Puerto Rican American rapper Hamza Pérez ended his life as a drug dealer 12 years ago, and started down a new path as a young Muslim. Now he's moved to Pittsburgh's tough North Side to start a new religious community, rebuild his shattered family, and take his message of faith to other young people through his uncompromising music as part of the hip-hop duo M-Team.
himself
himself
herself
herself
Norway's most popular duo Karpe, invest all their money and time in an immersive show to be performed for only 100 people. What is meant as a gift to the fans and a creative awakening after 20 years as artists, almost costs them their careers and their friendship.
Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G., remains one of Hip-Hop’s icons, renowned for his distinctive flow and autobiographical lyrics. This documentary celebrates his life via rare behind-the-scenes footage and the testimonies of his closest friends and family.
See how Teyana Taylor dreamed up her most ambitious show to date: House of Petunia. Take an unfiltered look into the creative process for Teyana's iconic performance at Red Bull Music Festival New York.
Copyright Criminals examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and (of course) money. This documentary traces the rise of hip-hop from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry. For more than thirty years, innovative hip-hop performers and producers have been re-using portions of previously recorded music in new, otherwise original compositions. When lawyers and record companies got involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a “copyright infringement.” The film showcases many of hip-hop music’s founding figures like Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Digital Underground—while also featuring emerging hip-hop artists from record labels Definitive Jux, Rhymesayers, Ninja Tune, and more.
A behind-the-scenes look at "Viagens", one of the greatest portuguese records of the 1990s, in the year of its 20th anniversary.
This documentary follows rapper J. Cole's 2016 HBO concert film feature on the making of his fourth studio album 4 Your Eyez Only. The film Includes musical performances from Cole, as well as stories from low-income residents in cities around the country, such as Baton Rouge, Atlanta, and Cole's hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Bay Area rapper Mac Dre began his career at 18 and quickly became an influential force in early west coast hip-hop. In 1992 he was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank robbery when his lyrics were used against him in court. He left prison with a new lease on life, founded an independent record company, and then was murdered just when he began to emerge as a star. For the first time ever, his mother Wanda reveals the true experiences of a hip-hop legend.
Xiara Trujillo is a precocious seven-year-old who moved from the Bronx to Maryland with her mom, Aracelli Guzman, four years ago. Though she seems happy hanging out and playing with her pal Melissa, Xiara becomes defensive and emotional when talking about her father, Harold Linares. As we see and learn, Harold is in jail serving a ten-year sentence for weapons possession; Xiara seems to blame his incarceration on her mother, whom she says "kept calling the police." Xiara, who has always been extremely close to her father, acts out with her mother.
Local legend Paco Panama cements himself as a phenom of DC crank hip hop, attaining record deals, radio notoriety and festival slots while making critical decisions on Southeast DC's Wheeler Road. 30 years earlier, his father, Javier "Panama" Card, navigates power and loss while creating a cocaine empire during the District's "Murder Capital Era." His eventual conviction, after the second-longest criminal trial in DC history, deported him back to 21st century Panama, a place he left during the Noriega era.
With the help of record label 88rising, we look through the eyes six different artist from six different backgrounds, all within Asia, as they share their thoughts on the recent rise of hip-hop throughout the region.
Téo Frank was just 18 and an aspiring director when he decided to try his luck at filmmaking on the other side of the Atlantic. After a series of encounters and experiences, his trip took a turn when he crossed paths with photographer Mason Strehl in Alaska. Their encounter took him to New York where he got the chance to work with devotees to hip hop, talented artists like Awon Phoniks. From this adventure a documentary was born called UNDERDOGS. Who are the rappers in this film? Téo didn't know them when he began, and never dreamed their encounter would change his life the way it did.
From being a ruthless gang banger, to protecting Ice Cube's life, Shorty from the controversial rap group Da Lench Mob, reveals untold secrets of N.W.A. and why his group was attacked in a race against time to save his own life.
The greatest rapper to ever pick up a mic - with his velvety flow and unparalleled rhyme style he captivated everyone from Jay Z to Tupac. Now Notorious B.I.G. is revealed.
Kendrick Lamar, DJ Mustard and various other artists perform in a concert at the LA Forum celebrating Juneteenth and West Coast hip hop.
"The MC: Why We Do It" takes a look inside the world of Hip Hop and MCs to explore the issues and concerns that define todays most popular music form. The MC started out as a mere introducer of musical acts, but when DJs began spinning tracks at block parties in the Bronx in the late 1970s, the MC began to rap along to the beats, emerging as the focal point of a new music form. The film not only explores the origins of MC'ing, but the environmental, spiritual and moral aspects to this art form. As Hip Hop turns 25 years old, MC's consider the past, present and future of their music, giving a unique insight into what drives these artists to continue spitting rhymes. Written by Iain Kennedy
Dania is 21 years old and grew up in a Christian community in the Faroe Islands’ Bible belt. She has just moved to Tórshavn and is seeing Trygvi, a hip-hop artist and poet locally known as Silvurdrongur (Silver Kid). He comes from a secular family and writes poems and texts about the shadow sides of humanity. Dania herself sings in a Christian band but is fascinated by Trygvi’s courage to write brutally honest lyrics. As she tries to find her place in the world and understand herself, she starts to write more personal texts. Her writings develop into a collection of critical poems called ‘Skál’ (‘Cheers’), about the double life that she and other youths must live in the conservative Christian world.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, skateboarding and hip-hop culture collide in downtown Manhattan. Archival footage from the era showcases the fusion of these two forms of expression.
This documentary film examines the transformative power of lyrics in the world of hip-hop music. Through dynamic archival footage, in-depth interviews and excursions with artists like Nas, Tech9, J Cole, Rapsody and Anderson. Paak, the film explores the many dimensions that hip-hop poetics occupy.
A mockumentary focusing on an art school frat's attempt at recording a music video for their latest party anthem with unwanted dancers and an unruly director.
West Coast Theory is the story of how digital revolution has changed our creative life. The scope of the film goes beyond the music production and beatmaking in LA, and concern as well filmmaking, photography, graphic design.