As you read the very first few lines of this review I can read the thoughts in your head - not another blasted soundtrack album featuring music from and inspired by the motion picture. How do I know this? Because I was thinking exactly the very same thing as it arrived on my desk here in the Designer Magazine offices. But as I looked through the list of R&B and Hip-hop artists I couldn't help but feel this compilation was going to be a little different with the likes of Missy Elliot, Tweet and Angie Martinez representing the ladies and Nate Dogg and Knoc-Turn Al representing the men.

It's the aforementioned Nate Dogg and Knoc-Turn Al who provide the outstanding tracks "I Got Love" and "Muzik". The former sampling from the late Chicago soul singer Donny Hathaway's "I Believe To My Soul" over a laid-back Ginuine track about "chasing the cheddar and when in love with a whore". The latter manages to do the ultimate and actually make good of Paul McCartneys mistakes with Wings as they sample "Old Siam, Sir" with one of the best hip-hop tracks of the best 12 months. "if I Could Go" by Angie Martinez is the best hip hop track of the last 12 months by a mile and is taken from her "Animal House" album which raised the game for female rap earlier in the year.

Amongst the album tracks from the likes of Missy Elliot and Tweet, the actual film compositions from Stanley Clarke and Replicant and the token cover version (which this time happens to be 4BindN's take on Donna Summers "Bad Girls") is Nadia's stunning "Life Of A Stranger". While this track could potentially be an international smash the size of Bryan Adam's "Everything I Do", the truth is it will probably fade away as quickly as the closing credits of the film. The Transporter Soundtrack is one of the better soundtrack albums around and if you're looking for an introduction to some great hip hop and R&B artists these tracks would be a good place to start before buying the individual artists albums

Alex McCann