TOPDOG/UNDERDOG GETS ITS DAY ON MCA SOUNDTRACK

The original soundtrack for the hit Broadway show, Topdog /Underdog, will be released July 30 on MCA Records.

The collection of new and classic music is from and inspired by the play, which stars rapper Mos Def and Jeffrey Wright as two orphaned brothers. Wright is Lincoln, a reformed three-card-monte dealer who earns his living as a whiteface Abraham Lincoln imitator, while Mos Def strives to be like his sibling while making a living as a shoplifter.

The plot develops within a soundscape featuring contempo hip-hop artists (e.g., DMX, Jay-Z, Wu Tang Clan featuring Nas) and classic blues and soul legends (including Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker and James Brown). The soundtrack also features two new songs, one performed by Mos Def, the other by Wright.

The critically acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning play, written by Suzan-Lori Parks, has been called one of Broadway’s most exciting and daring new productions, attracting a young, vibrant audience and transforming the Great White Way into a Rainbow Coalition in the process. The show was produced by longtime music industry exec Freddy DeMann and veteran stage producer Suzi Dietz, in association with the otherwise culturally bereft losers here at HITS magazine.

Confirmed tracks on the album include Mos Def’s new song, "Three Card" and Wright’s performance of "Lincoln’s Blues," a song penned by Parks for the drama. Other songs featured in the play and on the album include Wayne Shorter’s "Genesis" and "Face of the Deep," Jay-Z’s "Change the Game," Son House’s "Grinnin’ in Your Face," Muddy Waters’ "Got My Mojo Working," DMX’s "No Love 4 Me" and "Bring Your Whole Crew," Howlin’ Wolf’s "Poor Boy," Robert Johnson’s "Hellhound on My Trail," Wu Tang Clan with Nas’s "Let My Niggas Live," John Lee Hooker’s "Boom Boom" and James Brown’s "It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World," "Papa’s Got a Brand-New Bag" and "Payback."