Hip-hop films have been there since the beginning of the movement. Waist Deep is the most recent in a long line of films that stretch back to when Kangols and fat shoelaces were fresh.
1. Scarface (1983) – A classic hip-hop film before the genre even existed. Scarface doesn’t have a rap soundtrack, any b-boy characters, or even take place in the inner city. But Tony Montana is the guy who wannabe gangstas wannabe, enough so that his s mug still turns up on jackets and t-shirts. Extra points for giving us the catch phrase “Say hello to my little friend!”
2. Breakin' (1984) – That’s right, Breakin’. Hip-hop is a billion dollar industry because white people bought into it, and no movie sold it better than Breakin’. Not only was it a hit at the box office, its theme song even made the top 40. It’s also the movie debut of Ice-T who has a bit part as a club MC.
3. Boyz N the Hood (1991) – Colors got to South Central first in 1988, but blew it by presenting it from the point of view of the cops and by having the main conflict between black and chicano gangs. John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood told it best. The film was a big hit, and a career springboard for Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Ice Cube.
4. Beat Street (1984) – Of the early hip-hop films, this is the most real. The South Bronx scene it captures is hard and intimidating, everything that Hollywood wanted to avoid in order to promote hip-hop to the suburbs.
5. Juice (1992) - By the early 90s, break dancing was passé and hip-hop had left peace and unity behind. Juice got on to the business of telling inner city crime stories, the form that still dominates.
6. Wild Style (1982) – So real, it’s half documentary, Wild Style is a time capsule of early hip-hop. It’s quality, and thus its influence, were hampered by a small budget. Money issues even kept some of the music of the original out of the DVD release.
7. Krush Groove (1985) - Based on the early days of Def Jam Recordings, the fictitious Krush Groove label has Run-D.M.C., Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, and Kurtis Blow on the roster, with Rick Rubin producing. The Russell Simmons character is played by Blair Underwood. This movie is also LL Cool J 's big screen debut, paving the way for Last Holiday.
8. New Jack City (1994) – A big step in the commercialization of the gangland drama, New Jack City has stars like Wesley Snipes, Judd Nelson, Vanessa Williams, and Ice-T, who had come a long way since Breakin’. Chris Rock is also in there, though he wasn’t famous at the time.
9. 8 Mile (2002) – The movie that made 50 Cent think he could do it too. Eminem’s idealized biopic is better, because Eminem’s character has more depth.
10. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) – An oddball choice that’s here because it marks an intersection of hip-hop and indie film’s DIY ethic. Director Jim Jarmusch combines the hip-hop, samurai and mafia genres into an unusual film that pays respect to all of them.