Yup, I'm back at it. Marring comic book films with hip hop albums. Time to show you all what is what and what you should expect. Now you can call rap ill-intentioned and for the weak minded, to which I will simply remind you that I came from the worst neighborhood in my country. I'm now a businessman who works in the biggest city in my country and I'm in my twenties. Hip-Hop helped me get through it all and if you call it a negative, well, didn't people in Memphis want to shoot Elvis when he debuted? Think about your time before you criticize mine.
Superman: The Movie is The Message - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Yes, Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie the flick that started it all. It can only be one rap album, and that is The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Yeah, rap had been around before that album. There were ramblings by Coke la Rock and DJ Cool Herk, but it was this album that officially made rap a thing. This was the late seventies and rap was starting to organize itself, and out comes The Message which is a beacon for others to join it. They did not, initially, but they would. So, what better album to represent the movie that started it all than the rap album that started it all?
Superman II is Sun City - AUAA
Hey, rap got different and without Richard Donner, the second film had to change itself and adjust with the old footage of Gene Hackman. As rap started to get more gangster, the Artists United Against Apartheid collaboration came out. This was a studio collaboration album that felt like it belonged ten years in the past, a part of Old School Hip Hop. Yet it stood it out, it shined. Led by Steven van Zandt, this album isn't so much a hip hop album as it is a musical mashup masterpiece yet those parts that are, are Superman II.
Superman III is Authentic - LL Cool J
What happens when one of the greatest rappers decides to try and adapt to a world that is no longer his? Well, generally they fail. If they succeeded you'd still be listening to Lauryn Hill on the radio. You don't. Superman III tried to adapt to the changing and higher expectations that were placed on it, it tried to capitalize on Richard Pryor and by doing so, began the slow shed of what made it work. Sure, the acting was all there, and LL Cool J can still rap to this day. Does it really matter though if it just isn't good?
Superman IV: Quest for Peace is Return of the Product - MC Serch
Ah, this movie, one of the few movies worse than Fant4astic. What happens when gangsta rap is all the thrill and noise, when you're on the cusp of Nas and the dawn of Snoop Dogg? You wan't to get in on all that. Yeah, sure this album actually even gave Nas one of his first opportunities, it doesn't make it any good at all. It is incoherent, it does not connect, in fact, I want you to watch The Last Starfighter and realize what kind of Superman movies we could have gotten. This movie went to space and is only memorable for giving Jon Cryer a chance. Just like Nas got his chance.
Batman is Straight Outta Compton - NWA
Could it be anything else? This album single handedly revolutionized the rap scheme. Gone were the days of melodic old school rhyme, replaced with a fervent desire toi say something, but not politely. It was finally time to do something. Batman looked at the last Superman movie and said screw that. It was time to make rap new and immortal, or have it live and let die. Batman hung on to everything a comic book film should be but was also aggressive and for the first time, mature.
Batman Returns is The Black Album - Jay Z
Ah yes, Jay-Z, didn't you say you would retire? Well, he sure did retire greatness in favor of commercialism with this album! That is also true with Batman Returns a film so good, but so out there that the studio had to make a choice. Could they let creativity run wild and see what happens when you truly delve into the head of the Dark Knight? They did with this film, but guess what, they had to retire that option as well. After all, you gotta sell happy meals and Jay-Z realized you gotta sell to white folks!
Batman Forever is Kingdom Come - Jay Z
Yup, I went there. Let's face it. This album blows and so does this movie. I hope you got your happy meals Josh because you sure buried this film better than McGee at the Pet Semetary. Honestly, though, with Kingdom Come Jay-Z tried to do what he could not do before and appeal to a crowd outside of his niche. He failed, terribly.
Batman and Robin is Tha Doggfather - Snoop Dogg
You may be wondering? Isn't Snoop Dogg supposed to be one of the best rappers, though? Yeah, he is, but he hasn't really released anything relevent since **** Death Row. Tupac Shakur was gone and guess what, Snoop Dogg could not take his throne. They may have been best friends like Batman and Robin, but Tupac was as dead as Clooney's acting and you can't expect Robin to hold up an entire film by himself especially when he's not doing too good either. Hey, that describes both scenarios!
Blade is Radio - LL Cool J
Blade got people to care about rap again. LL Cool J was the first popular succesful singles rap artist. Snoop Dogg, Nas, Tupac, Eminem, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and yes, Fetty Wap, are all his legacy. Good or bad. Late seventies, all of the eighties and the early ninties were dominated by rap groups, which are now not prevalent at all. This, however, got people to realize that there was something to the singles game. The singles game is now the winning game. Blade was the resurrection and it got people to care again.
