Soundtrack - BELLY (2LP) Vinyl

Producers include: R. Kelly, Irv Gotti, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Dame Grease, Knobody.
Engineers include: Stephen George, Pat Viala, Ed Raso.
Given that Belly a) is the debut feature film of Hype Williams (the only bona fide auteur to emerge from the music video side of the rap industry), b) was underwritten by Def Jam and c) casts three rappers (Method Man, Nas & DMX) in the lead roles--it shouldn't take rocket science to determine that someone had a lot of chips stacked on the soundtrack. It shows: the track listing reads like a who's who of East Coast rap. Although the disc does shine a light on unknowns like Hot Totti, Lady and Ja Rule, most of the gems here are from established stars.
Gang Starr's "Militia" remix (featuring Rakim) & D'Angelo's "Devil's Pie," are both enhanced by the tighter-than-tight production skills of DJ Premier and there are also nice tracks backing Raekwon and young gun Noreaga. But the standout cut is the reggae beat "Top Shotter," ridden by DMX alongside Mr. Vegas and Sean Paul. Not only does it feature the two hottest dancehall vocalists of 1998, but even critics of DMX will find that his gravelly "Here comes the boom" flows perfectly over the raw kick of a dancehall riddim.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Soundtracks, Film Scores and Broadway