*** Various artists, “Music From and Inspired by ‘Shaft,’ ” LaFace/Arista.

This strong collection mirrors the mix of cool, suave vibes and powerful, forceful attitude of John Shaft himself. Isaac Hayes updates the classic backing for the original film with “Theme From ‘Shaft,’ ” while such rap acts as Beanie Sigel, T.I.P., OutKast and UGK reflect the detective’s no-nonsense attitude. Crooner R. Kelly delivers two of the stronger soul selections on an album that is weakened only by the inclusion of a few mediocre songs.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.