It’s no secret that it takes everything you got to make it in the rap game, especially since “the game,” as Paul Iannacchino, Jr. points out, “is a cruel, cruel bitch with little to give but heartache, bad credit and chronic wanderlust.” He should know. Also known as DJ paWL, former member of indie rap group Hangar 18, he saw firsthand the ups and downs of the industry and knows all too well the game only gets harder for rappers as they get older. It’s an intriguing subject, which is why the producer decided to make Adult Rappers, a documentary that explores life as a hip-hop artist when you’re a grown-ass man or woman. The film features an impressive cast that includes folks like Masta Ace, R.A. the Rugged Man, Slug, Jarobi, and regular egotripland contributor J-Zone. Much like the “Back On the Plantation” chapter of Zone’s acclaimed book, Root for the Villain: Rap, Bullshit, and a Celebration of Failure, Adult Rappers also focuses on that point in life when an artist has to mature and face tough decisions. Iannacchino started a Kick Starter fund to raise loot to help him finish the film and has almost reached that goal. You can help by donating, but please hurry, there’s less than 24 hours left, as pledging ends on Thursday May 17, 9:01am EDT. Find out how you can contribute and peep the trailer – in which J-Zone talk about how he’s sometimes confused for Jay-Z (!) – after the jump …
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Released today via Pitchfork.tv is Detroit State of Mind, a 20-minute documentary that captures Fool’s Gold recording artist Danny Brown doing his thing in The D. This would include activities like puffin’ ‘n’ drinkin’ with the Bruiser Brigade, chillin’ with his mom and pops in Linwood, and taking the stage on Dilla Day this past February (we see a bit of him doing “Blunt After Blunt”). Earlier today, Danny tweeted about the film: “This doc is really like a movie/reality show pilot or some shit … you laugh, u cry and someone dies at the end lol.” It’s true! Continue on to peep the doc…
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BBC Four documentary about a New York City vastly different from the one today. Beginning in the late ’60s, this 60-minute film focuses on the three musical genres that greatly impacted music as a whole: punk rock, disco and hip-hop. From Warhol’s Factory to CBGB, from disco haven The Gallery to Studio 54, and from park jams in the South Bronx to worldwide domination, the doc traces the humble origins and interconnecting elements of the musical styles that were born out of necessity and contains interviews with various key players in the development of the art forms. Musicians like Richard Hell of Television, Chris Stein of Blondie, David Johansen and Syl Sylvain of the New York Dolls, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of Talking Heads, Tommy Ramone of the Ramones, and John Cale of Velvet Underground discuss the punk scene while Nile Rodgers and David Mancuso take on disco’s popularity and how it went from a subculture to a phenomenon. The last part is dedicated to hip-hop, featuring commentary from Public Enemy’s Chuck D, Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Fab 5 Freddy, who explains how Blondie came to record their smash hit, “Rapture.” Check out the doc after the break…
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YOLO. Everyone we know hates the term. In case you don’t know, it’s a trendy (for some time) acronym for You Only Live Once, popularized by the hook in Drake’s “The Motto.” (Thanks, Drake.) The phrase, overused in real life mostly by teens and quite the popular meme on the web, is supposed to be uttered with Ferris Bueller-like enthusiasm right before you do something risky, but of course, is mainly utilized in an “ironic” or facetious way, like prior to wolfing down three Triple Whoppers and washing it down with three gallons of Coke or voting. The following audio manipulated clip of the Tom Cruise spy flick M:I – Ghost Protocol pokes fun at the saying. We almost didn’t post this because we thought it was too violent for some readers, but, hey, YOLO. Peep it after the “jump”…
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Sure, the new Avengers movie might have state of the art 3-D and multimillion dollar special effects, but what it doesn’t have that this Youtube sensation that imagines what The Avengers might have been like if it were made as a late ’70s made-for-TV special does is bellbottoms, a bushy porn ‘stache on playboy millionaire Tony Stark, and most important of all, Hollywood Squares smart aleck Paul Lynde as arch villain Loki. Set to catchy afternoon game show style music, this fun-filled fan made trailer splices together all types of groovy superhero footage from the decade of disco, including the Lou Ferrigno version of The Incredible Hulk, and in a twist, combines it with parts from the campy flick KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park so that the face-painted rock gods are the “A” team’s enemies (check for Gene Simmons as The Destroyer). Those who grew up on television from this era will get an extra kick out of the Marvel character Hawkeye being Alan Alda from M.A.S.H. LOL. See the blockbuster that never was after the jump…
