Image Source: Everett Collection
Hip-hop has transformed music, and the world at large, since it was conceived 50 years ago. In a relatively short time, it's made a massive impact on every aspect of pop culture - and fortunately, there are a lot of great documentaries that chronicle the unforgettable, twists, turns, and triumphs that made hip-hop what it is today.
Many of these documentaries offer fascinating insights into hip-hop's exponential growth, such as 1995's "The Show" and 2016's "Hip-Hop Evolution," which both examine exactly how the genre became a worldwide, multibillion-dollar industry. Some of them also focus on individual artists, like 2003's "Tupac: Resurrection," a documentary narrated entirely by Tupac Shakur himself. Others focus on specific music scenes, like Ava DuVernay's "This Is the Life," which centers Los Angeles's alternative rap scene in the 1990s, while others delve into the technical aspects of hip-hop and rap, like Ice-t's...
Hip-hop has transformed music, and the world at large, since it was conceived 50 years ago. In a relatively short time, it's made a massive impact on every aspect of pop culture - and fortunately, there are a lot of great documentaries that chronicle the unforgettable, twists, turns, and triumphs that made hip-hop what it is today.
Many of these documentaries offer fascinating insights into hip-hop's exponential growth, such as 1995's "The Show" and 2016's "Hip-Hop Evolution," which both examine exactly how the genre became a worldwide, multibillion-dollar industry. Some of them also focus on individual artists, like 2003's "Tupac: Resurrection," a documentary narrated entirely by Tupac Shakur himself. Others focus on specific music scenes, like Ava DuVernay's "This Is the Life," which centers Los Angeles's alternative rap scene in the 1990s, while others delve into the technical aspects of hip-hop and rap, like Ice-t's...
- 8/12/2023
- by Eden Arielle Gordon
- Popsugar.com
A bouncy attempt to get a handle on the fast-changing state of things for pot smokers in America, Peter Spirer's The Legend of 420 wears its sympathies on its sleeve without coming off as a complete lightweight. Though this ground has been fairly well covered in the media as various states have made the drug legal in some capacity, non-smokers will learn a few things here, while enthusiasts will celebrate a world that is just opening up — that is, if our Prohibition-minded new Attorney General doesn't send it back underground.
Though the doc certainly addresses Jeff Sessions and the...
Though the doc certainly addresses Jeff Sessions and the...
- 10/4/2017
- by John DeFore
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As a red-blooded male, I’m as interested in sports as the next guy. But Peter Spirer's and Peter Baxter’s documentary about the Iroquois and their passionate devotion to lacrosse admittedly tested my patience. This rambling doc not only covers the history of the sport, but also examines its spiritual aspects to the Native American tribe; includes extensive footage of two championship games; and even has a sidebar concerning the 15th-century papal “Doctrine of Discovery” that declared that any land not inhabited by Christians could be freely colonized. It’s an awful lot of ground to cover, and Spirit Game: Pride of...
- 5/28/2017
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Recognizing and embracing the spiritual significance of long honored cultural traditions is one of the most powerful attributes of maintaining close family and societal bonds. The gripping and emotional new documentary, ‘Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation,’ compellingly showcases how lacrosse has long been one of the defining aspects of the culture of the Iroquois, […]
The post Interview: Peter Spirer and Peter Baxter Talk Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Interview: Peter Spirer and Peter Baxter Talk Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 5/26/2017
- by Karen Benardello
- ShockYa
Peter Spirer and Peter Baxter's documentary on the sport of lacrosse and its meaning to members of First Nations communities, Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation, will be released by XLrator Media in U.S. cinemas this Friday, May 26th. It will be followed by a digital release on VOD and iTunes on June 20th. ScreenAnarchy has been given an exclusive clip to share with you which you may watch below along with the trailer. Lacrosse originated with the Iroquois, which they call their "medicine game," and is the lifeblood of their Nation. The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team is not only among the world's best, but ambassadors for their Nation's sovereignty and recognition. In 2015, the Iroquois hosted the World Championships on Native soil for...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 5/22/2017
- Screen Anarchy
Exclusive: On the back of its releases of Queen Mimi and It’s So Easy And Other Lies earlier this year, the company has acquired global rights to four new titles.
XLrator Media will co-release with Rugged Entertainment Jon Manning’s Burlesque: Heart Of The Glitter Tribe in spring.
