Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
On an upcoming episode of my podcast, “Dear Culture,” I decided to revisit the classic cinematic treasure “Poetic Justice,” which stars Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur. The film was released in 1993 (this is important), so I figured a 30-year celebration and revisiting of the film made sense because, well, just like a great many of you, I love a good Black movie. Oh, who am I kidding? I also love a bad Black movie. I just love Black movies. Unfortunately, because my love for shenanigans runs deeper than most, half of the movies starring the Black community that I’d love to dissect are ones most people haven’t seen, but an early 1990s movie by John Singleton with Janet and Tupac? Yeah, we’ve got a critical mass of viewers.
So “Poetic Justice.” I definitely remember the movie more fondly and mo’ betta than I think it is, but that’s not what’s important here. What is important is that while I was doing my research on the movie, it dawned on me that I couldn’t name a single song on the soundtrack off the top of my head. That’s an oddity; early-to-mid-’90s Black movies were as known for their soundtracks as they were for the films themselves. You can’t talk about “Love Jones” without talking about the soundtrack to said film. “Menace II Society” has ICONIC ’90s records (“Streiht Up Menace” by MC Eiht, “Unconditional Love” by Hi-Five, etc.) as does “Above the Rim,” whose soundtrack is so good, it’s arguably the greatest movie soundtrack of all time. “Waiting to Exhale” is also arguably the greatest movie…
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