The development of the soundtrack has generally been an institution built to be a driving force behind a movie. During the past decade, however, the soundtrack has been developed to stand alone as an album. The soundtrack for the movie “Brown Sugar” is an album that has been pushed to accompany the movie, but also provides original quality music.

Although the movie has not been released yet, the music from the album has set a precedent for the movie. The first single, “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop)” featuring Erykah Badu and Common, is a sultry updated version to Common’s “I Used To Love H.E.R.” Badu and Common’s duet meshes R&B and hip hop that explores the love for the hip hop culture. Common keeps the “I Used to Love H.E.R.” vibe with the line, “We broke up and then got back together/Looking for cheese don’t make her a hoodrat.”

Other songs, such as Mos Def’s “Brown Sugar (Fine),” explore the world of love of hip hop and the love for a woman within the same context. Mos Def brings his use of metaphor to the table with the lyric, “Brown sugar leaving the crowd shook up/having them sweating like fiends for cook up.”

The rest of the album seems as if it is trying to correspond when the whole concept of the movie being about romance and hip hop. The album also features songs from the legendary The Roots, the earthy Jill Scott, the sultry Angie Stone, crooner Faith Evans, the introspective Mary J. Blige and the laid-back rhymes of Blackalicious.

The biggest drawback to the album may be the overuse of the “Brown Sugar” concept. There are at least four tracks on the album that follow this theme and it seems like sometimes the movie and the soundtrack are overly correlated. I feel sometimes there is no need to overly intertwine the album with the concept of the movie because the music will give the feel to the film.

The album can be enjoyed by those who love hip hop just as much as those who love R&B ballads. This album is truly something you can pop into the stereo and sit back with your “Brown Sugar.”

-Darryl Frierson

The world of hip hop has seen some changes during the last few years, with more emphasis being placed on producers, guest appearances and flashy videos.

Xzibit has a tendency to not go with the norm as he brings true meaning to “keeping it real” on “Man vs. Machine.” With songs that are based more on lyrical content and delivery, he once again reminds the world why he is one of the hottest rappers in the industry.

“Man vs. Machine” is a fine blend of carefully constructed rhymes and an array of hooks and beats set in to compliment his skills.

Whether it’s Dr. Dre, Rockwilder, Jellyroll, Erick Sermon, Eminem or someone else producing the tracks, one thing remains constant – they are infectious, head-bobbing beats.

Xzibit’s guests include the usual Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg while introducing a handful of others such as Anthony Hamilton and M.O.P. But the attention stays on the raspy-voiced Xzibit for the majority of the record as his lyrics tell tales of the life he has earned for himself.

But it’s Xzibit’s solo tracks such as “Break Yourself” and “Heart of Man” that steal the show. With a beat you might find on a Jay-Z song on “Break Yourself” and an excerpt from the ’80s song “Africa” blaring behind “Heart of Man,” Xzibit uses his unmistakable rapping style to turn these songs into gems.

“Man vs. Machine” is a more mature extension of 2000’s platinum “Restless,” with songs that emerge more personal and dark than dance-floor worthy.

“Missin’ U,” a song dedicated to Xzibit’s late mother, is reminiscent of “Sorry I’m Away So Much” from Restless, as Xzibit once again shows a more sincere side.

As is common in hip hop, Xzibit’s side group, The Golden State Project, featuring Ras Kass and Saafir, makes an appearance on “Harder” and leaves you hungry for what’s to come with them.

Though the album doesn’t end as strong as “Restless,” it contains 14 tracks of hip-hop bliss. Dre, Eminem, Snoop and Nate Dogg all display flawless examples of their talent while showing the world that Dre’s camp is not to be battled with.

– Kyle Moss

It has become trendy to hate nu-metal bands. You sure as hell aren’t going to get a radio show at the local college station if you tell them you are going to be playing the likes of Disturbed.

With its new album, “Believe,” the four-piece has done some definite growing up, however. The band doesn’t rely as strongly on pure heaviness and aggression like it did on its 2000 release, “The Sickness.” It still incorporates a very thick groove, but blends its crunchy guitars with some melodies that many metal bands aren’t able to do.

The biggest reason for this is front man David Draiman. He officially earns the title of lead singer as opposed to vocalist on this album. Draiman’s soaring vocal melodies on tracks like “Believe” and “Remember” are a far cry from the work that was done on “The Sickness.”

Lyrically, the band seems to have made an effort to move away from its trademark freaky and somewhat morbid lyrics that ruled its prior release.

Lyrics like, “I’m gonna talk about some freaky shit now/Someone is gonna die when you listen to me/Let the living die,” are replaced with songs like “Rise.” “Come, take me away/Remove the fear from my eyes/Feel the flame of my heart/Burning away,” Draiman chants.

But Disturbed aren’t quite big boys yet. Songs such as “Intoxication” and “Liberate” are still choppy and clich‚d attempts complete with Draiman’s signature gorilla grunts. At times you could swear you heard the same song on the last Disturbed album. In addition, “Darkness” is a blatant attempt to cash in on the success of Staind’s sob story ballads.

Overall, “Believe” is a mediocre album that features some definite nu-metal clunkers but also some vast improvements in the band’s song writing. It will be interesting to see if Disturbed can survive the inevitable downfall of nu-metal. If it does and the band builds off of this album, Disturbed might be able to enjoy a bright future.

-Trevor Fisher