His rhymes caught the attention of millions. His flow is un-matched by any. His story is captivating and triumphant. "Big Pun: The Legacy" chronicles the life of the Grammy Nominated artist "Big Pun" aka Christopher Rios, a Puerto Rican from the Bronx who made history by becoming the first Latino rapper to sell over a million records.
A documentary on the evolution of MC battles from verbal one-upmanship to street warfare.
Beef II (released on DVD in August 2004) is a sequel to the 2003 documentary Beef, which continued to document the history of rivalries in hip-hop and rap music. Like its prequel, the film was executive produced by Quincy Jones III (QD3), written by Peter Alton and Peter Spirer (who also directed), and was this time narrated by actor Keith David.
Ed Lover and Doctor Dre are two inept barbers. Deciding that maybe they ought to find another line of work, they join the police. A big mistake, as far as their duty sergeant, Sgt Cooper is concerned, who proceeds to harass them at every turn. Despite this, they discover a major crime, and proceed to solve it in their own unusual fashion.
A look at the rise of crack cocaine in urban America in the 1980s and its influence on popular culture, especially in hip-hop music.
A portrait of a homeless park community bonded by crack cocaine addiction. In the park's drug-fixated shantytown, Cody is a kind of crackhead father figure who helps his friends when they are in trouble or in desperate need of a "blast." His girlfriend, Alicia, is a romantic who's losing her soul to the drug, and E-Max is a street hustling pimp who is trying to scoop young Linda into his motley legion of harlots. Hoover Blue, earth mother to all the addicts, attempts to pound some knowledge into the starry-eyed Linda while Cody tries to help young P-Air get his hustle on to record a hip hop track and make it big. But when Cody's real son, Terry, tracks him down to tell him his wife has passed away, Cody doesn't even recognize him at first and then can't help him with postmortem affairs. After five years of crack addiction, Cody wants to get straight and do right by Terry, but the harder he struggles to escape the park, the more it closes in on him.
A smoke-filled journey across the lives and the careers of the groundbreaking, genre-defying Hip Hop group, Cypress Hill. Their unique sound, influenced by their Latin roots and West Coast upbringing, was built on a movement rooted in true authenticity: from cultivating the flower, to smoking it, to rapping about it, their influence is forever burned into the musical landscape of Hip Hop as they continue to stay relevant after 30 years.
Celebrating music and marijuana, the all-day Smoke Out Festival features blazing performances from a wide range of bands and musicians -- from punk rock to hip-hop -- as captured in this 2002 fifth annual concert. Circle Jerks, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Everlast and concert organizers Cypress Hill are just some of the eclectic artists included in this event's lineup. Snoop Dogg performs several of his hits, including "Murder Was the Case."
Jamal and Silas, two ordinary guys who smoke something magical, pass their college entrance exams with flying colors and end up at Harvard. Ivy League ways are strange but Silas and Jamal take it in a stride -- until their supply of supernatural smoke runs dry. That's when they have to start living by their wits and rely on their natural resources to make the grade.
One night Jefferson Reed gets hit in the chest by a souped-up chunk of meteor. So he can fly, but he's scared of heights. He can master the information in any book ... for about thirty seconds. Now his friends and family want him to protect their community from the dreaded Golden Lords.
Two rapper childhood friends turn to the quick and easy life of crime to support their needy parents. But after a foiled robbery, one of them is jailed while the other flees, changes his name, joins the military, and grows up to become a narcotics agent.
Rap group M.O.P. gives a tour through Brownsville in Brooklyn to show where they grew up, and what inspires their music.
SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP is a feature length performance documentary about the runaway juggernaut that is Rap music. At the wheel of this unstoppable beast is the film's director and interviewer Ice-T. Taking us on a deeply personal journey Ice-T uncovers how this music of the street has grown to dominate the world. Along the way Ice-T meets a whole spectrum of Hip-Hop talent, from founders, to new faces, to the global superstars like Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West. He exposes the roots and history of Rap and then, through meeting many of its most famous protagonists, studies the living mechanism of the music to reveal 'The Art Of Rap'. This extraordinary film features unique performances from the entire cast, without resorting to archive material, to build a fresh and surprising take on the phenomenon that is Rap.
A provocative look into the seven-year history of the series that gave hip hop a voice and broke color barriers, integrating MTV with rap. "Yo! MTV Raps" premiered on August 6, 1988 with hosts Fab 5 Freddy, Ed Lover and Doctor Dré, and shaped the careers of many of today’s hip hop superstars, while simultaneously making groundbreaking strides in introducing hip hop to the mainstream.
A once-in-a-lifetime live concert special celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the two-hour tribute special features exclusive performances from hip-hop legends and GRAMMY-winning artists, including Black Thought, Bun B, Common, De La Soul, Jermaine Dupri, J.J. Fad, Talib Kweli, The Lady of Rage, LL COOL J, MC Sha-Rock, Monie Love, The Pharcyde, Queen Latifah, Questlove, Rakim, Remy Ma, Uncle Luke, and Yo-Yo.
