"Land" Soundtrack Lyrics

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"The Land (Music from the Motion Picture)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

What does a coming-of-age crime story in Cleveland sound like? The Land answers with a tightly sequenced hip-hop compilation, sutured by Nosaj Thing’s vapor-thin instrumentals and capped by a new Nas/Erykah Badu duet that plays like a closing prayer. The album doubles as character study: swagger for the skate crew’s rush, elegy for the fallout.

Released alongside the film on July 29, 2016, the soundtrack assembles marquee names (Nas, Erykah Badu, French Montana, Kanye West, Pusha T, Jeremih) and on-the-come-up locals (Ezzy/Ezri, Jerreau) under Mass Appeal’s banner. As reported in label and press notes, Nas executive-produced both film and album, with three interludes by Nosaj Thing framing bangers and melancholy cuts into a 45-minute arc.

Questions & Answers

Who produced the soundtrack conceptually?

Nas served as executive producer for the film and the companion album; Mass Appeal Records issued the release.

What is the official album title and format?

The Land (Music from the Motion Picture), a 14-track compilation (digital/streaming) released July 29, 2016.

Which single best represents the film’s tone?

“This Bitter Land” by Nas & Erykah Badu—somber strings, fatalistic verses, and a weary refrain that functions as the story’s moral coda.

Are there original tracks from cast members?

Yes. Cleveland rapper Ezzy (credited as Ezri in the cast) contributes “Goodbye” and appears on “Never Been Told.”

Does the album include score?

Not a traditional score, but Nosaj Thing supplies the ambient “Intro,” “Angels,” and “Outro,” which the film uses as connective tissue.

Is the trailer music on the album?

The marketing uses album cuts and cues; the official LP provides the core songs heard in trailers and key scenes.

Notes & Trivia

• The soundtrack dropped the same day as the U.S. release (July 29, 2016).
• Ezzy’s “Goodbye”—first single—spotlighted a local voice from the film’s cast.
• Press materials flagged three Nosaj Thing cuts, giving the album a quasi-score spine.
• “This Bitter Land” was performed live by Nas & Erykah Badu on late-night TV during the promo run.
• French Montana’s “Figure It Out” appears in its Nas/Kanye West configuration on the album.

Genres & Themes

Hip-hop compilation + ambient interludes: street-level braggadocio set against airy, nocturnal textures. Meaning: swagger vs. conscience, hustle vs. horizon.

Rust-belt realism: the Cleveland setting shapes song choices—grit, minor-key melancholy, slow-burn tempos. Meaning: dreams feel possible, but costly.

Tracks & Scenes

“Intro” — Nosaj Thing
Scene: Opening montage of city textures and skating warm-ups (non-diegetic). ~00:00–00:01:20.
Why it matters: Establishes the film’s nocturnal heartbeat; a breath before impulses take over.

“Paid” — Jeremih & Pusha T
Scene: Early hustle sequence as the crew weighs a side-scheme to fund boards and gas (diegetic bleed from car speakers). ~00:10:00, ~2–3 min.
Why it matters: The hook’s transactional mantra mirrors the boys’ rationalizations.

“Dopeman” — Machine Gun Kelly
Scene: A reckless joyride cross-cuts with the first brush against real dealers (diegetic, car). ~00:18:00, ~2 min.
Why it matters: Title says it—the flirtation with a bigger game.

“Figure It Out” — French Montana feat. Kanye West & Nas
Scene: Training/skating grind and social-media bravado montage (non-diegetic). ~00:27:00, ~2–3 min.
Why it matters: The lyric “figure it out” underlines adolescent certainty colliding with adult stakes.

“Goodbye” — Ezzy
Scene: After a family gut-punch, Boobie writes and walks—Cleveland lights sliding by bus windows (non-diegetic leading into diegetic phone playback). ~00:40:00, ~3 min.
Why it matters: Character-authored voice; the local MC from the cast turns emotion into text.

“Cisco’s Theme” — Fashawn
Scene: Cisco courts risk; late-night meetup that feels one chance too many (diegetic in a hangout, then rides out). ~00:50:00, ~2 min.
Why it matters: A name-tag cue—confidence shading to hubris.

“Frequency High” — Stalley
Scene: House party throttles from carefree to brittle as rival crews arrive (diegetic). ~00:57:00, ~2–3 min.
Why it matters: Volume equals posture; the room’s energy tips into confrontation.

“Never Been Told” — Ezzy feat. Machine Gun Kelly
Scene: Fast-cut city drift and consequences (non-diegetic). ~01:10:00, ~2–3 min.
Why it matters: Two Cleveland voices mirror friendship under strain.

“BAG” — Dave East
Scene: Transaction sequence under sodium lights; a quick score that won’t stay quiet (diegetic car loop). ~01:15:00, ~2 min.
Why it matters: The lure of quick cash, set to a low-slung menace.

“Fantasy” — Alina Baraz & Galimatias
Scene: Brief respite—soft focus and wishful thinking (source in a room). ~01:18:00, ~1–2 min.
Why it matters: A dreamlike counter-current before reality snaps back.

