Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing provided a unique window into contemporary race relations in late 20th century Brooklyn. The soundtrack to the film is an equally important snapshot of the hip hop and R&B that was coming out at the time. There's Public Enemy's defiant and angry "Fight The Power" which served as a leitmotif in the film. Chuck D's lyrics build on the original "Fight the Power" by The Isley Brothers, creating a picture of the surroundings in late 80s New York. And the Bomb Squad production creates the perfect mood, using samples to alternate between feelings of ease and tension. Summer party staples like E.U.'s "Party Hearty" and Teddy Riley's "My Fantasy" lighten the mood, while deep slow jams from Perri and Al Jarreau heat things up. Other songs serve to capture the diversity of Lee's Bed-Stuy, with roots reggae from Steel Pulse and the smooth salsa of Ruben Blades' "Tu Y Yo." With the accolades and controversy that Lee's landmark film drew it's only fitting that the soundtrack is part of the Respect The Classics series.

• part of the Respect The Classics reissue series
• music label: Motown 1989 / 2014

reviewed by Michu Meszaros 01/2015