01. Get ‘Em Up 02. Hand on the Pump 03. When The Shit Goes Down 04. How I Could Just Kill a Man 05. Latin Thugs 06. Armada Latina 07. Insane in the Brain 08. I Wanna Get High 09. Stoned Is the Way of the Walk 10. Hits From the Bong 11. Dr. Greenthumb 12. Julio G. DJ Jam Session & Eric Bobo Drum Jam Session 13. Real Estate 14. Lick a Shot 15. Rise up (with Young Dee) 16. (Rock) Superstar
Bigg Snoop Dogg takes you into is his Snoopadelic world in this creative animated film. Ride with him as he rolls through the streets of Long Beach in Los Angeles and is joined by B Real (Legendary Rap group Cypress Hill), The Game, Kurupt and others, as they show you the life a rap star that’s still in the community they grew up in. The film futures music by Hip Hop most successful artists, giving you hip, edgy and very entertaining storylines to the songs that are the soundtrack to their lives
In Los Angeles, two rival gang leaders are also trying to be music producers. When DJ's equipment shorts out and Lonzo is cut out of the action by a record producer, the two join forces, which also requires a tentative peace between gangs. With backing from Gator, a smooth New Orleans drug king, DJ and Lonzo start dealing, organizing their gangs into pushers. Just as their finances are looking up, one of Gator's team pulls a double cross and two of DJ and Lonzo's gang bangers start a shooting war. Can the erstwhile music producers salvage anything of their bond or their plans?
Exploring the social impact of what The Source Magazine in 1998 voted, "The Best Hip Hop Radio Show Of All-Time." The documentary film is the story of quirky friends who became unlikely legends by engaging their listeners and breaking the biggest rap artists ever.
Tiffany, Charlie and Vernon are con artists looking to up the ante from their typical scams. They figure a good way of doing this is taking down Dean "The Dean" Stevens, a well-known cardsharp, in a rigged game. However, they first need enough money to enter a game with Stevens, so they decide to strike a deal with fellow crook Larry Jennings to scam a local gangster -- which turns out to be a bad idea.
An in-depth and provocative look at the 1992 Los Angeles riots exploring the roots of civil unrest in California and the relationship between African Americans and LAPD.
Join photographer turned public access guru Ricky Powell in this collection of clips from his influential NY TV show, Rappin' With The Rickster.
Today, you're more likely to go to prison in the United States than anywhere else in the world. So in the unfortunate case it should happen to you - this is the Survivors Guide to Prison.
A study in the world of hip-hop, done mostly with interviews, in order to see why it is as popular as it is today and what the future holds.
Weed. Marijuana. Grass. Pot. Whatever you prefer to call it, America’s relationship with cannabis is a complicated one. In his directorial debut, hip hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy presents an unparalleled look at the racially biased history of the war on marijuana. A range of celebrities and experts discuss the plant’s influence on music and popular culture, and the devastating impact its criminalization has had on Black and Latino communities. As more and more states join the push to legalize marijuana, this documentary dives deep into the glaring racial disparities in the growing cannabis market.
Hollywood comedian/actor Pauly Shore loses everything: his house, nobody in Hollywood wants to represent him, he moves back home with his mom and is now parking cars at the Comedy Store. Then one night when he's up in his mom's loft, a dead famous comedian appears who tells Pauly to kill himself cause he'll go down as a comedic genius who died before his time. Pauly then fakes his own death, and the media goes crazy.
By the dawn of the 21st century, hip-hop sales had reached an all-time high, but one thing has remained the same. The doors were still locked, and the music industry held the keys. Young artists began to self-market on the Internet, ultimately helping to collapse the music industry as we knew it. It’s Yours explores how it became possible to become a rap star through a Twitter account, YouTube site or Myspace page. It tells this story through the unique perspectives of numerous artists, producers, record industry insiders, and music and cultural critics.
Hip-hop meets classical as the legendary Cypress Hill play an exclusive show at the Royal Albert Hall alongside the London Symphony Orchestra. Celebrating 30 years since the release of their seminal album Black Sunday, they are accompanied by unique arrangements from the glorious 70-piece orchestra.
Cypress Hill performed live at the Rock Im Park festival in 1999. This performance, previously unreleased on vinyl, was made available as a Record Store Day Black Friday exclusive in 2024. The release features a blue and white "smoke theme" colored vinyl, a gatefold album jacket, and an OBI strip. The concert includes popular tracks like "Insane in the Brain" and "Hits from the Bong".
The Release Party is a DVD documentary looking back at the trials and tribulations of Dilated Peoples, an underground rap sensation that languished on a major label for several years despite showing so much promise as an independent act that they had their pick of major-label offers from which to choose. In a way, the film is a celebration of Dilated Peoples' long-awaited return to the underground circa 2007, the title referencing the group's release from their contract with Capitol Records. Anyone who is a fan of the group -- or simply a fan of hip-hop, for that matter -- will find much to appreciate here. The film is directed by Jason Goldwatch, a longtime friend of the group who interweaves home-video footage with
Prophets of Rage live concert at Les Eurockéennes 2018.