X-Men is Doe or Die - AZ
I dare you, double dare you, to tell me that AZ did not release a masterpiece here? Amidst all the noise and clutter of science fiction released that year, Brian Singer did it and gave us a sci-fi masterpiece. AZ did the same in the hip hop world. It may not have made the most waves, after all, X-Men was not the biggest release in the year it came out, but it was one of the most stunning. Both visually and in terms of emotion. This album does the same. Much like X-Men, it has a simple title but delves far past you would expect it to.
Spider-Man is Doggystyle - Snoop Dogg
The thing about Doggystyle was that Snoop Dogg did something that no other artist had done at that point. He gave a clear definition of what a West Coast hip hop album was. Sure, there were stirrings of the East Coast-West Coast feud before this, but this album showed the difference between the two regions. While East Coast is and always has been more nuanced and focused on subliminal double meanings, the West Coast has always been more bumping and about production and emotion rather than thinking. Snoop Dogg did it first. Sure it was not perfect and the album has not aged as well a some would argue, but it is quintessential in every meaning of West Coast. Similarliy, Spider-Man may have come after X-Men, but while that film was mostly a science fiction movie, this one was flick that brought comic book movies to attention.
X2 is Life After Death - Biggie Smalls
Life After Death is a phenomenal album, considered by some to be one of the most potent albums of all time. There's meaning in this album. His rivalry with his former friend Tupac echoes throughout some of the songs. The album is reaching out to you practically, not to listen to the great beats by DJ Enuff or RZA, but rather what Biggie Smalls is trying to tell you. This album is everything that X2 accomplished in a film sense. That movie shwoed that science fiction films could have a heart beyond their niche quadrant and this album proved that just because you consider rapping appeals to the lowest and filthiest forms of society, doesn't mean it is true.
Spider-Man 2 is All Eyez on Me - Tupac Shakur
Perhaps the greatest album by Tupac Shakur and for a long time, Spider-Man 2 was regarded as the greatest comic book movie of all time. Boasting flashy visuals and stunning effects, Spider-Man 2 balanced this with great character development and a story that had a soul. Years beyond it's time, Tobey Maguire starred in this great masterpiece of a film. So of course All Eyez on Me is the counterpart. Everyone has heard California Love and that may be the song that represents the special effects part of Spider-Man 2. Maybe 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted is the action. Songs like Tradin' War Stories, All Eyez On Me and Heaven Aint Hard to Find are the soul that Spider-Man 2 made necessary for comic book films to have.
Batman Begins is Paper Trail - TI
Paper Trail is perhaps the best rap album of 2008 and given the albums that were released that year, it is no small feat. What it gave were several songs which exemplified Southern Hip Hop and showed a different side of rap all together. Whether it was the emotion invoking Dead and Gone or Live Your Life or the upbeat meledy of Whatever You Like or even the party anthem Swing Ya Rag, this album had it all. This movie showed us the potential of this genre. It showed us what comic book movies could truly be if they wanted to be great. This was the album that made me realize that hip hop was changing and becoming better than what it once was.
X-Men: The Last Stand is No Way Out - Puff Daddy and the Family
Yup. No Way Out was the first album by Puffy, Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, Sean Combs and boy did it suck. Perhaps only worth it for the production and guest appearances from Biggie Smalls and Jay-Z, if you want to hear a businessman pretending to rap, listen to this album. It has no heart, it has no soul. Sure it may sound good, but didn't The Last Stand take the throne of the most visually impressive comic book film when it came out? Yeah, it did. Here's the thing though. Who cared? No tell me, do you care about The Last Stand? I sure don't. It sucks and so does this album.
Superman Returns is Bush - Snoop Dogg
Ah Superman Returns. Remember when you were derided for not having any action at all and for being a complete emphasis on character development that you sucked the soul out of your movie. Yeah, I still bought your DVD... I also bought Bush by Snoop Dogg. How the mighty have fallen. Snoop Dogg tries to harken back to Doggystyle so much in this album but also tries to mesh with the future. You cannot have Doggystyle with Pharrell. You cannot have 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted with TI. Pharrell is not Dre, he's better so don't try to emulate Dre through him. TI is not Tupac, he's not even a West Coast rapper. Branden Routh is not Christopher Reeve. Bryan Singer you are NOT THE FATHER RICHARD DONNER.
Spider-Man 3 is Relapse - Eminem
Here's the thing about Spider-Man 3, it made a shit ton of money and a lot of people love it. Here's the thing about Relapse, it won Grammy for Best Hip Hop Album and a lot of people love it. Here's the thing about both, a lot of people hate them, and by hate, well, you're on this website so you probably hate Spider-Man 3 as well. The thing about your hate, though, is not that the film necessarily sucks. It's that it was such a disappointment. A huge letdown that dangled far too many plot threads and overall just was not deemed worthy by many. Woah, I just described Relapse as well!
