Going to the movie theater makes a great idea for date night or a ladies’ night out. It is a perfect treat for every once in a while because movie tickets and movie snacks can get expensive!
If you are looking for a way to save some money and stay in for the night, watching a movie at home is the alternative.
Everybody always thinks to flip on the highest rated romantic comedy or horror classic, but watching so much of the same gets oldquick.
Not many movie lovers think to enjoy a music-based film. It doesn’t have to be a musical, but a film with an awesome soundtrack makes all the difference.
Hip hop is a huge part of American culture. Many movies have been produced around this genre and a good majority of them are worth thewatch.
These five hip hop movies highlight the genre’s importance and make for the perfect movie night viewing.
Breakin’
Without music, there could not be dancing, and Breakin’ centers on the importance of dance in the hip hopworld.
Hip hop music culture provides the backdrop for the breakdancing cast of the film, which follows a young woman’s struggle to be recognized in the street dancing atmosphere.
Her dance training is more traditional, but she wants to dance differently from how she was taught. She is drawn to hip hop and street dancing immediately after seeingit.
She leaves her dance school to join a life of breakdance and street dance with talented young men. They want to compete in dance competitions, though breakdancing was not considered a proper style at thetime.
The crew is able to trick the judges and begin competing, then later spread their style across the community through performance.
Not only does this film emphasize the lack of recognition for hip hop music and its associated dance style. It also brings up the issue of women in hip hop, and the lead woman role breaks thenorm.
This movie is an upbeat option for viewers looking to laugh and fall in love with hiphop.
Straight Outta Compton
Some hip hop-centered films focus on the broad perspective of the genre, while others are geared toward a specific artist orgroup.
Straight Outta Compton is a biographical film that follows the lives of hip hop group N.W.A’s members as they rose in the hip hop industry.
They are a real rap group from Compton, California composed of Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy‑E. The movie shows how the group faced backlash because of their race along with the violence and explicit content on their tracks.
The group faces their own internal struggles, with some members opting to create solo music without the help of their partners. The movie depicts their experiences as a group and their successes as solo artists.
Straight Outta Compton is an emotional rollercoaster of a movie in which hip hop takes centerstage.
Get Rich or DieTryin’
A common theme of movies in the hip hop genre is their focus on race and violence. This could be because of music’s positive role in the lives of those who struggle greatly. It acts as therapy for some artists.
A representation of this is brought to life in Get Rich or Die Tryin’, which stars popular hip hop artist 50 Cent. While it is not a biography of his life, it does resemble some of the trauma he truly experienced.
This emotional movie personifies music artists by flashing back to the protagonist’s childhood. In a near-death experience, Marcus reflects on his early life and how it brought him to the situation he found himselfin.
From innocent youth to drug dealer, Marcus finds himself and his friends in danger. One of his friends is shot and killed with Marcus also being shot but surviving.
Marcus does end up in jail, and upon release decides to turn his life around through hip hop music. He still finds violence along the way but avoids anything that would get him into trouble in order to fulfill his dream career.
Music is the escape Marcus needed to make it big, mirroring the importance of hip hop in 50 Cent’s life.
This movie could make a great gift for anyone who loves hip hop music and watching movies in general. While the movie itself would make a great gift, avid movie lovers would appreciate something more unique. Gift Wits has created the perfect guide to gifts for movie lovers.
Do the RightThing
Throw it back to 1989 with a classic film that captures the racial tensions that used to exist in Brooklyn.
In the film, Sal, a white Italian-American pizza shop owner, refuses to hang any pictures of famous African Americans in his establishment where he has hung many Italian-American celebrities.
Main characters Mookie and his friend Buggin’ Out question why there is no diversity in his photographs, and Sal’s closed-mindedness is revealed. This disagreement inspires the action of the rest of the film that is full of violence and eventuallydeath.
The boys blast loud hip hop music in the pizza shop, causing a brawl to break out. After a significant figure is killed outside the pizza shop, a popular local radio DJ plays a song in his honor. The role of hip hop music is clear through the culture of these characters.
The racial significance of this movie portrays makes it a notable film in history and culture. It is often deemed one of the greatest films of all time and features hip hop music throughout.
8 Mile
Eminem starred in this film, though it is not a perfect biography of his life. His music is featured in many scenes.
Eminem plays a white rapper trying to succeed in Detroit. It was clearly difficult for him to navigate the predominantly African American hip hopscene.
The movie features rap battles scattered between rough home life and turmoil in the workplace.
I Am Hip Hop magazine recognizes how Eminem is a popular figure in hip hop. He has had books written about his life and his ability to overcome adversity.
Keep the relevance of hip hop alive by watching a classic film that features this popular style ofmusic.
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Rishma Dhaliwal
Editor / PR Consultant at No Bounds
Rishma Dhaliwal has extensive experience studying and working in the music and media industry. Having written a thesis on how Hip Hop acts as a social movement, she has spent years researching and connecting with artists who use the art form as a tool for bringing a voice to the voiceless. Currently working in TV, Rishma brings her PR and media knowledge to I am Hip Hop and other projects by No Bounds.
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