Julie Livingston and Manning produced the film in which 12 stars of the new wave of Burlesque discuss their work as a way of ultimate self-expression.
Who The F#@K Is That Guy?: The Fabulous Journey Of Michael Alago is directed by Drew Stone and recounts the tumultuous life of music industry veteran Alago.
As a young gay Puerto Rican living in Brooklyn, Alago made a name for himself as a talent booker at the Ritz in New York and became an A&R record executive who signed Metallica and John Lydon, among others.
Michael Alex and Drew Stone produced and XLrator Media and Rugged Entertainment will co-distribute...
XLrator Media will co-release with Rugged Entertainment Jon Manning’s Burlesque: Heart Of The Glitter Tribe in spring.
Julie Livingston and Manning produced the film in which 12 stars of the new wave of Burlesque discuss their work as a way of ultimate self-expression.
Who The F#@K Is That Guy?: The Fabulous Journey Of Michael Alago is directed by Drew Stone and recounts the tumultuous life of music industry veteran Alago.
As a young gay Puerto Rican living in Brooklyn, Alago made a name for himself as a talent booker at the Ritz in New York and became an A&R record executive who signed Metallica and John Lydon, among others.
Michael Alex and Drew Stone produced and XLrator Media and Rugged Entertainment will co-distribute...
- 11/7/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Indie distributor XLrator Media is launching a documentary releasing label, Lifeframe and has set a slate that begins with April theatrical release of Queen Mimi and includes Guns N Roses bassist Duff McKagen’s pic It’s So Easy And Other Lies. XLrator CEO Barry Gordon said the new label will offer "real stories about people, arts, culture and society to entertain and inspire audiences around the globe.” As part of the deal, Lifeframe is teaming with Peter Spirer’s Rugged…...
- 1/26/2016
- Deadline
Plus: CinemaCon to fete Donna Langley; XLrator launches Lifeframe doc label; and more…
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will honour Creed supporting actor Oscar nominee Sylvester Stallone with its Montecito Award on February 9, given to those who have made “a great contribution to film”.
Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley will receive the 2016 Pioneer Of The Year award at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on April 13. Langley has led the studio to be the industry’s biggest annual studio gross powered by Jurassic World, Minions and Furious 7.Gravitas Ventures, Oscilloscope and Cinedigm will supply content to the subscription-based digital network Premo, which will target multicultural millennials and launches in several weeks as a streaming service across various platforms such as apps, set-top boxes and gaming consoles.XLrator Media has launched the Lifeframe documentary label and kicks off in April with Queen Mimi followed by the documentary about Guns N’ Roses bassist It’s So Easy And Other...
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will honour Creed supporting actor Oscar nominee Sylvester Stallone with its Montecito Award on February 9, given to those who have made “a great contribution to film”.
Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley will receive the 2016 Pioneer Of The Year award at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on April 13. Langley has led the studio to be the industry’s biggest annual studio gross powered by Jurassic World, Minions and Furious 7.Gravitas Ventures, Oscilloscope and Cinedigm will supply content to the subscription-based digital network Premo, which will target multicultural millennials and launches in several weeks as a streaming service across various platforms such as apps, set-top boxes and gaming consoles.XLrator Media has launched the Lifeframe documentary label and kicks off in April with Queen Mimi followed by the documentary about Guns N’ Roses bassist It’s So Easy And Other...
- 1/26/2016
- ScreenDaily
XLrator Media said today that it has acquired worldwide rights to Spirit Game: Pride Of A Nation, a feature documentary about the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team. The company plans a November 2016 release to mark Native American Heritage Month. The film from directors Peter Spirer and Peter Baxter follows the team on the road as they compete in the 2015 World Box Lacrosse Championships. For the first time, the championship games were held on an Indian reservation, in…...
- 11/9/2015
- Deadline
XLrator Media has acquired worldwide distribution rights to the inspirational feature documentary “Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation” for release on its Lifeframe documentary label in November 2016 to mark Native American Heritage Month. The documentary follows The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team on the road as they compete in the 2015 World Box Lacrosse Championships. For the first time ever, the Championship Games were held on an Indian Reservation, in Onondaga in upstate New York, the Capitol of the Iroquois Confederacy. “Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation” was directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Peter Spirer and Peter Baxter (“Wild in the Streets”),...
