AAVV — Friday

The soundtrack of the film of the same name encapsulates the best that West Coast hip-hop has to offer in the mid-nineties. Performers are Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Scarface, Threat, Cypress Hill, Mack 10, Funkdoobiest, Tha Alkaholiks, EA-Ski and the 2 Live Crew, as well as Isley Brothers, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Rick James, Rose Royce and Roger Troutman, who provide the soul and rnb tracks to complete the work. Production is handled by Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Sam Sneed, N.O. Joe, DJ Pooh, Rashad Coes, DJ Muggs, Ronald Isley, Angela Winbush, DJ Ralph M, E-Swift, E-A-Ski & CMT, 2 Live Crew and Roger Troutman.

The tape starts strong with the ex NWA members: Ice Cube delivers slow, fluid, hardcore on a self-produced rhythm with layered samples and a dry, hard, pounding and snappy drum. Dr. Dre follows, with one of the best moments of the edition, "Keep Their Heads Ringin'". Self-produced, co-produced by Sam Sneed, the track boasts one of the best beats of the edition, consisting of elegant and accessible synths and the best drum machine of the tape. There's a hook by Nancy Fletcher and a good rap by Dre. Scarface runs on autopilot over a decent funky beat on track number three, and he's still among the top performers.

In the following tracks the album mixes well thug rap, weed rap, synths g-funk, soul tracks and rnb tracks, with a solid section formed by the classics of Isley Brothers, Bootsy Collins, Rick James and Rose Royce, before the soundtrack returns to hip-hop and close with Roger Troutman's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". These tracks are as strong as the rap tracks and contribute to making the release quite solid and among the best soundtracks of the period. "Mary Jane" is a fantastic classic, it's the best song on the CD and has the best rhythm, Rick James and Art Stewart's masterpiece, flawless cut.

Composed of 15 songs for a total of 64 minutes, the disc is distributed by Priority, it's praised by critics (even in retrospect, being considered one of the best hip-hop soundtracks ever) and obtains an extraordinary commercial success: ranks on three continents, reaching the top of both the Billboard 200 and rap records, becoming the sixth best-selling hip-hop album of the year and snatching certifications in Canada and the US (platinum in two months, double platinum the following year). Recommended for West Coast fans.

Highlights: "Friday", "Keep Their Heads Ringin'", "Tryin' to See Another Day", "You Got Me Wide Open", "Mary Jane", "Coast II Coast".

Rating: 7.7/10.