Overview

Street Fighter Underground Remix is a free soundtrack released for download on the PlayStation Network and MySpace to commemorate the release of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. It features five hip-hop tracks inspired by Street Fighter II created by major names such as Redman, Hieroglyphics, DJ Qbert, DJ Toure, Zion I, Mistah F.A.B., and Oh No. Though rap has featured on both the Street Fighter II: The World Warrior and Street Fighter II Blood on the Asphalt before this, this is the first mainstream hip-hop album dedicated to the score. It received quite a bit of attention from the hip-hop and Street Fighter online communities alike. Did it satisfy?

Body

Hieroglyphics' "Fighting in the Street" asserts the attitude of a Street Fighter right away. The rapper challenges listeners to fight him while inspiring intimidation with lots of bravado and violent references. Though few game samples are used in this track, the lyrics extensively reference the game and video game culture in general. Redman and Oh No's "Lay You Out" is probably the least accessible track on the album since the dense lyrics have no relation with the seemingly random samples below. Some will appreciate the lyricism, others will enjoy the numerous game sounds, but more will find the track messy.

DJ Qbert's "Super Beat Street Fighter II" adds quite a bit of quirk to the album. In the style of a news announcement, the start of the track appropriately references Dee Jay and goes on to introduce the Four Devas from the game. Most of the rest of the track features plenty of turntabling and voice samples over a simple ascending break. The dialogue is well done here and bound to generate quite a few laughs towards the end. A nice break from all the aggressive rapping and it's good to see Underground Remix doesn't take itself too seriously.

DJ Touré also offered two tracks on the album. "Warrior Class Bounce" continues the focus on turntabling and also repeats the distinctive bass line from Guile's theme. However, the lyrics seem relatively repetitive and uninspired here even though Mistah F.A.B. brings the most out of them. Far more impressive is "Warrior Close Bounce". It once again features dense rapping above a moody bass line created with vocal samples. It is full of lyricism and MC Zubmi's interpretation of each chorus is especially effective. Definitely one most casual hip-hop listeners could get into.

Summary

Overall, the worlds of hip-hop and street fighting collide quite well here. The album captures the fighting spirit of the game's characters with its well-written lyrics and the aggressive and confident performances of the prominent rappers. With one exception, game samples are used to good effect too either to create a solid break or offer some humorous quirks. However, there are a couple of weaker tracks among the five offered and nothing here really pushes any boundaries in the hip-hop industry. Though a lot of Street Fighter fans won't like this due to the genre featured, fans of mainstream hip-hop might want to try it out for free at MySpace or PSN.