Hip-hop is the main music of the planet. For almost 40 years, hip-hop has gone from the basements of the Bronx to the global scene. Today, it still inspires everyone from workout lovers to those who want to win on a 22Bet login website. Thanks to movies that promoted the dashing and fun lifestyle of poor, but cheerful Bronx and Compton residents among teenagers from different parts of the world.
Wild Style, 1983
Wild Style is considered the first movie to showcase the barely born hip-hop culture. Its main character, Zoro, a young graffiti artist from the Bronx who draws on the New York subway, is torn between a desire to become better known and an unwillingness to be caught by the police.
The film is, to put it bluntly, an average movie, and the actors are all nonprofessionals. But it’s loved and appreciated precisely for this unprofessionalism. More precisely, a certain kind of documentary: the main character, for example, is played by Lee George Quiñones, the influential artist, who today is put on a par with Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, while in the second and third scenes are hip-hop pioneers Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash. Wild Style is a portrait of an era when hip-hop culture was still a local subculture and gangsta rap was a few years away.
At least the fact that many future rappers used samples from Wild Style in their tracks is a sign of the film’s serious cultural influence.
Style Wars, 1983
Style Wars won Best Documentary at Sundance, and for good reason: Director Tony Silver sensed a sharp conflict between a young and fresh graffiti culture and stale state institutions. The latter are represented by a New York City detective and the mayor himself, Ed Koch.
Society is at odds with bright and lively youths who bomb trains, show the cameraman different break-dance moves and test the patience of their parents. The public is feverish: some suggest giving the young artists a few days’ detention, others admire their talent at one of the gallery exhibitions, where street art is gradually creeping in. The latter is symptomatic: the first writers whose work we see in Style Wars will quickly move from the category of street artists to contemporary artists with their own exhibitions.
Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, 2005
Popular stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle, in between seasons of his show, decides to throw a real street party and bring hip-hop back to its roots, that is, the streets of Brooklyn. The comedian himself walks around the neighborhood, offering tickets to everyone he meets – the hairdresser, the young guys and the old white lady. There really is a lot to see. An impressive cast of characters, including relative newcomers and stars from the 1990s, show up to support the cause. Chappelle’s interludes are responsible for the humor. The energy is delivered by director Michel Gondry – performance scenes alternate backstage or are interrupted by street improvisations by Chappelle and passersby.
Straight Outta Compton, 2015
The formation of the most legendary band in hip-hop history, N.W.A., is the subject of the massive biopic Straight Outta Compton. It features all the major milestones of the collective’s career: the controversial hit “Fuck the Police,” bans, conflicts with labels and the death of a key member. The Voice was created by its direct characters, it was filmed in Compton, and the N.W.A. soundtrack is played behind the scenes. The final scenes, coming on the credits, are imbued with bitter irony: in these chronicle shots gangsta rap dies, former fighters against the system become part of it.
8 Mile, 2002
Perhaps the most famous hip-hop movie of all time is 8 Mile. Rising American rap star Eminem plays the role of a young loser named Rabbit who lives in a trailer with his mother and younger sister. The location is symbolic, the highway in the title that divides black Detroit from white Wayne County. It’s not really Eminem’s autobiography, but rather the story of an average white rapper from a poor neighborhood.
In the finale, though, the angry and motivated Rabbit defeats all opponents in the battle and becomes the local king. The final altercation between the hero and the black-clad Papa Doc is often compared to the fight between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed. Eminem was the first hip-hop artist to win an Oscar for Best Song (“Lose Yourself”).
