Music Review: 'Original Gangstas' (1996)

With talent ranging from fading o.g.'s Ice-T and the Geto Boys to rising stars Junior M.A.F.I.A., Original Gangstas updates the classic blaxploitation soundtrack. Beginning with a cover of Marvin Gaye's ''Inner City Blues'' by R&B crooners Ideal, and emphasizing Northern Cali flavor from regional stars like E-40, Spice 1, and Luniz, the album serves as a crash course in the last five years of black music, including a lesson in head-bobbing funk that shouldn't be missed. B+