DY-NO-MITE!!!

If you didn't know any better, you'd think you were back at the cinema 35 years ago watching a Shaft spinoff. But you're not. It's 2009, and the blaxploitation craze is back after a long hiatus - ready to kick you in the teeth and then sleep with your lady.

The movie is being released slowly to various markets, but you can vote for it to come to a town near you here. What you don't have to wait on, though, is the funky music that accompanies the movie. There are 2 releases associated: the score and the soundtrack. (Take a listen to each in full over in the music section of the official movie site.)

The soundtrack pulls together various library music from the likes of Alan Tew, Brian Bennett, and Nino Nardini to name a few. Some of these tracks have been used in other crime drams previously, hence the “library” moniker. If you've heard other blaxploitation soundtracks before, then you know the sound well: fuzz guitar, funked-out bass, and plenty of bass clef piano thuds hinting at trouble waiting just around the corner.

The score was masterminded by multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge. The record has such a vintage feel that it's hard to believe that this truly isn't some piece of unearthed long-lost goodness from the vaults. Much of the grittiness can be attributed to its recording process. Younge composed and played the album in his apartment on analog equipment.

No true blaxploitation score would be complete without a theme song. Sir Charles Hughes does the honor in coronating our hero. A brief introduction of Black Dynamite tells us how the grass withers wherever he walks and King Kong steps aside as he passes. Yes, he's a badass so step out of his way. That doesn't quite prepare us for “Chicago Wind,” with a haunting vocal that I'll be surprised if it isn't sampled by a Chicago native like Kanye West or Common in the next couple of years. It's already got the boom bap drums laid at its foundation and a slinky synth laid over top. The lyrics aren't as potent as the melody itself, but it's such a strong track, namely for the aforementioned vocals that breeze through like the gusty Chicago wind it speaks of through a cracked window, howling into your soul.

Early reviews of the movie indicate that it rides the line between homage and parody of the genre. The score is more the former as it's a reproduction of the sound. No new ground has been tread, but it's none the worse for wear. It reminds us of a time when composers other than John Williams told the story of characters not in visual action but in tone and soundscapes. It's nice to be reintroduced to that ideal.