Coach Carter Soundtrack (Explicit)

It may be a predictable exercise in Hollywood formula (Samuel L. Jackson plays the title character, a tough, no-nonsense high school basketball coach whose stern demeanor aims at making more than one kind of champion of his young charges) but it's a well-crafted one, musically endowed with a hip-hop soundtrack that gives it a sense of time, place and urban edge -- if only 2/3 of this collection's cuts are actually in the film. Superstar beat-savvy may be in short supply, but the mid-tempo groove of "Southside" by The Game (featuring a spotlight turn by Lil Scrappy) and Red Café's nervy opener "All Night Long" are notable contributions. Elsewhere, tracks by Kanye West, Malik Yusef, Common and JV (the teasing "Wouldn't You Like to Ride"), Chingy, Twista ("Hope," featuring the soul-infused backing of Faith Evans) and Ciara (the sexy slink of "Roll Wit' You") impart an up-to-the-minute edge to the collection, even if some of the remainder seem culled from the B-team.