Gang Related OST

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Gang Related OST

Released in 1997, when Death Row was starting to fall apart due to 2 Pac's death and Suge Knight's incarceration, this double cd soundtrack to the film which starred 2 Pac and James Belushi features a variety of artists, both from Death Row and other labels. Despite the fact that Death Row was falling apart, could the music stay at the same high standard as before.

Disc 1

Way Too Major (Daz Dillinger feat Tray Dee) - the first track on the album, and it is pure dopeness. The beat courtesy of Daz is straight Dogg Pound, and he drops dope verses showing that Kurupt certainly wasn't the only Dogg Pound rapper who was good lyrically. Tray Dee's voice sounds as menacing as ever on the hook, and the little sung bridge is pure quality. To me a classic track. 5/5

Life's So Hard (2 Pac) - another Daz production, although this one is completely different to his first beat on the album. Although he isn't credited as featuring on this track, Snoop appears in the intro, and does the quality hook for the song. Pac basically talks about his life, and the struggles that he faces. This is a more of that Pac deepness that sort of became his trademark, mixed with his Thug Life mentality and it works really well. 4.5/5

Greed (Ice Cube) - produced by Budda, this track has a good beat, although it's not really up to the quality of Daz's productions on the first two tracks. Ice Cube performs well on this track, talking about greed. The track is dope, and the bit at the end when he says how greedy a variety of record labels are is pure quality. 4/5

Get Yo Bang On (Mack 10 feat AllFrumThai) - this track has quite a simple beat from Binky Mack, but it does the job for the track. Mack puts down a good lyrical performance, and the sing along hook helps to make this another dope track. 4.5/5

These Days (Nate Dogg feat Daz Dillinger) - a complete change of pace of this self produced Nate joint, as the album suddenly goes all slow and heartfelt on us. This song is basically Nate telling us about the Dogg Pound life, and making music being his passion. This type of track is normally too slow for my liking, but Nate manages to keep the song engaging, and the guest rap from Daz, coming with a very laid back flow, certainly helps to keep this song interesting. A dope track. 4.5/5

Mash For Our Dreams (Storm feat Young Noble) - back to a Daz production on this joint from Outlawz members Storm and Young Noble. There is something sinister about this beat, but it is very hard to pick out exactly what it is about the beat which makes it like seem this. Storm brings a good lyrical performance; the hook is pretty good, but Young Noble does bring it down a bit, cause his verse isn't really on point compared to Storm's effort. Overall a good track still. 4/5

Free Em All (J Flexx feat Tenkamenin) -  my first reaction when I heard this track was how come there is an uncredited Pac verse on this track. When the song finished and I had only heard other verses from J Flexx, I realised that Tenkamenin just sounded very similar to Pac. After a few more listens the differences between his flow and Pac's became noticeable, but when I first heard it the similarity really was scary. Of course Tenkamenin changed his name to Tha Realest after this album. Anyways, this song is pretty deep, talking about people in prison, and both of the rappers bring really good performances, which combined with a good beat and a dope hook make this another dope track. 4/5

Staring Through My Rearview (2 Pac feat Outlawz) - after the 2 Pac wannabe, 2 Pac himself makes an appearance aided by the Outlawz. The song samples Phil Collins, but the sample is used perfectly, not intruding on the raps, but merging in perfectly. This is pure deepness by both Pac and Tha Lawz, with everybody bringing excellent verses, although as normal no one can outshine Pac. The hook is good, and the whole atmosphere that this song creates is amazing. A pure classic. 5/5

Devotion (Paradise) - this song has a very prominent rnb feel to it, with a smooth chorus and beat. The rapping on this track is pretty good but doesn't really look all that good amongst such great rapping company elsewhere on the album. The hook is lifted from an Earth, Wind and Fire song of the same name, but does fit it quite well, and doesn't sound tacky like many recent hooks in hiphop. A pretty average track. 3/5

I Can't Fix It (Jackers) - this track sounds really familiar and sounds very old school rnb like, with a great guitar piece merged into the equation. As I'm not exactly a great fan of the Jackers, and there is no date given to the song, I'm not sure if this is a cover of an old song, or whether this is simply an old song which has just been put on the soundtrack because it was featured in the film. Having not seen the film I can't really make this judgement. However the track is actually really dope, and somehow manages to not really sound out of place amongst all the gangsta rap, which really is quite a feat. 4/5

Questions (Tech9ne) - starting to get his props now, this is Tech9ne before he started to become more famous. He performs quite well over this slow tempo QD3 production, but at times his flow does sound a little too quick for the beat that he is rapping over. However this is still a good track which is certainly worth a listen. 3.5/5

Hollywood Bank Robbery (Tha Gang feat Snoop Dogg, Kurupt) - one phrase can sum up this track perfectly, straight Dogg Pound Gangster shit. The beat from Daz is reminiscent of the darker style tracks off of Dogg Food, and the hook of the track is certainly pretty memorable. Everybody comes up dope on this track, with special props going to Tray Dee and Kurupt for really dope verses. A great track. 4.5/5

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Disc 2  

Made Niggaz (2 Pac feat Outlawz) - this is the track from this album that most people have probably heard, as it was released as the single from the soundtrack. This is a classic Pac and Outlawz collaboration. I think that the video for the track shows exactly how much passion Pac put into his work, and it really comes through on this track. The rapping of both Pac and The Outlawz is once again top notch, the hook is good, and the Pac and Johnny J co-produced beat compliments the rapping perfectly making for a classic track.

