Considering that Gang Related happened to be the last film featuring Tupac Shakur (it also happened to star Jim Belushi, but that's another matter) -- it's no surprise that the accompanying soundtrack features nothing but gangsta rap and G-funk. By and large, it's a solid collection, but it wouldn't be considered out of the oridinary if it didn't contain some of the last cuts 2Pac completed before his untimely death. Sad to say, they're not exceptional tracks -- they merely sound like leftovers from the All Eyez on Me sessions, without much spark to the performances or imagination in the production. That same malady plagues portions of Gang Related. The soundtrack was the last major release from Death Row, slipping out shortly after
Suge Knight went to jail and the label went into paralysis, and it often sounds like the work of a label and genre (G-funk) on its last moments. Not to say that it isn't without its moments. Every once and in a while, a track catches hold, whether it's from a veteran artist or a new rapper, but all the songs sound a little too similar over the course of the double-disc set. For hardcore gangstas, it may be worth sorting through the 24 songs just to own the otherwise unavailable 2Pac cuts and the other interesting tracks, but it'll be a bit too much for the average listener. [Gang Related was issued in a "clean" version with all profanity removed.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine