In the 90s, American cinema experienced a mini-revolution when hip hop stars crossed over to the big screen, making box office hits and making heads turn in the process.
They brought their talent, their style and their music – and after all, where would we be without Tupac Shakur in Juice, Gridlock’d & Poetic Justice, Ice Cube in Friday and Boyz n Hood or Queen Latifah in Set It Off?
To celebrate the BFI’s upcoming Hip Hop Weekender as part of their BLACK STAR season, we are giving you 5 of our favourites and going back to where it all began….
House Party (1990)
Missing Play’s party when the hottest girl in school will be there just isn’t an option: with his dad and school bullies in pursuit, Kid risks it all and sneaks out. House Party is brimming with delightful teen movie tropes and boasts a now-iconic rap battle and dance-off. The adventures of Kid ‘n Play immortalised the style and sound of 90s hip-hop.
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
This seminal drama ushered in a new wave of exciting black filmmaking in the US. Remarkably, John Singleton was just 23 when he wrote and directed his thrilling debut, featuring Tre Styles (Gooding Jr), a young man struggling to navigate life in a community ravaged by police harassment, drug addiction, poverty and gang violence. Singleton’s powerful story is intensified by a superb cast, including Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne as Tre’s at-odds parents and rapper Ice Cube’s charismatic screen debut as troubled gangbanger Doughboy. Today, with tension between black communities and the police in America at fever pitch, Boyz n the Hood feels every inch as urgent and important as it did upon its release 25 years ago.
Juice (1992)
In this exhilarating drama, we see a riveting turn from Tupac Shakur in his feature acting debut. He plays one of four Harlem teens whose pursuit of the eponymous “juice” (respect and power) turns fatal when their mischief escalates. Unfolding against a bouncing Hip Hop soundtrack, Juice insightfully explores the conflicts of urban living, where notions of creativity and community clash with hyper-masculinity and systemic impoverishment.
Friday (1995)
This hilarious stoner-buddy-movie was the first film that Ice Cube turned into a franchise. Craig and Smokey (Chris Tucker’s first starring role) need to come up with $200 by 10pm to pay back a dealer for smoking his weed. In their quest to raise funds, the duo encounter the eccentric inhabitants of their neighbourhood, including the scandalous Pastor Clever, the brutish Deebo, and the ill-fated Felisha.
Set it Off (1996)
Twenty years ago, director F. Gary Gray put together a firehouse quartet in Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Vivica A. Fox and Kimberly Elise, playing a tight-knit group who decide to rob banks to overcome financial hardship. Thrilling action sequences of these ‘Robin Hoods’ taking matters into their own hands. In the 90s, it was rare to see women lead the charge, but these women bring their A-game, with riveting portrayals of three-dimensional characters in a film about female empowerment.
The BFI’s Hip Hop Weekender will take place from 4-6 November at the BFI Southbank in London, with screenings of Boyz n the Hood, Set It Off, Friday, Juice, New Jack City, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, House Party and Gridlock’d.
BLACK STAR will be available to audiences everywhere in the UK; in cinemas including BFI Southbank, on BBC Television, on BFI DVD/Blu-ray and online via BFI Player until 31 December. http://www.bfi.org.uk/black-star