In Brief : <i> Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five (a classic). : </i>

*** 1/2 “Boyz N the Hood” soundtrack, Qwest/Warner Bros. This all-star rap and R&B; soundtrack features the likes of Ice Cube (one the movie’s stars), Yo-Yo, Too Short, Monie Love, Tevin Campbell, Tony! Toni! Tone! and 2 Live Crew--with some soft jazz pieces by Quincy Jones and Stanley Clarke thrown in. Like the movie, some of the songs pack a real wallop--particularly those dealing with life in the ‘hood, including Cube’s “How to Survive in South-Central” and Comptons Most Wanted’s “Growin’ Up in the Hood.”