New Jack City: Music From The Motion Picture [Explicit Lyrics, Soundtrack]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 5, 1991)
• Original Release Date: March 5, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics, Soundtrack
• Label: Giant Records / Wea
• ASIN: B000002L0C
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,265 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #44 in Music > R&B > New Jack

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another one of those "ya had to have been there" albums!, July 29, 2006

By 

Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Jack City: Music From The Motion Picture (Audio CD)

Though the movie from whence comes the music on the album is a classic in its own right, the soundtrack is more a time capsule of what we listened to and danced to in 1991. Most of the artists/groups found on the release have either moved on to bigger and better things (Ice-T, Gerald Levert, and multi-talented Queen Latifah), are still recording with lesser success (Johnny Gill with "New Edition" and Keith Sweat), or have faded into relative obscurity (Color Me Badd, Troop, Guy, and 2 Live Crew).

But, in their day, they ruled the airwaves.

Ironically, the song that is the most dated is the sole remake: "For the Love of Money/Living For the City (Medley)". While the two in their respective original forms are just as thrilling today as they were three decades ago, the "new jack swing" version found on the soundtrack pales in comparison, which bears evidence to the fact that some songs cannot be remade.

But, honestly, the album is a good companion to a great film and that's all that can be asked of it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ages well, June 11, 2000

By 

D. A Wu "squonch" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Jack City: Music From The Motion Picture (Audio CD)

I recently saw New Jack City (the movie) a second time and tried to listen for the tunes on this soundtrack, but found a number of them were missing. The movie seems a little dated only 9 years later, but many of the tunes on this soundtrack collection continue to refresh with each successive listen. I especially like the slow songs: "There You Go," "I'm Dreaming" and "I'm Still Waiting" are well-balanced performances purveying lush R&B songwriting and balladry without resort to the overproduction and performer excesses that infected so much of the mid- to late-'90s R&B. Like always, the beef is in the songs. You can tell that the songs are strong because the sweaty, extemely powerful performances by Johnny Gill & company still do not overwhelm the songs themselves. The more upbeat songs also hold up well. If you are over 25 at the time of this writing, "I Wanna Sex You Up" is probably ingrained in your head, like it or not. Though the "New Jack Swing" revolution never really took hold, get this CD because it competently captures a pleasant snippet on the musical timeline. It's certainly worth the cheap price Amazon is charging.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tip top hip hop from '91, June 23, 2001

By 

Greekfreak (Pusan Korea (South)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Jack City: Music From The Motion Picture (Audio CD)

I remember rushing out to buy this on cassette since it contained Ice-T's then latest single "New Jack Hustler", which, even performed with the censor on Arsenio Hall show, still sounded like a classic. The big surprise then and now, was that the whole album gels together quite nicely, and hasn't dated that much in the years since it's release.

The no-names on the album (Christopher Williams, Troop/Levert, Essence) are tolerable, but it's the new jack swing of Color Me Badd's runaway '91 hit "I Wanna Sex You Up (different lyrics than their album version)", Queen Latifah's booming cover of Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City", the title track by Guy, and the smooth soul of Keith Sweat's "There You Go Tellin' Me No Again" that make this essential for any self-respecting hip hop fan.

For some reason, I've got a censored version of the album, which removes all cussing from the Ice-T and (unfortunately so, because the edits make this substantial [!] tune sound worse) 2Live Crew cuts. Still well worth picking up, however, even after so many years.