Loc'd Out Hood (Kurupt) - Kurupt's second appearance on the album is once again assisted by a dope Daz beat. This is Kurupt showcasing his obvious lyrical ability to the world, and he comes off really well. The hook is solid, although it isn't really a problem because the main focus of this track is the lyrics and they make this is a dope track. 4/5

Gang Related (WC, CJ Mac, Daz Dillinger, Tray Dee) - the title track from the album, produced by Daz once more. Everyone on this track comes off dope, but Tray Dee stands out above the rest with a great verse delivered in his normal menacing tone. The hook is alright and does the job, and overall this track is pretty dope, just not really up to the standard of some of the other tracks on the album. 3.5/5

Keep Your Eyes Open (OFTB) - this track features a voice in the intro, which utilizes the same effect used for 2 Pac's Makaveli album, actually featuring a little snippet of Pac right before the track starts. The hook on this track is pretty dope, and all of the rappers sound pretty average, meaning that this track isn't really anything special. 3/5

Lady (6 Feet feat Storm) - this is basically an rnb track which happens to feature Storm making a guest rap. The title says it all really in that this is basically a track about ladies, delivered with typical smooth rnb voices, over a beat which does sound a bit like a Timbaland production although it is actually produced by Regi Devell. I do actually like this track quite a lot, it adds a bit of smoothness to the proceedings. Strom does actually quite surprisingly spoil the track a bit as her rap doesn't really fit in with the rest of the track. However this is still a dope rnb joint. 4/5

Take A Nigga Like Me (Young Soldierz) - this track features a little DPG esque squeaky vocal throughout the track, which does actually get quite annoying after a while. The beat is very synth orientated, with a consistent bubbly base line. The rapping is really nothing but average throughout, the hook is actually quite good but overall this just gets quite annoying after a while. 3/5

What Have You Done (BGOTI) - I don't know what Death Row was thinking with all these acronyms for group names at this time, but there is no mention of what this particular group's name stands for. This is a slow paced track, and is basically a typical female rnb song from the time. The singing is particularly engaging and this track really does get very boring after a while and I do normally end up skipping this track when I listen to the album. 2.5/5

Whats Ya Fantasy (Outlawz, Daz Dillinger) - finally we get back to Daz on the boards again, for this collaboration with the Outlawz. This track is basically a song about sexual fantasies, with Daz and The Outlawz both bringing good performances to the table. Storm comes off pretty well amongst all the men, sounding like a right down ass bitch rapping about sex. The sung hook fits the song really well, as does Daz's beat, and overall this is a really dope track. 4.5/5

A Change To Come (J Flexx feat Tenkamenin, Bahamadia, Kool & The Gang, Con Funk Shun) - other than the fact that this track has a very long list of artists taking part in it, this Sean Barney Thomas production stands out because it is a really deep track. The beat really gives the backdrop for all of the rappers to bring some deep verses about life in the hood, and the American political system. Everyone who takes part in this track sounds really dope, and even though he is biting Pac's style, Tenkamenin really does stand out for me as being the dopest on this track, bringing another great performance after his appearance on the first disc. This is basically a great conscious track, which in my eyes is a classic. 5/5

Freak Somethin (Roland) - this track basically sounds like something that would be on the soundtrack to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air or some shit like that. This is definitely your typical late eighties, early nineties style rap track about women, with a bumpy beat and lyrics which do sound quite tacky really. Anyways, it does sound a little out of place on this album, and isn't really all that good, just below average. 2.5/5

Feelin A Good Thing (2DV) - this is basically another slow rnb track like the BGOTI  track earlier on in the album, just with a male group this time. I am feeling it slightly more than that track but is does still get a little boring after a while and therefore it is probably another track to skip. 3/5

Lost Souls (2 Pac feat Outlawz) - the final track on the album, and this really is a great way to finish off the album. The quite bouncy QD3 and Sean Barney Thomas co-production provides a great backdrop for Pac and Tha Lawz to once again drop some more dopeness about their lives. The hook is excellent, and gives a good message telling people to get through the hard times and then in the end they will find the good times. A classic track. 5/5

For a soundtrack, this album really does have a lot of dope tracks. Tracks such as Way Too Major, A Change To Come and all four of the Pac tracks really are strictly dopeness, and the album really is worth buying just for these tracks. CD1 is by far the strongest disc of the two, with more of the straight gangster shit that you expect from Death Row. Disc 2 is still pretty dope, but the fact that there are many more rnb influenced tracks on this disc bring it down in comparison to the first because this means that you actually have to skip some of the tracks after a few listens. The role that Daz Dillinger played in this album cannot be underestimated, because all of the tracks that he produces on this album are dope, and he had the job of executive producer for the project which was a task that he performed excellently. Overall this album is definitely worth picking up if you are a fan of Death Row, or just west coast rap in general because there are easily enough dope tracks to make up for the small about of bad tracks.

Overall: 8/10

[verbalassaulta]

i think your review is good, but i think some tracks should be a lot higher...made niggaz is at  least a 6/5...dope dope dope song...greed and gang related are 5/5 tracks....this is arguably the best soundtrack ever(or murder was the case)...i still bang this....at least 9.5/10

[Shango]

Did 2pac knew guys like Tray Deee, WC and Mack 10 ??

[XaNdEr]

WC probaly yeah, cuz WC goes way back with Cube, but Mack 10 was relatively new, 95 was his debut, so i think Pac heard bout him, but the never worked together, and seeing he was friends with Snoop, he probably knew Tray Deee too