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Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with this firme 1983 public television documentary that takes an in-depth look at the lowriding culture of Mexican-Americans. Low ‘n Slow is a time capsule overflowing with info about the laidback lifestyle centered around the pride and care of restoring old automobiles into magical rides. The half-hour film covers cruisin’, car hoppin’ contests, car clubs, Lowrider Magazine, Chicano art, and mucho mucho mas. So crack open a cerveza and enjoy the show, holmes, after the jump…
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An imaginative Youtube user by the name of Venom3sm constructed a few months back this faux opening title sequence to the heavily hyped Marvel comic book movie The Avengers (which just hit theaters) done in the same style as the intro credits to Robert Rodriguez’s Machete (2010). Check the grindhouse smash-up after the jump…
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Today we celebrate what would have been James Brown’s 79th birthday with the somewhat overlooked yet quite excellent documentary, Soul Brother No.1. Directed by Adrian Maben (who also made the 1972 feature film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii), Soul Brother packs a ton of astounding footage (including a fantastic intro) in its relatively modest one-hour running time. We see “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” (who in 1969 was named Business Man of the Year and was reportedly making $8 a minute) on stages from Mexico to Senegal, as he and a latter-day incarnation of the J.B.’s tear through classics like “Get on the Good Foot,” “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” and “Doing It to Death.” We visit Mr. Dynamite’s humble abode 20 miles from Augusta, Georgia where he was born. We catch The Godfather of Soul relaxing shooting pool and then witness him in the recording studio working on tracks for the Mutha’s Nature LP. We learn about his politics. We also learn that James is not only proficient at demonstrating dances like the Funky Chicken and Mashed Potato, but he can do The Robot, too. We also hear James’ definition of soul: “For me, it’s my life. It was my opportunity. It was my knock on the door. It was my only guarantee I had. And still my only guarantee. Soul is spiritual. Soul is truth. Soul is realism. Soul is survival.” This is one you got to watch, folks. Peep it after the jump…
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DJ/Writer/Official Sneaker Head Bobbito Garcia has co-directed (along with Kevin Couliau) a new documentary about one of his life-long passions – the history, culture and impact of New York City street basketball. Set to be released this summer, Doin’ It In the Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC focuses on the game played by approximately half-a-million people on over 700 courts across the five boroughs of NY. As you’d expect given Bob’s immersion in the world of street hoops, the film’s cast is impressive: Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Kenny Smith, “Pee Wee” Kirkland, “Fly” Williams, God Shammgod, Tim “Headache” Gittens, Corey “Homicide” Williams, Kenny Anderson, Jack Ryan, Richard “Crazy Legs” Colon, Niki Avery, Milani Malik, and the Park Pick-Up Players of NYC are all featured players. Lace ‘em up, and peep the trailer, after the jump…
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The L.A. Riots, The L.A. Rebellion, The L.A. Uprising. No matter what you call it, the violent events that exploded on April 29, 1992 in the wake of the Rodney King verdicts brought to light the vast racial and political problems facing the city of Los Angeles. For those who didn’t experience firsthand the chaos that happened when a jury acquitted LAPD cops of the brutal videotaped beating of Black motorist Rodney King, Birth Of A Nation 4*29*1992, the raw and gritty 1993 documentary by filmmaker Matthew McDaniel, captures all the rage and hard realities in the aftermath of injustice. McDaniel, who came up doing vital interviews with rap artists for his Rhythm Rock video series in the late ’80s, includes not only interviews with luminaries such as Ice Cube, Ice-T and KRS-One in the doc, but mixes in local TV news clips with on-the-scene footage shot by himself and his team. In one particularly memorable scene, one angry protestor states: “If you ain’t down for the Africans here in the United States — period point blank — if you ain’t down for the ones that suffered in South Africa from apartheid and shit, Devil you need to step your punk ass to the side and let us brothers and us Africans step in and start puttin’ some foot in that ass!” The dialog was, of course, sampled by Dr. Dre for The Chronic‘s “The Day the Niggaz Took Over.” See the hour-long, award-winning video film — and don’t forget to pass the popcorn — after the break…
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