Blade: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture Soundtrack CD

Gang Starr & M.O.P,Krs-One,DJ Krush,Junkie Xl,Roger S &More

Producers include: KLC, DJ Premier, The Guru, Nashiem Myrick.
Compilation producer: Patricia Joseph.
Photographer: Bruce Talamon.
Unknown Contributor Roles: DJ Krush; P.A. ; Down 2 Earth; EPMD; Expansion Union; Kasino & The Lox; Gang Starr; Dana K. Sano; Junkie XL; KRS-One; Kurtis Mantronik; Mobb Deep; Mystikal; New Order ; Rappin' Noyd; Wolfpak; Bizzy Bone; Bounty Killer.
The album is basically a lot of rap, with a good deal of New York-based work (obvious exception to the New York part: Mystikal; obvious exception to the rap part: New Order). It's not too bad, thanks to the fact that it stays within a single genre almost exclusively. Darker rhythms and beats predominate here, as they ought to for such a movie. There are actually quite a few masterful MCs here -- Mystikal is able to produce some high speed deliveries, and KRS-One is, of course, one of the accepted masters of the New York scene. Newcomers such as P.A. and Kasino are also able artists. On a related note, however, other newcomers, such as Wolfpak, provide rather inferior material ("this the gangsta bou-ou-nce, get off your ass and bounce -- bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce"). Dancehall master Bounty Killer also makes an appearance, which essentially adds a different flavor to the rap that's being presented. He still raps, but with a nice thick accent and a noticeably reggae-tinged delivery. Also, a few club worthy tracks appear in the latter half of the album: Mantronik's remix of an EPMD piece, New Order's new wave/club "Confusion," and Expansion Union's "Playing With Lightning." It's a nice album, overall, for the ability to stick more or less within a genre, and at least within a mood. This is a soundtrack album that could potentially stand alone, without simply backing a movie. ~ Adam Greenberg
Starring Wesley Snipes as a human/vampire hybrid superhero who attempts to save humanity from vampirism, BLADE has a highly stylized, futuristic-goth feel, full of shadowy images and dark, scary corners. The accompanying soundtrack album matches the ominous mood of the film quite well, employing some of the finest contemporary hardcore hip-hoppers to get the job done. Unlike many soundtrack albums that put together a mishmosh of mass-marketed songs that bear little relation to the film itself, the BLADE soundtrack features songs composed exclusively for the film. Mystikal's sinister-sounding "Edge of the Blade" and the Majesty/Bizzy Bone collaboration "Blade 4 Glory" are the most directly related, but every tune here creates a mood very similar to that of the state-of-the-art vampire flick.

Rap Pages (11/98, p.135) - 3 (out of 5) - "...This marriage of hard-core Hip-Hop to the seductive, pulsating rhythms of some of electronica's most experiment producers is ear candy..."