One of my favorite movies. Everything about it, the plot, the music, the style, the dialogue, the tension... Here it is, a real gangster crime in a black ghetto setting. You can forgive the film's flaws for Alonzo, you just don't notice them by the second half of the movie, the actor's genius acting, he won an Oscar for it for a reason. Although he overshadows Jake, that's how it's meant to be.
I'm very pleased that we saw Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg in the movie, it was so funny to watch Snoop as an invalid selling crack cocaine, though they have coped with their cameo roles perfectly.
By the way, for those who have played and passed completely GTA: San Andreas. The last dialogue Alonzo in the ghetto ('Who the hell are you niggers? I'm the boss here. King Kong - louse compared to me ') is very similar to the deathbed dialogue in the same black ghetto of the corrupt cop in this game, if not copying it completely. Note that the game came out much later, so it's clear where the authors drew inspiration from.
The soundtrack is also very good, Dr. Dre, Gangstarr and other lesser known rappers created the right West Coast atmosphere.
It's not a drab, distinctive, great crime movie.