Hip Hop Videos: Hip Hop Movies

  8 Mile

Most of you have already seen this movie. If you haven't, go ahead and do so. The freestyle battle scenes are great in their idyllic portrayals of a time in hip hop mostly lost today; a time when the New York style of emceeing ruled, even in Detroit. It gets a little exaggerated when Rabbit rips through cats like he was inspired by God at the end, but that's what makes good drama...and in a sense that is pretty much the same feeling Eminem was giving crowds when he was rippin' mics back in 1996. If nothing else this film is an inspiring depiction of a one in a million youth teetering on the decision to pursue his dream. I like the fact that there are no happy endings and big contracts at the end of this hip hop movie. it sends a very interesting message. 

  Black and White

A group of white kids become the focus of a pair of documentary film makers looking at the phenomenon of the "wigger" - white kids adopting the mannerisms and culture of the black, hip-hop community. Meanwhile gangsters-turned-rappers Rich Bower and Cigar have to face up to the opening of a white club in their neighborhood. Also college basketball player Dean is set up for throwing a game and forced to provide evidence to the cops on Bower. This may all seem confusing and honestly it stays that way. Each individual's story is very interesting and thought provoking. Some scenes will anger you and others disturb you. The movie does not wrap things all up into a pretty package at the end either. Instead it leaves things a complete mess on the floor. Some say this ruins the movie. Personally I think it was the intention of the director. Black and White is a glimpse, however warped and obscure, into the differences amongst us; or perhaps just the way we see those differences.  

  Boyz N The Hood

John Singleton's portrayal of social problems in inner-city Los Angeles takes the form of a tale of three friends growing up together 'in the 'hood.' Half-brothers Doughboy and Ricky Baker are foils for each other's personality, presenting very different approaches to the tough lives they face. Ricky is the 'All-American' athlete, looking to win a football scholarship to USC and seeks salvation through sports, while 'Dough' succumbs to the violence, alcohol, and crime surrounding him in his environment, but maintains a strong sense of pride and code of honor. Between these two is their friend Tre, who is lucky to have a father, 'Furious' Styles, to teach him to have the strength of character to do what is right and to always take responsibility for his actions. This is one of the first major hip hop movies to have tackled the issue of drugs and gang violence that continues to plague impoverished minorities in the U.S. today. 

  Brown Sugar

One of 2002's most underrated films, Brown Sugar offers more than you'd expect from a conventional romantic comedy. The love story between Dre (Taye Diggs) and Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) is the least interesting part of the movie; the costars have delightful chemistry, but their hookup is a given. What's refreshing is the way the story draws a parallel between Dre and Sidney's longtime friendship (they meet as kids in a 1984 flashback) and the evolution of hip-hop music from urban roots to dubious mainstream acceptance. This movie is funny. This movie is hip hop. Its good to watch with or without a girl. I chose to recommend it mainly because sometimes you just want that feel-good type movie and why not one that revolves largely around the hip hop culture and features some very funny scenes with the likes of Mos Def and Queen Latifah.  

  City of God

Celebrated with worldwide acclaim, this powerful true story of crime and redemption has won numerous prestigious awards around the globe! The streets of the world's most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro's "City of God," are a place where combat photographers fear to tread, police rarely go and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. In the midst of the oppressive crime and violence, a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings with a different eye: the eye of an artist. The acting is genuine and charming and the plot unravels at a perfect rate. This movie has subtitles but don't let that turn you away or you will miss one of the best movies you will ever see, period.  

  Friday

Forget part 2 or 3. I can only recommend the original Friday as its comedic depiction of a west coast hood gone fucked up was very amusing when it first came out. Watching it now may bring you back to a time hip hop was more ghetto and less glamour. The story is about a typical day in the life of Craig, an alright guy with some crazy friends like Smokey, who has 24 hours to pay back Big Worm, resident marijuana distributor--or else. The movie does a good job at looking at the lighter side of drugs and poverty...you're not offended by weed--are you?...  

  Kingpin: The Series

Kingpin the TV series was the most underrated show produced by NBC in at least the last 10 years. It is a uniquely stylized, graphic depiction of a powerful drug-trafficking family, fighting to rule an empire in the face of both the U.S. DEA and the lethal underworld in which they reside. Stanford-educated Miguel Cadena is a savvy businessman who has risen to the threshold of supremacy in his family's illegal drug cartel. Behind the private jets, yachts and villas, Miguel must overcome constant family conflicts to reign over a massive drug operation produciing billions worth of illegal narcotics. Sometimes as funny as it is suspensful, this series is uncensored and better than "The Sopranos". It's the modern day saga of a Mexican crime family, their lethal journey to reach the top of the billion dollar drug empire, and the relentless U.S. government authorities driven to bring them down. The set contains the only six episodes ever made of this series. The fact that a show of this caliber was not continued just goes to show of how little importance quality can be when deciding what the public will get.  

  Scarface

This film has fast and steadily become lots of people's favorite gangster film. You know the premise. In the Spring of 1980, the port at Mariel Harbor was opened, and thousands set sail for the United States. They came in search of the American Dream. One of them found it on the sun-washed avenues of Miami... wealth, power and passion beyond his wildest dreams. He was Tony Montana. The world will remember him by another name...Scarface. What was the downfall of Scarface? Was it his drug use? his at times uncontrollable rage? Or was it his good morals which lead him to refuse to blow up those children? These are interesting questions to ask when watching this movie for a second or third time.  

  The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects earned its writer an Oscar for best screenplay and stars Kevin Spacey who also won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the film. The movie tells the story of Roger "Verbal" Kint (Spacey), a small-time con man, who is in a police interrogation, and tells his interrogator, Agent Kujan (Palminteri), a convoluted story about events leading to a massacre and massive fire that have just taken place on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro Bay. Using flashback and narration, Verbal's story becomes increasingly complex as he tries to explain why he and his partners-in-crime were on that boat. The film, shot on a $6 million budget, did not create much excitement prior to its initial release and was released in few theaters, but it received favourable reviews and was given a wider release, grossing far more than expected. The film eventually became one of the most highly regarded of the crime-drama genre. Ten years after its release, it is consistently found in the Top 20 on the Internet Movie Database's Top 250 films .  

  Training Day

Training Day is a 2001 film starring Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris, a Los Angeles police officer, and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, his new recruit looking to become a part of Harris's elite narcotics unit. The entire movie takes place over a single, intense 24-hour period in Los Angeles that forever changes the lives of both officers. The director wanted Training Day to look as authentic as possible, and he shot on location in some of the most infamous neighborhoods of Los Angeles, California. He even obtained permission from gangs to shoot in the notoriously dangerous Imperial Courts housing project. Denzel Washington's portrayal of Alonzo Harris earmed him a Best Actor Academy Award. The director wanted his character to be seductive and part of a machine, and not just a random rogue cop. In Washington's own words, "I think in some ways he’s done his job too well. He’s learned how to manipulate, how to push the line further and further, and, in the process, he’s become more hard-core than some of the guys he’s chasing." In the movie Harris shows a liking towards Hoyt, and in many ways he sees Hoyt as a younger version of himself. Training Day presents the moral dilemma of committing little crimes to prevent larger ones and getting things done even if it means making moral compromises.