These days, to create a hit album, producers need to listen for and use sounds that already sell. In “Pootie Tang,” executive producers Chris Rock, Sean Daniel, Michael Rotenberg, and Mitchell Leib clearly did just that. For example, the above mentioned song by 702 could easily be mistaken for a new Destiny’s Child hit. It uses the same bouncing beat overlaid with staccato harmonies and an even blend of alto and soprano voices. The song that follows it, “Dirty Dee” by Majic and Master P, makes use of the common bass- heavy background mixed in with mellow rap and a female background vocalist. Basically, it’s a DMX meets Busta Rhymes in the Dirty South. “Dirty Dee,” with its clever rhymes and strong hook, is definitely my favorite track.

Another song that stands out in “Pootie Tang” is “Poison” by Bell Biv DeVoe. First released over a decade ago, BBD’s hit single is now a classic that provides comic relief in modern scenarios.

Unfortunately, although the album starts off strong, it tends to weaken toward the end. For instance, Ideal’s “I Should’ve Told You” (Track #7) presents listeners with nothing new. An average R&B song, it simply isn’t as powerful as a K-Ci and JoJo single, nor is it as smooth as any by Boyz II Men. Another mediocre song is “You Know What?” by Lil J, who sounds a lot like Little Romeo and Aaron Carter put together. Need I say more? Lastly, the “Pootie Tang” soundtrack would have probably done well enough, if not better, without Tara Jeffers, Qiana Drew, and Lorria Richards’ “Ode to Pootie.” While the first half of the song contains wailing, moaning and some singing, the latter half is only an instrumental of the movie’s theme song. All in all, the whole piece just adds up to a confusing mess.

“Pootie Tang,” an original compilation in which east meets west, north meets south, and old meets new, deserves 3 stars.