The depiction of hip-hop’s elite in film goes back to the early '80s, when once-hardcore rapper Ice T was featured in L.A. based, b-boy-inspired documentary Breakin' 'n' 'Enterin' as an artist and break dancer. This nostalgic bit of West Coast history dives deep into rap's origins, depicting high intensity break-dancing and energetic DJ sets, showcasing a who's-who of the Pacific coast's most celebrated hip-hop heavyweights through exclusive performances like The Egyptian Lover (a major pioneer behind the hip-hop & electro-fusion movement in California). Provided with an influx of opportunities to transition from the studio onto the big screen, we now see a mixture of both established and upcoming hip-hop artists expand their resources onto a multitude of media channels, whether it be through fiction-based or non-fictional projects.
The '83 film Wild Style is often regarded as hip hop’s first full-length motion picture, including prominent New York-based DJs, emcees, and break-dancers Grandmaster Flash, The Chief Rocker Busy Bee, and Fab 5 Freddy. Using graffiti murals as a launching point, the outcry of injustice, violence, and poverty were reflected in the film's artistry, something which would continue throughout the lineage of hip-hop cinema.
What most of the films below have in common, whether through comedic relief or dramatic content, are the resemblances of inequalities tied to socioeconomic statuses, related to privilege, power, and control (educational, financial, and social). These films' storylines are often a reflection of what is actually playing out in many communities of color. Here's a look at some classic hip-hop films, all released around the early 2000s, a time when the music hit the mainstream in a big way.
Get Rich or Die Tryin'
Way before he grew to be everyone's social media darling who isn't afraid to tell it like it is, rapper and successful television producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson starred in his breakout role for Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Garnering much attention from peers and fans for his seamless onscreen depiction of real life struggles, the rapper/actor did a great job depicting life as a gangster facing internal obstacles.
Off the heels of his highly successful album Get Rich or Die Tryin, released in 2003, Jackson would go on to star in the crime drama loosely based on his own life. As Marcus Greer and his friends rob a Colombian safe house, Marcus is shot nine times. The unidentified shooter points the gun to Marcus' head and pulls the trigger, promptly triggering a series of flashbacks to his childhood as a young timid boy struggling with the effects of his drug-dealing mother being murdered. Get Rich or Die Tryin': Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture features music from artists on the G-Unit label like 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, Tony Yayo, Olivia, and Mobb Deep. The album sold over three million copies worldwide and has been certified platinum by the RIAA, and the film was a surprising success that showed how much interest there was in hip-hop cinema.
Juice
A classic film for those growing up in urban America, Juice depicts the story of four teenage African-American friends growing up together in Harlem. Roland Bishop, Quincy "Q" Powell, Raheem Porter and Eric "Steel" Thurman regularly skip school and instead spend their days hanging out at Eric’s apartment, the neighborhood arcade, and a local record store. When Bishop becomes fed up with the ongoing harassment he and his friends face by the police and rival neighborhood gangs, he expresses that the group has no other choice than to live life of the streets in order to win respect. Juice shows just how wrong things can go when impressionable youths surround themselves with the wrong crowd. Rappers Tupac Shakur, Omar Epps, and Khalil Kain all star in this all-time great Black film.
Friday
In Friday, the recently unemployed Craig Jones, along with his friends and relatives, are plunged into a series of mishaps that occur on an otherwise typical Friday in South Central Los Angles. Craig and his closest friend Smokey, a small-time drug dealer who's using his own supply, are confronted by the neighborhood dealer Big Worm and warned to collect the $200 worth of marijuana they smoked by the end of the night or else be killed. The film follows their quest to accumulate the money before 10pm. The level of skilled, off the cuff, acting from Chris Tucker (Smokey) and Fazon Love (Big Worm), is what helps make this movie so naturally funny. What also helps make it a classic is its depiction of Black joy and light-hearted fun; rappers Ice Cube and DJ Pooh were tired of seeing their childhood environment depicted so menacingly and violently on film, so they wrote the script as a way to provide a different perspective, telling Complex, "We had fun in the hood. We used to trip off the neighborhood."
The trilogy has gained an extensive fan base, leading to the sequels Next Friday in 2000 and Friday After Next in 2002, both just as large of a success as it’s first.
Set it Off
What makes Set it Off transcend its time and place are the embedded messages of a broken economic system, and how women are expected to lead everyday lives under a financial institution that does not allow them to afford it. This was a conversation that wasn't able to be discussed extensively in '96 as it is in the present day, but the film does an excellent job doing it, and was lauded for its performances (including rapper Queen Latifah alongside Jada Pinkett and Vivica A. Fox). Fueled by desperation, four inner-city women create a plan to rob banks throughout the city of Los Angeles, and the imbalance of a hierarchical society only emboldens the group to become more relentless in their pursuits.
8 Mile
Struggling with the socioeconomic aspects of his everyday life, Jimmy Smith Jr. (Marshall "Eminem" Mathers III), wants to break out into the mainstream music industry as a famous rapper, but his friends and enemies alike make his ongoing pursuit more difficult than ever. Set in Detroit, 8 Mile Road is the actual name of Detroit's northern border and exists as a physical dividing line, separating the city's predominantly African-American urban neighborhoods from the affluent, white suburbs to the north. For Jimmy, the divide is psychological, separating him from his dreams and his reality. 8 Mile follows a critical week in Jimmy's life as he attempts to navigate this dividing line and possibly break out from it. 8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture climbed to top-tier success, with net sales as high as 3.4 million copes. The album featured leading hit single "Lose Yourself", winning an Oscar in 2003 for Best Original Song.
Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
This lighthearted parody draws inspiration from several acclaimed films around life in the hood, assimilating them into a ridiculous spoof of a title-- Boyz n the Hood ('91), South Central ('92), Menace II Society ('93), and Juice ('92). Ashtray, or Tray for short, is forced by his mother to move to the inner city of Los Angeles and live with his father. While in LA, Tray quickly becomes educated about life in the streets from his deranged cousin Loc Dog, the pot-smoking Grandma, and gang members Preach & Crazy Legs. Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood may be a moutful, but it's definitely one of the most hilarious movies of the '90s.
Menace II Society
Gaining notoriety for its realistic scenes of violence, profanity, and drug-related content, Menace II Society’s authentic portrayal of urban violence and powerful underlying messages surrounding systematized trauma and institutionalization helps make the film timeless, along with its honest depiction of wanting a better life and the stressors involved with attaining it. Caine Lawson, an 18-year-old street hustler, tries to escape the projects and gang lifestyle for a better existence. Everyone Caine surrounds himself with, though, is confined to their acceptance of living a life embedded in crime and violence, including his long time acquaintance O-Dog, a brutal gang member. Although Caine plans to leave the city for good with the help of his girlfriend and school teacher, he quickly realizes that the escape is more difficult than he expected in this heartbreaking, iconic film, which has gone on to inspire numerous rappers and songs.
State Property
Philadelphia-based rapper Beanie Sigel, known for the commercial success tied to debut studio album The Truth, became heavily affiliated with rapper & business mogul Sean "Jay-Z" Carter and Roc-A-Fella Records during the early 2000s. State Property, produced by Roc-a-Fella, follows Beans (Sigel), as he and his ABM crew rapidly seize control of the Pennsylvania streets with merciless intentions. State Property is largely inspired by the Philadelphia drug trade, running from the late '80s up to the early '90s, a time period where drug trafficking from Pennsylvania to New Jersey became largely uncontrollable. Off the heels of State Property's success, the sequel State Property 2 was later released in ''05, starring fellow musicians Kanye West and Mariah Carey.