Whenever someone famous dies, everyone scrambles to find the best ONE thing that says the most about the person.

When it comes to Isaac Hayes it’s really easy: Shaft (BTW, you can see Hayes in Only the Strong Survive Sunday at 8 p.m. [ET]).

Of course, we all know that he was the first African American composer to win an Oscar for Shaft’s musical score. But I don’t think we really appreciate how important that is. Not just because a bunch of old White men caught a sniff of hip and gave him the Oscar but because brothers were actually running out to buy a musical score to bump in their rides.

This wasn’t the Shaft soundtrack, I’m talking about the orchestral, background music that you often don’t notice. The fact that people bought and listened to that is HUGE, especially considering how much effort it took to listen to music in the 70’s – playing an LP or an 8-track took steady hands, lots of patience, protractors and astrology charts.

So give it up for Isaac Hayes, a bald-headed, baritone genius that turned a stilted, often lily-white art form into something completely and utterly “right on.”

But Hayes was just the beginning.

Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and James Brown all made hot, hot music for some of our favorite old-school films. Take a listen below and remember the master.

Shaft (1971)
Theme from Shaft
Listen to Hayes’ classic song that got the whole world saying — all together now — “He’s a bad mutha/shut yo mouth!”

Shaft "Theme Song" - Isaac Hayes

Trouble Man (1972)
Trouble Man
Marvin Gaye’s ultra smooth theme song is its own cinematic experience and, some argue, better than the movie it was created for. You be the judge.

Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye

Superfly (1972)
Superfly
Before Scarface, most brothers wanted to be Superfly. And with Curtis Mayfield’s them song – all bombastic horns and rolling congos – it’s easy to see why.

Superfly - Curtis Mayfield

Black Caesar (1973)
The Boss
There’s a reason why every one from Nas to Rakim to Public Enemy has sampled this song – it’s unadulterated funk and takes no ear drums prisoner.

The Boss - James Brown

Photo courtesy of megamarket.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One.  TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)

For those that can remember, Freddy Kruger was THE movie villain of the 90’s. And, as Hollywood is apt to do, they asked themselves: “What would Black people like to watch. OH, I know. A blantant, rip-off of Freddy Kruger.” BAM! You get “Candyman.”

Funny thing is, Candyman was actually pretty good. And considering the story – the spirit of a man lynched for impregnating a White woman goes on a vengeful killing spree – I’m actually kind of shocked it got made.

Anyway, it came out and made actor Tony Todd a minor celebrity and definitely had people thinking twice before repeating “Candyman” in a mirror five times (I did it, and dude never showed up).

So with Candyman airing Saturday at 9 pm (ET), we thought it would be a good time to look at other Black killers caught on film (O.J. not included) and judge who is really the scariest.

Candyman
Candyman (1992)
Origin: Duh, I just wrote about it.
Scary Scale: 4 out of 5 – Any brother who can charm a White woman in a dark parking lot without hiding his bloody hook-for-a-hand is one scary dude. Oh yeah, he also has bees living in his mouth. So you have to believe he’s pretty pissed most of the time.
Watch this clip.

Bones
Bones (2001)
Origin: Pimp/Neighborhood good-guy Jimmy Bones (Snoop Dogg) is killed and 20 years later, his ghost comes back to get bloody revenge.
Scary Scale: 2 out of 5 – Ghosts are pretty scary. Ghosts who have been smoking weed – not so much. The scariest thing about Bones is the amount of munchies you’ll eat while watching it.

Queen Akasha
Queen of the Damned (2001)
Origin: Akasha was the first vampire, an ancient creature from Ancient Egypt who awakens in modern times to kick some butt.
Scary Scale: 3 out of 5 – Fangs or no, any creature that looks like Aaliyah will find she has victims running TOWARD her. Still, the fact that she could make people explode is pretty damned scary.

Blacula
Blacula (1972)
Origin: African Prince Manuwalde is turned into a vampire by old Dracula himself and awakes in 1970’s New York with a bad case of the thirsties.
Scary Scale: 2 out of 5 – Lambchop sideburns can really take the “boo” out of any villain. However, his wardrobe was kind of fly — considering what the other "undead" folks are wearing.

So surprise, surprise, Candyman won. Did you have any doubts? Think we misjudged Bones or missed someone? Here’s your chance to right my wrongs.

TELL US: Who’s the scariest Black movie killer?