The soundtrack to
Ice Cube's directorial debut,
The Players Club (a
Cube-written drama about a young woman trying to complete college by stripping in a "gentlemen's club"), was the first release on his Heavyweight Records label, a subsidiary of A&M Records. Appropriately, the album has all the makings of a big deal, featuring a terrific single from
Cube, "We Be Clubbin'," plus new tracks from
Brownstone,
Mia X,
K-Ci & Jo-Jo,
Changing Faces,
Kurupt,
Rufus Blaq featuring
Spinderella, and a duet between
Master P and
Ice Cube, as well as
Cube working with
Scarface and
Mack 10. If you're familiar with the names, you'll realize that many of the cuts on the album were made in collaboration with soldiers of
Master P's No Limit army, and all of
The Players Club has a bass-heavy, deep groove, which works appropriately for a movie about strippers, after all. There are a few weak moments on the album, but overall, it sets a mood and sustains it, resulting in a thick, funky contemporary hip-hop record that's thoroughly enjoyable.
–
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi