''Romeo Must Die: The Album'' is the soundtrack to

Andrzej Bartkowiak Andrzej Bartkowiak, A.S.C. (born 6 March 1950) is a Polish cinematographer and film director. Career In the early 1980s, Bartkowiak was cinematographer on three films that received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture: ''The Verdict'', ...

's 2000

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

Romeo Must Die ''Romeo Must Die'' is a 2000 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak in his feature film directorial debut, and featuring fight choreography by Corey Yuen. The film stars Jet Li and Aaliyah in her feature film debut, It follows a Chi ...

'', composed of hip hop and R&B music. It was released on March 28, 2000 through

Blackground Records Blackground Records 2.0 (legal name Blackground Records, LLC, formerly known as Blackground Records) is an American record label founded and owned by Jomo and Barry Hankerson. Initially named Blackground Enterprises, the label switched its name t ...

and

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

in association with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

(who helped co-financed the soundtrack). Recording sessions took time between May 1999 and January 2000.

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

was handled by several record producers, including

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (born June 26, 1970), professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer, record executive, and the CEO and co-founder of Murder Inc. Records. He is best known for producing multiple number-one rec ...

, Rapture Stewart,

Ant Banks Anthony Banks (born March 4, 1966) is an American record producer and rapper from Oakland, California. Biography As a child, he took part in a band at school and then learned to play a variety of instruments along the way. At school he only le ...

, Eric Seats,

Mannie Fresh Byron Otto Thomas (born March 20, 1969), better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American music producer and rapper. He's best known for his productions on Cash Money Records releases, as well being half of the hip hop duo (alongside ...

, J Dub, and

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

, who also served as executive producer along with

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

and Jomo Hankerson, and the film star

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...

. It features contributions from Aaliyah, who appears on fours songs, as well as B.G.,

Chanté Moore Chanté Torrane Moore (born February 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, television personality, and author. Rising to fame in the early 1990s, Moore established herself as an R&B singer. Her debut studio album '' Precious'' w ...

Dave Hollister David Le Chaine Hollister (born August 17, 1968) is an American R&B singer who found fame during the 1990s as one quarter of the R&B quartet Blackstreet, before going on to have a solo career. Hollister is best known for his 2000 gold-certifie ...

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. He began his career as a member of Swing Mob in the early 1990s. Signing to Epic R ...

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

Lil' Mo Cynthia Karen Loving (born November 19, 1978), known professionally as Lil' Mo, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, television and radio personality. She is best known for her 2001 single " Superwoman Pt. II", featuring then-unknown rapper ...

Mack 10 Dedrick D'Mon Rolison (born August 9, 1971), better known by his stage name Mack 10, is an American rapper. He has sold nearly 11 million records combining his solo and group works. Mack 10 made his first appearance on Ice Cube's 1994 " Bootleg ...

, Playa,

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jaz ...

The Comrads The Comrads was American gangsta rap duo from Lynwood, California, composed of Kelly "K-Mac" Garmon and Terrell "Gangsta" Anderson. The pair made a major splash in the Los Angeles area in the summer of 1997 with the single "Homeboyz" from their se ...

and more. Three singles and music videos were released from the album: Aaliyah's number one pop hit " Try Again" (directed by

Wayne Isham Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958) is an American film director and music video director who has directed films and music videos of many popular artists. Early life and education Isham was born in December 2, 1958. He attended the University ...

), Aaliyah and her co-star DMX duet "

Come Back in One Piece "Come Back in One Piece" is a song recorded by American singer Aaliyah, featuring a guest appearance by American rapper DMX, for the soundtrack to the 2000 film ''Romeo Must Die''. It was written by DMX, Stephen Garrett, Irv Gotti, Rob Meys, G ...

" (directed by

Little X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian filmmaker, commercial director, music video director, and television director. Having directed more than 100 music videos, he is widely known as a pr ...

), and

Timbaland & Magoo Timbaland & Magoo were a rap duo consisting of producer/rapper Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and rapper Melvin "Magoo" Barcliff, formed in 1989. Hailing from Norfolk, Virginia, the duo first met when they were teenagers. They later paired up as a ...

's "We At It Again" (directed by Chris Robinson), which introduced

's younger brother, rapper

Sebastian Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...

, to audiences. '' Q'' magazine included the soundtrack album in their list of the '5 Best Compilations of 2000'. In August 2021, it was reported that Aaliyah's recorded work for Blackground (since rebranded as Blackground Records 2.0) would be re-released on physical, digital, and, for the first time ever, streaming services in a deal between the label and

Empire Distribution EMPIRE Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (marketed as EMPIRE) is an American distribution company and record label founded in by Ghazi Shami with offices in New York City, London, Nashville, and Atlanta. It has released albums in vario ...

''Romeo Must Die: The Album'' was re-released on September 3, 2021.

Commercial performance

In the United States, the soundtrack debuted at number 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and topped the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart selling 203,000 in its first week. It was certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on May 2, 2000 for selling a million copies. The album sold 1.3 million copies by the end of 2000. By 2001 the album sold 1.5 million copies domestically and over 2 million copies internationally. In Canada, the soundtrack peaked at number 4 and was certified Platinum by

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

. The album reached number 6 in Germany and lasted at number 76 in the year-ending. In 2013, it also was certified Silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

Track listing

;Notes *Tracks 8, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18 did not appear in the film

Other songs

*These songs did appear in the film but were not released on the soundtrack: **"First I'm Gonna Crawl" performed by DMX **"You're Not From Brighton" performed by

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

**"

I See You Baby "I See You Baby" is a song by British duo Groove Armada, featuring Gram'ma Funk on vocals. The song was also recorded with the chorus line "shakin' that thang" (to replace "shakin' that ass") for various markets around the world, and also for us ...

(Full Frontal Mix)" performed by

Groove Armada Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles "At the River", "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of whic ...

and Gramma Funk **"Inside My Mind/Blue Skies" performed by Groove Armada **"High Roller" and "

Keep Hope Alive "Keep Hope Alive" is a single featured on the studio album ''Vegas'' by the electronica group The Crystal Method.Owen, Rob, TV Q&A with Rob Owen', Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 6, 2005 The single was released on October 1, 1996, on the City of Ange ...

" performed by

The Crystal Method The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video gam ...

**"Going Home" performed by DJ Frane

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

*{{Discogs master, 69164, Various – Romeo Must Die Hip hop soundtracks 2000 soundtrack albums Action film soundtracks Albums produced by Ant Banks Albums produced by Irv Gotti Albums produced by Timbaland Contemporary R&B soundtracks Albums produced by Mannie Fresh Albums produced by Stanley Clarke