Brown Sugar

1	Brown Sugar (Extra Sweet) / Faith Evans 3:28
2	Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop) / Common 5:38
3	Bring Your Heart / Diamond Stone 4:49
4	Brown Sugar (Raw) / Black Star 3:43
5	Easy Conversation / Jill Scott 4:57
6	It's Going Down / Kanye West 3:58
7	Breakdown / Mos Def 3:01
8	You Make Life So Good / Rahsaan Patterson 3:59
9	Time After Time / Cassandra Wilson 4:06
10	Paid in Full / Eric B. & Rakim 7 Minutes of Madness-The Coldcut Remix 7:11
11	No One Knows Her Name / Plakhan 3:55
12	Act Too (Love of My Life) / The Roots Remix 3:37
13	Never Been / Mary J. Blige 4:04
14	Brown Sugar (Fine) / Mos Def 3:31
15	You Changed / Jully Black Bonus Track 3:52

Barnes & Noble

Neo-soul and hip-hop fans alike will rejoice in the Brown Sugar soundtrack, which features new songs from an all-star cast of artists including Jill Scott, Mos Def, Angie Stone, and the Roots. The film is an urban romance starring Taye Diggs (How Stella Got Her Groove Back) as a successful music executive and Sanaa Lathan (Love & Basketball) as a revered music critic, and the soundtrack reflects the characters' passion for each other and for hip-hop. The song that most poignantly captures that connection is "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)," appropriately featuring kindred spirits Erykah Badu and Common. Other standout tracks include Stone's gospel-tinged "Bring Your Heart," Scott's endearing "Easy Conversation," and Rahsaan Patterson's Prince-ly ballad "You Make Life So Good." From start to finish, the well-produced Brown Sugar satisfies with a soon-to-be classic collection of sweet contemporary soul music. Tracy E. Hopkins

All Music Guide

The soundtrack album to the 2002 film about a hip-hop-centered romance has 15 songs by a wide variety of the music's veterans and more recently emerged talents. Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, and Eric B. & Rakim are some of the better-known contributors on a compilation that mixes neo-soul and harder hip-hop styles. In the neo-soul bag, there's Jill Scott, whose romantic "Easy Conversation" is one of the better selections. Jazz/R&B crossover singer Cassandra Wilson covers Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," while the Roots offer some of the harder beats and scratching on the remix of "Act Too (Love of My Life)." On the whole it's an adequate sampler of some early 21st century hip-hop sounds, leaning toward the more pop-accessible segment of the genre. Richie Unterberger

Vibe

Like a genie emerging from a spiral of incense smoke, the Brown Sugar soundtrack is a conscious son's or daughter's musical daydream come true. Laura Checkoway 1/2