If the quality of the movie "Barbershop 2: Back In Business" is anything like its soundtrack - it would be two hours worth of just barely satisfactory entertainment.
That's the grade I give the "Barbershop 2: Back In Business" soundtrack. It fits most of the basic requirements to be called music - the people who created it had a pulse and there's at least one instrument being played, but it's just not good.
It's not that it's terrible per se, it's just that it's all been done before. More than once.
"Not Today" would be better if it were just Mary J. Blige and Eve was not involved whatsoever. I don't really have a problem with Eve, it's just that Blige's vocals are beautiful enough to be the focus of the song, rather than Eve's rap.
"I Can't Wait" has some extremely weak rhymes. How much can Sleepy Brown talk about himself and his pimpdom? Apparently enough to make a few albums. The R&B aspect of the song has some soul, but it just fits in the same framework that every other popular R&B song does. It's just based on one guy's ability to sing, even though what he's singing has already been sung, not just by him, but by every other R&B artist in the world.
If I were a booty-shaker, I would probably do so to "Fallen." There's no doubt that the sound is pleasing with Mya's voice, the music in the background and the catchy chorus. It fits the criteria for a successful rap and R&B mix when Chingy comes in with his rappin' bad self.
"Pussy" is a song about The Clipse's cat. Not really, but it's not about female anatomy either, which surprised me. With the exception of the background music and the random drawn out "Pusssssssssyyyyyyyy-ah" the rap isn't bad. "They'd rather see me not breathing, than see me achieve/Have my mama grieving, crouched to her knees/?Like a scarlet letter, for the world to see/Can't hide the truth, descendants of pain/So y'all get exposed like the sons of Hussein."
"Things Come and Go" adds some light to the album, not because it's another song sung by Mya, but because it features Sean Paul's take on reggae. This take isn't true reggae, of course, but it's about as good as this CD is going to get.
"Never" is performed by Keyshia Cole, who has a great voice. You can tell that she's actually got talent, and unlike female singers such as Jessica Simpson or Britney Spears, she doesn't have to lip-synch, and if she weren't in a recording studio, she'd still sound decent. The song features the star of "Barbershop 2" and also features the only female signed with the Ruff Ryders label, Eve. I appreciate Eve's rap - she's not really saying anything important, but the sound is strong. And as we all know, a lack of content never has stopped an artist from reaching the top of the charts.
The rest of the album is just contemporary, commercialized rap with no real consistency or purpose other than making money.
But at least the movie's star, Ice Cube, didn't do any of the music this time.
If you liked this, you might also like: The original "Barbershop" soundtrack
Suggested listening: While trying on clothes at Express or while rubbing your nude body against a pole for money.
