Back in the '30s, '40s, and '50s, movie music usually meant faceless instrumental background music that was played by the in-house orchestras of Hollywood's film studios. But these days, many film directors don't believe that movies have to use faceless, impersonal instrumental music -- they will use anything from rock to country to Brazilian pop if they think it works. While a romantic comedy might call for a lot of adult contemporary, an action film that has an urban, inner-city orientation (such as New Jack City) might use an abundance of rap. In fact, rap is the only thing that you will find on the soundtrack for the action movie Blazin' -- and the vast majority of it is gritty, in-your-face hardcore rap rather than commercial pop-rap. Nonetheless, this 20-track CD is fairly diverse, ranging from uplifting black consciousness rhymes (including KRS-1's "I Will Make It" and Arrested Development's "Lost Soldiers") to southern California gangsta rap like the South Central Cartel's "Face and a Blast" and Above the Law member Big Hutch's "Players, Gangsters, and Ballers." Veteran L.A. rapper King T (formerly King Tee) isn't really a gangsta rapper, but "That 'G' Sh*t" does employ the sort of player/hustler imagery that is a big part of both West Coast gangsta rap and the Dirty South school of hardcore rap. King T (who has been rapping as long as KRS-1) is among hip-hop's unsung heroes, and "That 'G' Sh*t" demonstrates that he is flexible enough to update his rapping style and be relevant to early-'00s tastes. Does one need to have seen the film Blazin' in order to get into its soundtrack? Absolutely not. Regardless of whether or not one has seen the movie, this CD offers an enjoyable variety of rap sounds. ~ Alex Henderson