A forgotten gem

If I remember correctly, I saw this one when it was released in the theaters. I know it was pretty obscure but not that much actually. Anyway, with this kind of movies (a real Hip-Hop artist portrays a guy who aspires to become a Hip-Hop artist), there is always a risk that the whole thing won’t work or that it won’t be taken seriously arguing that there is no actual acting since the actor in question is actually portraying himself. In this case, it never crossed my mind. Indeed, Saul Williams gave a very heartfelt performance and I thought he was very convincing. There were also some pretty amazing rap-poetry battles not only by Saul Williams but also by Sonja Sohn. Furthermore, the directing was also pretty solid. Above all, I thought the grim tone and look really fit the subject and it was also appreciated that they didn’t provide any simple answer at the end. I mean, that’s one of the biggest issues with this genre, is that, coming from the gutter, the main character usually ends up with a record contract and becomes a huge star. Even though it does happen sometimes, most of those aspiring artists remain in the gutter and I think that makes a much more compelling story. To conclude, I thought it was a very good movie, probably the best in this genre, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Hip-Hop.

8/10