The Trespass Soundtrack Trumps its Peers

There are fewer anomalies in 1993 than the Trespass Soundtrack. And I don't consider you, as the regular World of Wumme (or Bo Jackson) reader , to know this. Trespass was post the New Jack City/Boyz N' the Hood zeigeist and pre Judgement Night/Lollapalooza miscegenation of rock and hip-hop that would eventually submerge Alternative Nation. Trespass wasn't even at a crossroads, there were no metal invites here. The crossover came more in the coupling of pure (whitebreed) action movie, with the hyperextended pulse of hip-hop culture at the time. The movie starred Bill Paxton and William Sadler -- but also introduced Ice Cube and Ice-T (the royal ices) as legitimate film stars (this, after their big breakthroughs). I can't say I remember the movie being that remarkable, but in retrospect, the soundtrack was signature of that year, and completely caught a moment that only come during that summer.

As stated, the Trespass soundtrack did not bridge the East Coast and the West Coast (it was even before that conflict manifested) and instead leaned towards the East Coast's harder, more minimal side, while retaining the dirty funk that had started to blossom in Califorinia. The Fun Funk. There are two sides to this -- probably most felt in Ice-T's "Depth's of Hell." Ice-T has always been one for low-level blasts, but here, post-Colors, he becomes even more vicious. This might even be his best effort (reggae aside) since the early days. On the opposite side of the spectrum is Public Enemy,who's "Gotta Do What I Gotta Do," is particularly West Coast in it's wiggle -- the Terminator X solo is a wonderful freestyle against the implied grain of the film.

I need to see how this all fits with the film -- because there's a huge contrast throughout this compilation. There's the little known Penthouse Players Clique (a Ruthless Records super-group) and W. C. (a personal favorite and Bo Jackson HOF member) vs. heavy-hitters like Gang Starr and Lord Finesse. Pure contrast throughout. But the oddest inclusion here is Black Sheep. They contend a pre-Low End Theory, lo-end beat, Mingus/Thinking-Man hip-hop that sounds foreign in the realm of unknowns on this, the Trespass soundtrack. Go Buy.