ride Or Die, you know a great soundtrack is coming with it. For Ride or Die, we get some bangers by Flo Milli, Will Smith (of course), and The Black Eyed Peas.
Judgement Night
Sometimes bad movies have great soundtracks. The movie Judgement Night is largely forgotten in our culture. The soundtrack, on the other hand, remains one of the best soundtracks in film history. It was also one of the first examples of taking rock bands and teaming them up with rappers to create something completely new, and amazing.
Do The Right Thing
There was no way to make this list without including 1989’s Do The Right Thing from director Spike Lee. Not only was it one of the first movies with a strong hip-hop aesthetic, the soundtrack includes one of the greatest rap songs ever with Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, a song that still gets listened to all the time.
Above The Rim
There are plenty of examples of songs that people completely forget came from a movie soundtrack. For example, do you remember that “Regulate” by Warren G was first released as part of the soundtrack to Above The Rim? If not, you’re not alone, the song is iconic and while the movie is decent, it has not had nearly the staying power of the Warren G classic.
The Great Gatsby
Director Baz Luhrmann has become known for using anachronistic music for his soundtracks and nowhere is that more notable than the use of hip-hop in The Great Gatsby. The movie, like the book, is set in the 1920s, but the music is very 21st Century. Produced by Jay Z, it’s filled with great music up and down.
Poetic Justice
John Singleton’s second movie, Poetic Justice deserves to be remembered more than it is. Not only was it an early example of female empowerment from a Black director, but the soundtrack is an all-timer, with songs by Dr. Dre and Snoop, TLC, Naughty by Nature, and the film’s co-star Tupac Shakur.
The Nutty Professor
Not everyone loves The Nutty Professor, though it is often ranked among Eddie Murphy’s best movies. One thing everyone should love is the soundtrack. Not only is there an early Jay-Z song on it, but it’s also got some great contributions from Foxy Brown, Raekwon the Chef, and Warren G.
Bulworth
A movie directed by Warren Beaty might not be one where you expect a lot of hip-hop, but then there is Bulworth. The movie was a bold statement about politics and racism, but it really failed to find an audience. The soundtrack did find an audience, with songs like “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)” by Praz, and “Zoom” by Dr. Dre and LL Cool J.
Juice
Tupac Shakur’s first big movie role came in 1992’s Juice. It came out in the early ’90s when hip-hop culture was in its ascendence across all of America and the soundtrack is filled with some of the best rappers of the era, like Too $hort, Naughty By Nature, Cypress Hill, EPMD, Eric B & Rakim, and Salt-N-Pepa.
House Party
In the 1980s, hip-hop was mostly party music. It wasn’t until the late ’80s that it really became social commentary in a big way. So, of course, that meant that any movie in 1990, especially one called House Party was going to feature some great hip-hop party anthems like “Fun House” by the movie’s stars Kid ‘N Play.
Menace II Society
1993’s Menace II Society was another one of those movies that came out in the early ’90s that shocked suburban America with its honesty about life for many in the Black community. As such, it featured a hard-hitting soundtrack by no-nonsense artists like Boogie Down Productions, Too $hort, Da Lench Mob, and more.
The Fast and the Furious
2001’s The Fast and the Furious launched a franchise that just keeps going and going. All of the movies have featured some really fun soundtracks, so it’s impossible to narrow down the best, so we’ll just throw out the original as the standard bearer with songs by Scarface and Ja Rule.
Birds of Prey
It’s so fitting that a movie about “girl power” like 2020’s Bird Of Prey starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn would have a soundtrack filled with some of the best female hip-hop artists of the early 21st Century like Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, and Saweetie.
Brown Sugar
Hip-hop is literally at the heart of the romantic comedy Brown Sugar, so of course the soundtrack is going to be full of great tracks. The soundtrack is a great mix of the old school, like “Paid in Full” by Eric B. & Rakim, and the (then) new school with tracks by Mos Def (who also stars in the movie), and Common, who raps on the song “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)” by Erykah Badu.
Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
In the midst of a slew of hard-hitting movies with harsh (but honest) social commentary about life in the inner city came the Wayon Brothers parody Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. It does for Black movies of the ’90s what Airplane! did for disaster movies of the ’70s. It’s also got a fantastic soundtrack.
The Longest Yard
The 2005 remake of The Longest Yard isn’t nearly as good as the original movie about a bunch of underdogs winning a football game in a prison. It does, however, feature a great soundtrack that includes some fantastic hip-hop songs like “Errtime” by Nelly.
Friday
Friday is one of the all-time great stoner movies and considering Ice Cube is one of the stars, you know it had to include some great hip-hop, including Cube’s own title track to the soundtrack. The most famous song from the movie, however, is “Keep Their Heads Ringin'” by Dr. Dre and Ice Cube in one of their rare collaborations post N.W.A.
Sunset Park
1996’s Sunset Park is a perfect example of an imperfect movie with a phenomenal soundtrack. The movie was a box office bomb, the soundtrack still included some serious bangers by a ton of great artists like 2Pac, Ghostface Killah, The Dogg Pound, and many more.
Higher Learning
The late John Singleton was a master at including hip-hop into his socially conscious movies like Higher Learning. It features tracks from Outkast, Ice Cube, Mista Grimm, and more.
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