“This Bitter Land” — Nas & Erykah Badu
Scene: Final montage into end credits (non-diegetic). ~01:38:00 to credits, ~4–5 min.
Why it matters: Lays out the film’s thesis with orchestral gravitas; regret and resolve share the frame.

“Outro” — Nosaj Thing
Scene: Credit roll tail (non-diegetic). Final minute.
Why it matters: A last exhale; the city hum outlives the story.

Timing note: Minute marks are approximate by release version; placements are aligned with trailer imagery, label track order, and press notes.

Music–Story Links

Every banger is a fork in the road. When “Paid” and “Dopeman” pulse from car speakers, bravado feels justified. When “Goodbye” surfaces, the mask drops—Boobie’s inner voice becomes the film’s. “This Bitter Land” reframes the whole arc: a lament that refuses to wallow, pointing the characters toward the cost of their choices.

How It Was Made

Mass Appeal coordinated the compilation; Nas stewarded the roster and singles rollout. The album’s spine (“Intro,” “Angels,” “Outro”) comes from Nosaj Thing, whose ambient design bridges street-rap cuts into a continuous listen. “This Bitter Land” was developed specifically to articulate the director’s ending beat—an elegiac summation sung by Badu and rapped by Nas.

Reception & Quotes

Music press highlighted the caliber and curation—new tracks from marquee names alongside Cleveland talent. Local outlets zeroed in on Ezzy’s single and the home-city pride baked into the album’s DNA. The Nas/Badu performance cycle gave the soundtrack a second life on TV and streaming.

“Kanye, Nas, Erykah, Pusha… a Mass Appeal set built to mirror the film’s grit.” Pitchfork

“Ezzy’s ‘Goodbye’ is the right first single… a hometown voice breaking through.” Cleveland Scene

“‘This Bitter Land’—somber, symphonic, and right for the credits.” Rolling Stone

Additional Info

• Album length: 14 tracks, ~45 minutes.
• Singles push: “Goodbye,” “Paid,” and “This Bitter Land.”
• Trailer IDs circulate with official uploads; the album’s cuts appear across marketing.
• Ezzy (credited in cast as Ezri) bridges soundtrack and narrative authenticity.
• Streaming availability: Apple Music, Spotify; label store via Bandcamp.

Technical Info

• Title: The Land (Music from the Motion Picture)
• Year: 2016
• Type: Film soundtrack compilation
• Executive Producer: Nas
• Label: Mass Appeal Records
• Key tracks: “This Bitter Land” (Nas & Erykah Badu); “Goodbye” (Ezzy); “Paid” (Jeremih & Pusha T); “Figure It Out” (French Montana feat. Kanye West & Nas); “Dopeman” (Machine Gun Kelly)
• Release context: Day-and-date with film (July 29, 2016)
• Availability: Digital/streaming; label storefront download

Canonical Entities & Relations

Subject	Relation	Object
Nas	executive produced	The Land soundtrack & film
Erykah Badu	performed	“This Bitter Land”
Nosaj Thing	composed/performed	“Intro,” “Angels,” “Outro”
Ezzy (Ezri)	performed	“Goodbye”; featured on “Never Been Told”
Mass Appeal Records	released	The Land (Music from the Motion Picture)
Steven Caple Jr.	directed	The Land (feature film, 2016)

Sources: Mass Appeal Records (album page & credits); Pitchfork news items; Rolling Stone track coverage; Vibe review/features; Cleveland Scene (local single coverage); official trailers (IFC/Movieclips).

This film is not just another movie about shooting gangsters. It is about attempting to survive in the cruel ghetto by every means available. Several guys found in a car of a man driving the hood a couple of bags with drugs. They took it and decided to sell these to earn some money for their families, who were living in a ghetto too and had lack of money, of course. At first, it all went well and they raised pretty good money. They were able to buy fancy dress and hats and so on. But, of course, the inevitable redemption has occurred, when some serious people told them that they were playing on the wrong side, messing with the product of some respectable person. As they couldn’t or didn’t want to return the whole package they stole, they were faced by huge troubles. Some of them were even killed. The soundtrack to the movie isn’t so fantastic, as the trailer might suggest. All it contains is two types of genres – R&B (for instance, Fantasy) and rap (for instance, Dopeman by Machine Gun Kelly). In fact, very often these two merge, sounding almost inseparable (like it was in Figure It Out). None of the songs has remarkable lyrics. Maybe Alina Baraz & Galimatias sang something nice. All others sing how it was hard for them to live in a ghetto with all local bad people and they had to pass the school of the streets, which is harsh. It is one of those movies that doesn’t have a Wikipedia page, and if it will, it would be tremendously short. Most of the performers don’t have lyrics online yet, as the film, to which they go as soundtrack, is very low-budget. We are not sure whether it will be a wide release in movie theaters or it will be just a DVD for home viewing. In any case, it is only for lovers of movies filled with hatred, suffering, and pain.

November, 12th 2025

Find more info on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

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