Spike Lee’s new movie Chi-Raq—a satirical depiction of gun violence in Chicago’s primarily black communities—was controversial from its inception. Based on the Aristophanes comedy Lysistrata, the film is about a street war between fictional rival gangs The Trojans (led by Wesley Snipes, as Cyclops) and The Spartans. In response to the rampant violence, Chiraqi women pledge to boycott sex until the city’s bloodthirsty men knock it off with all the beefing.

Then there’s the soundtrack. The first single is “WGDB” (We Gotta Do Better), a cringeworthy stew of respectability politics crooned by Pastor Kevon Carter (the song includes the ridiculous and factually inaccurate lyric, “We’re the only race that shoots and kills themselves”). Ugh. “My City,” produced by drill extraordinaire Young Chop, is Nick Cannon’s take on gangster rap (he plays Spartan thug Chi-raq in the movie). UGH.

While Chi-Raq’s soundtrack also includes original songs by R. Kelly, Mali Music, Jhené Aiko and Sasha Go Hard, the plot could’ve effectively been told via tracks already living in our iTunes library. Here are seven songs that would’ve fit the bill. —John Kennedy


Song: “The Neighborhood”
Artist: Common Feat. Lil Herb
Chi-Raq connection: This is a tale of two Chicagos separated by 20 years but bonded by a shared savagery. Producer No I.D. flips Curtis Mayfield’s familiar “The Other Side of Town” and gets out of the way, allowing Com to reflect on the horrors of the drug-strung Reagan years. It’s a true torch lateral once 20-year-old Lil Herb takes the mic, stealing the show with HD visuals of the war zone in his own backyard.
Sample lyric: “N***as throw up peace signs/but everybody keep dying”


Song: “Goodies”
Artist: Ciara
Chi-Raq connection: The hit single that put CiCi on the map has been ruthlessly teasing men since 2004. Sonically it’s all Atlanta, but the Lil Jon-produced track perfectly sums up Chi-Raq’s sex strike.
Sample lyric: “If you're looking for the goodies/Keep on looking, cause they stay in the jar”


Song: “Chi-Raq”
Artist: Nicki Minaj and Lil Herb
Chi-Raq connection: Nicki stunned rap fans with this aggressive lyrical assault thematically based 800 miles from her Queens, NY hometown. But she got the official drill co-sign from G Herbo—authenticity that would lend itself well to Spike Lee’s movie of the same name.
Sample lyric: “King pins and them drug lords, Chi-town, no gun laws”


Song: “Murder to Excellence”
Artist: Jay Z and Kanye West
Chi-Raq connection: This deep cut from Watch The Throne finds Hov promoting unity and lamenting the violence that befalls black men in inner-cities. Later, Kanye drops some sick statistics about the unreal murder rate in his native Chi City.
Sample lyric: “I feel the pain in my city wherever I go/314 soldiers died in Iraq, 509 died in Chicago”

Song: “Cease Fire”
Artist: Christina Aguilera
Chi-Raq connection: While Xtina is probably using war as a metaphor for strife in a romantic relationship, the sentiment fits. The pop star pleads with a loved one to “please, cease fire, fire, fire.”
Sample lyric: “This fighting is hopeless, we need this to end/It's going too far, don't know where it began/We're hurting each other and I can't pretend”


Song: “Gang Bang”
Artist: Fredo Santana
Chi-Raq connection: One of Fredo Santana’s more popular songs, “Gang Bang” is an audio oath to shoot on behalf of your set. The Young Chop-produced track encapsulates the trigger-happy tension between Chi-raq’s rival crews.
Sample lyric: “I'm not for that acting, if you want it you get clapped quick/Them hitters all around, and them tools we be packin'”


Song: “Put The Guns Down”
Artist: King Louis, Katie Got Bandz, Saba, Nick Jr., Common, Tree, Mic Terror, Noname Gypsy, G Herbo
Chi-Raq connection: Ultimately, Chi-Raq’s goal in cinema isn’t glorification. Spike sheds light on Chicago’s gang violence with the intention of curbing the city’s gunfire, similar to this disarming posse cut partly orchestrated by Minister Louis Farrakhan. Some of Chi-Town’s most respected rap voices band together to bring peace to the streets. (The Chi-Raq soundtrack coincidentally includes an R. Kelly and Tink song of the same name.)
Sample lyric: ”Chiraq crazy, gotta tell 'em put the guns down/Shorties out here wildin', they ain't even got aim now”