Iron Man is The Don Killuminati: The Seven Day Theory - Makaveli
This movie is wonderful and amazing. If you doubt that, there is something wrong with you. For some reason, Obadiah Stane is as horribly developed as other Marvel villains. For some reason, though, that works in this movie and he gives a great villain. Ironically, this movie is The Don Killuminati. The first of the MCU is the last of Makaveli. Keeping the soul of his previous releases, Makaveli's album is darker than anything Tupac could have ever released, it is more urban yet all the same, it touches the heart like never before. Iron Man made us look at superhero films in all different way, with a potential for more. Sure it may not be the darkest film, but it is plenty dark and not through purpose but rather emotion. You feel for Tony Stark. You understand his PTSD. You understand Makaveli's decision to rise up even though he was always surrounded by Suge Knight. You realize his commitment to taking the fall even though he didn't do the crime. You understand Tony Stark's rationale even though noone else does.
The Dark Knight is Illmatic - Nas
Illmatic is the greatest rap album ever released. There's no working your way around that. Ten songs, ten songs with meaning. Each of the ten songs can correspond to a part with the greatest comic book movie ever released: The Dark Knight. The Genesis is when Batman confronts Scarecrow. N.Y. State of Mind is every time he wonders what he could be with Rachel. Life's a Bitch is that last fight with the Joker. The World is Yours is that key scene with the bombs and the boats. Halftime is the silence after Rachel's death. Memory Lane is that final scene when Gordon smashes the signal. One Love is when Bruce and Rachel share the kiss they shouldn't. One Time 4 Your Mind is the amazing sequence with the Batcycle, the Joker and Gordon. Represent is the confrontation between Batman and Two-Face. It Ain't Hard to Tell is everything in between.
The Avengers is Watch The Throne - Kanye West and Jay Z
The two superstars of the rap world: Kanye West and Jay Z on one album together? The greatest Marvel superheroes all together in one film fighting evil and kicking ass? C'mon, it really isn't hard to tell why these two are made for each other. Constantly criticized but always at the top and always on the radio, simply the facet of the two supserstars and the superheroes coming together pairs this film with this album.
The Dark Knight Rises is AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted - Ice Cube
Ah yes, Ice Cube, you faded away by the time I started listening. Just like Christian Bale will be gone by the time kids watch the next Batman. Yet there is something dangerous about this movie. It doesn't appeal to everyone. There's tragedy associated with it. It's an angry movie and it's angry album. There's light at the end of the tunnel, but whether or not you enter depends on the opinion you had on the ending or the last song. Whether you love Italy or The Bomb depends on you and nobody else because either way, the album is a hit just like the film.
Man of Steel is Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
The highest grossing hip hop album of all time. The highest grossing Superman movie (to date). Yet for some reason, half of us loved it and half of us hated it. I loved the movie and I also liked this album. Andre 3000 is perhaps the greatest of all time except he never had beef, a solo album or died. Big Boi is as melodic as forever. Yet something felt off. Outkast had always been different, but this wasn't that it was different, it's that some people didn't even want to call it rap. Some people didn't even want to call Man of Steel a superhero movie but rather a Transformers analogue. It only makes sense. Half of us love it , half of us hate it. Which one was I talking about in that last sentence, the answer is both.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is Dogg Food - Tha Dogg Pound
Quick, can somebody tell me one of the greatest hip hop collaboration albums of all time? If You answered Dogg Food, you would be correct. One of the greatest superhero team movies of all time? If you answered Days of Future Past you would be correct. Taking the best of the old Death Row and the best of the new Death Row, Tha Dogg Pound's album hit all beats of the 80s and the 90s and meshed together what was once expected of the West Coast and what was the present. Just like Days of Future Past seamlessly blended together two casts, even if one got less screen time.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is Rebirth - Lil Wayne
Ah Lil Wayne, remember when you were popular? I even liked you then. Then I realized your voice sucks, your rhymes suck, you're an asshole and that nothing about your songs is unique. You killed crunk, just like this movie almost killed the Spider-Man franchise.
Fant4stic is Forever - Puff Daddy
Puffy, Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, Sean Combs has no idea how to make a good album. He knows how to good business, he made Biggie Smalls mind you. He's not a rapper. He's a businessman pretending to be a rapper or a producer depending on the day. More names than Gusto clones or clickbaits on the internet a day, P. Diddy proved to everyone his stupidity with this album. This album isn't good. There's nothing good about it. It's horrible. He relies on nostalgia of a dead Biggie Smalls and features like Jay Z to try and keep himself afloat. Well guess what, Fant4stic may have had some of the best actors in the world in it, but the director sucked and it took us a long time to realize that. Yeah, some of us may have liked Chronicle like some of us liked No Way Out but thank you for proving to us you can't do shit in this world.
Again, only the second iteration of this article. In the next iteration I will add more movies and hopefully flesh everything out. Nonetheless, I believe I've done good so far.