- 11/9/2015
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
Soulja Boy had 10 big interviews lined up today to promote his new documentary ... instead, he's locked up in jail ... and it just might be the best thing that could have ever happened for the flick. In case you weren't aware -- the documentary "Soulja Boy: The Movie" is being released on DVD today, and the rapper was supposed to spend the day pushing the movie during plastic-smile interviews with various media outlets. Problem is ... Soulja's...
- 10/18/2011
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
The 21-year-old rapper was charged with marijuana and gun possession in Georgia on Tuesday, MTV News confirms.
By Rob Markman
Soulja Boy in Temple Police Department custody on Tuesday
Photo: Splash News
It was supposed to be a day of celebration for Soulja Boy, but whatever plans he had have been curtailed. On Tuesday morning (October 18), the same day the rapper's "Soulja Boy: The Movie" DVD documentary hit stores, the 21-year-old was arrested in Georgia after a routine traffic stop and hit with multiple drug charges.
MTV News has learned that the Atlanta Mc has been charged with possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Temple Police Department's public information officer, Dana Rampy, confirmed to MTV News that Soulja Boy (born De'Andre Cortez Way) and four other individuals were arrested early Tuesday around 2:30 a.m.
By Rob Markman
Soulja Boy in Temple Police Department custody on Tuesday
Photo: Splash News
It was supposed to be a day of celebration for Soulja Boy, but whatever plans he had have been curtailed. On Tuesday morning (October 18), the same day the rapper's "Soulja Boy: The Movie" DVD documentary hit stores, the 21-year-old was arrested in Georgia after a routine traffic stop and hit with multiple drug charges.
MTV News has learned that the Atlanta Mc has been charged with possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Temple Police Department's public information officer, Dana Rampy, confirmed to MTV News that Soulja Boy (born De'Andre Cortez Way) and four other individuals were arrested early Tuesday around 2:30 a.m.
- 10/18/2011
- MTV Music News
From my inbox…
The trailer for a film called Just Another Day, which stars 2 well-known characters from HBO’s hit series The Wire – Wood Harris and Jamie Hector.
Hector is Young Eastie, a struggling rapper who dreams of getting a record deal through the legendary A-Maze (Wood Harris). But connecting with his hero is going to be tougher than he thinks. Even though A-Maze is at the top of the ladder, his star is falling – and he’s getting desperate to hang on. Just Another Day takes a compelling, true-to-life look at the brutal ups and downs of the cutthroat hip-hop business.
It co-stars several rappers many of you would be familiar with, like Trick Daddy, Ja Rule, Styles P, & Big Daddy Kane. Clifton Powell, who has done bit parts in many movies and TV shows, is also featured.
Peter Spirer is the director. He previously directed Beef, Beef II and Beef III,...
The trailer for a film called Just Another Day, which stars 2 well-known characters from HBO’s hit series The Wire – Wood Harris and Jamie Hector.
Hector is Young Eastie, a struggling rapper who dreams of getting a record deal through the legendary A-Maze (Wood Harris). But connecting with his hero is going to be tougher than he thinks. Even though A-Maze is at the top of the ladder, his star is falling – and he’s getting desperate to hang on. Just Another Day takes a compelling, true-to-life look at the brutal ups and downs of the cutthroat hip-hop business.
It co-stars several rappers many of you would be familiar with, like Trick Daddy, Ja Rule, Styles P, & Big Daddy Kane. Clifton Powell, who has done bit parts in many movies and TV shows, is also featured.
Peter Spirer is the director. He previously directed Beef, Beef II and Beef III,...
- 1/16/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
In his lively feature documentary debut, "Rhyme & Reason," producer-director Peter Spirer (nominated for an Academy Award in 1994 for his short "Blood Ties: The Life and Work of Sally Mann") investigates and chronicles the hip-hop culture and its close relative, rap music.
Fast and informative, the crowd-pleasing Miramax release features plenty of tunes and stars, including a few brief moments with the late Tupac Shakur. While the language is often raw and there's a limit to the film's appeal, "Rhyme & Reason" will draw good crowds in select theaters and go on to heavy rotation as a video rental.
