Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
In news that might not have hit your radar — or that you maybe didn’t realize was necessary — Snoop Dogg, the current owner of Death Row Records, returned the label catalog to streaming services on March 9th. Upon purchasing the iconic label in February 2022, he pulled the catalog — which includes classics like his own “Doggystyle,” Tupac’s “All Eyez On Me,” and, of course, Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic,” (among many others) — because he didn’t feel the platforms paid appropriately for streams. One of those classic bodies of work that was recently returned to streaming is the soundtrack to the 1994 cinematic classic, “Above The Rim,” which reminds me that it’s never a bad time to point out that said soundtrack is the best movie soundtrack of all time. And it’s not even a close race.
Now, most reasonable people probably agree with that statement. Every year when people get to arguing about best this-or-that and movie soundtracks come up, “Above The Rim” is in the conversation and usually without much debate or pushback. But every so often, somebody tosses in another film soundtrack. And there are some plausible contenders, I suppose. For instance, I really enjoy the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack. Classic songs by Whitney Houston, Brandy and Mary J. Blige alone put it in rare company. Same with the soundtrack to “Boomerang,” which like “Waiting to Exhale,” was largely written and produced by Babyface (he did the entirety of the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack; he and L.A. Reid did most of “Boomerang.”)
But the…
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