Men In Black (The Album)

Former Coen brothers cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld has carved out a nice, if unlikely, niche as one of the '90s most consistently succesful directors (The Addams Family, Get Shorty), and the megahit alien spoof Men in Black only enhanced that reputation. The film's quirky MIB orchestral score by Danny Elfman is represented here by just two cuts; the feel-good hip-hop grooves of star Will Smith, Snoop Doggy Dogg, A Tribe Called Qwest, and others that take center stage instead. Still, a more convincing argument for "positive rap" would be hard to imagine. --Jerry McCulley