The distinction between hip-hop and rap is made clear early on. The former is a lifestyle encompassing clothes, language, graffiti and rap music. "Rap is something being done; hip-hop is something being lived," sums up KRS-ONE.
It's a situation that recalls many popular cultural movements of the past, and Spirer ambitiously probes the wide world of hip-hop with a historical perspective that leads to some genuine insight from the many artists interviewed.
From members of the Wu-Tang Clan to Ice-T, there is plenty of tough talk about life in the big-city slums, where rap moved "from project to project." In its early days in the South Bronx, the streetwise poetry with a pounding rhythm was a personal or group expression.
The "scratching" of records was eventually introduced, and DJs in clubs and at parties became part of the hip-hop scene. Break-dancing and elaborate graffiti painting were energetic responses to the urban environment, while rap became the means to express one's mind.
Over time, rap has become a $3 billion-a-year industry but has been plagued by scandals, tragedies and its wide perception as "gangster" music. The film addresses these and more issues -- such as the rivalry between East Coast and West Coast rappers -- but no definitive conclusions are reached.
For hip-hop fans, however, there are many highlights. Newer acts such as Nas, the Pharcyde and Busta Rhymes are included along with such veterans as Dr. Dre, Biz Markie and Salt-N-Pepa.
From these interviewees and many others, Spirer and crew have created a cultural portrait that argues persuasively, in the words of Speech (formerly of Arrested Development), that hip-hop music is "a voice for oppressed people who, in many ways, don't have any other voice."
RHYME & REASON
Miramax Films
A City Block and Asian Pictures production
A film by Peter Spirer
Director Peter Spirer
Producers Charles X. Block, Peter Spirer,
Daniel Sollinger
Executive producer Helena Echegoyen
Music supervisors Happy Walters,
Andrew Shack
Editors Andy Robertson, David Wilson
Music Benedikt Brydern
Color/stereo
With: Ice-T, the Pharcyde, Salt-N-Pepa, Chuck D, Erick Sermon, Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Heavy D, Grand Master Caz
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Fast and informative, the crowd-pleasing Miramax release features plenty of tunes and stars, including a few brief moments with the late Tupac Shakur. While the language is often raw and there's a limit to the film's appeal, "Rhyme & Reason" will draw good crowds in select theaters and go on to heavy rotation as a video rental.
The distinction between hip-hop and rap is made clear early on. The former is a lifestyle encompassing clothes, language, graffiti and rap music. "Rap is something being done; hip-hop is something being lived," sums up KRS-ONE.
It's a situation that recalls many popular cultural movements of the past, and Spirer ambitiously probes the wide world of hip-hop with a historical perspective that leads to some genuine insight from the many artists interviewed.
From members of the Wu-Tang Clan to Ice-T, there is plenty of tough talk about life in the big-city slums, where rap moved "from project to project." In its early days in the South Bronx, the streetwise poetry with a pounding rhythm was a personal or group expression.
The "scratching" of records was eventually introduced, and DJs in clubs and at parties became part of the hip-hop scene. Break-dancing and elaborate graffiti painting were energetic responses to the urban environment, while rap became the means to express one's mind.
Over time, rap has become a $3 billion-a-year industry but has been plagued by scandals, tragedies and its wide perception as "gangster" music. The film addresses these and more issues -- such as the rivalry between East Coast and West Coast rappers -- but no definitive conclusions are reached.
For hip-hop fans, however, there are many highlights. Newer acts such as Nas, the Pharcyde and Busta Rhymes are included along with such veterans as Dr. Dre, Biz Markie and Salt-N-Pepa.
From these interviewees and many others, Spirer and crew have created a cultural portrait that argues persuasively, in the words of Speech (formerly of Arrested Development), that hip-hop music is "a voice for oppressed people who, in many ways, don't have any other voice."
RHYME & REASON
Miramax Films
A City Block and Asian Pictures production
A film by Peter Spirer
Director Peter Spirer
Producers Charles X. Block, Peter Spirer,
Daniel Sollinger
Executive producer Helena Echegoyen
Music supervisors Happy Walters,
Andrew Shack
Editors Andy Robertson, David Wilson
Music Benedikt Brydern
Color/stereo
With: Ice-T, the Pharcyde, Salt-N-Pepa, Chuck D, Erick Sermon, Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Heavy D, Grand Master Caz
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
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