Eva Cassidy

Alpha Dog is a movie about rich, bored white kids trying their darnedest to imitate playas, hustlers and thugs. It's only fitting, then, that the film stars Justin Timberlake and its soundtrack consists primarily of little-known artists "paying homage to" bigger, badder acts: Paul Bushnell alternately channels Marilyn Manson and Beck, Miredys Peguero purrs like a down-tempo Sade, and Mic Holden's "Let's Chill" seems to be built from leftover pieces of "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang." One brilliant exception is Tech N9ne, who shakes up the status quo with four standout tracks.