Take today's hottest artists, mix in a bit of nepotism and shameless label promotion, and you get the basic formula for hip-hop-related movie soundtracks. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's newest flick, The Wash, has a soundtrack that more closely resembles a platinum-rapper collage--with a light sprinkling of industry newcomers--than a thematically inspired movie soundtrack.
Sure, the CD does have its high points, as some of today's top artists lend their talents to the project. The West Coast dominates; on tracks such as "On the Blvd." and "The Wash," preformed by the movie's stars, Dre and Snoop, funked-out beats and plenty of California-isms rule. Also, an intoxicated Xzibit makes an appearance on "Get F***** Up With Me."
The project is also boosted by a hyped-up Busta Rhymes on "Holla," as well as the somewhat out-of-place but nonetheless smooth and soulful Bilal on "Bring 2." Add a stellar performance by Eminem on D12's "Blow My Buzz," despite the mediocre showing by the rest of his overly second-rate crew, and the CD is somewhat intriguing. However, the slough of filler from random artists like Joe Beast and Shaunta brings this project back to reality. Since their themes and styles seem to be recycled from those of the big stars on the project, these no-namers leave much to be desired.
Even though this CD perfectly follows the equation for maximizing soundtrack sales, the overall composition of the soundtrack to The Wash is watered-down and far from sparkling.
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