5 Reasons Across 110th Street Is a Defining Blaxploitation Soundtrack

It captures the film’s gritty Harlem setting Bobby Womack’s score blends soul, funk, and blues to mirror the tension and desperation of the movie’s crime-ridden streets.

The title track became an anthem “Across 110th Street” stands out as a powerful, melancholic song about crossing into a dangerous world, later revived in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown.

Womack’s vocals add raw emotion His raspy, soulful delivery gives the soundtrack an authentic, lived-in feel that matches the film’s themes of betrayal and survival.

It influenced later hip-hop and soul Artists like Kanye West and Jay-Z have sampled or referenced the soundtrack, cementing its legacy beyond the blaxploitation era.

It avoids typical blaxploitation clichés Unlike many soundtracks of the time, Womack’s work focuses on mood and storytelling rather than just funk grooves, making it more timeless.