If they put the
Barbershop 2 soundtrack out with only the first three tracks and nothing else, it would still be an essential collection of urban beats and you'd still be a sucker if you didn't pick it up. The empowering "Not Today" is a home run for
Mary J. Blige,
Eve, and producer
Dr. Dre while
Mya's coy "Fallen" gets winningly roughed up in a remix.
Sleepy Brown's loopy "I Can't Wait" tops them all with absolutely stellar lyrics ("You're a Tyner/Meaning the real McCoy") while
OutKast's guest spot shows their Midas touch is still in effect.
The Clipse's vacant cut screws up the flow, but the collection recovers with Keyshia Cole's smoky interpolation of
Luther on "Never." Some killer tracks by
Mya and
Sean Paul,
Floetry,
Olivia, and Morgan Smith are dispersed throughout the disc's second half, and they're surrounded by cuts that are almost as worthy. The hilarious bits of dialogue that opened and closed the first movie's soundtrack are unfortunately gone, making the whole collection feel like a slick mixtape you'd have a hard time topping. It'll take you forever to stop playing the opening triple threat, but the rest of
Barbershop 2 only needs a little trimming. ~ David Jeffries