Films with rappers: a list of the best

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Hip-hop culture began to emerge in the seventies of the twentieth century among the working middle class in New York. One of the elements of the musical hip-hop direction is rap. In its modern form, it appeared among African Americans in the Bronx area.

A lot of films with famous rappers were directed in 1980-2010. Some of them won an Oscar for Best Song. The list is below.

Pay in full

2002 film directed by Charles Stone III.

The action takes place in New York in 1986. The protagonist named Ace is a simple garbage man, but he craves expensive cars and luxurious things (like his friends Mitch and Calvin). And thanks to one incident, his everyday life changes dramatically.

In the laundry room, the protagonist meets Lulu, by her expensive apartment and jewelry, much about the girl's situation becomes clear. Ace enters the world of drugs, where money is the guarantor of power in a criminal reality full of death.

Starring: Wood Harris, Mekhi Phifer, Kevin Carroll and others.

Gangsterwar

2005 film directed by Damon Dash.

There is neither brotherhood nor love on the streets of Philadelphia. When the area is divided between a couple of criminal gangs, there is no word "humanism", there is a word "survive". The gang war is at its peak.

Brother betrays brother, strong ties are broken, and pools of blood flow down the streets of the city. None of the leaders - Beans, Dame, Loko - have any idea that they have been manipulated by a much more cunning and smart figure for a long time.

Starring: Beanie Siegel, Noreaga, Damon Dash and others.

Voice of the streets

2015 film featuring rappers. The film was directed by F. Gary Gray. The film was nominated for an Oscar and Screen Actors Guild of America, and also won an MTV award.

The action takes place in 1987 in the suburbs of Los Angeles. The main characters, consisting of five guys, are trying to quickly start the path to glory. How will their lives turn out in the end, and will the whole world of hip-hop be at the feet of these guys?

Starring: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell and others.

Eight Mile

A film with the famous rapper Eminem, filmed back in 2002. The director of the film is Curtis Hanson. The work was awarded an MTV award and an Oscar for best song.

The action takes place in Detroit in 1995. A promising policy for the development of the city suffers a complete fiasco, which leads to chaos and confusion. Conflictsescalate into a real war between whites and non-whites.

The highway after which the film is named was the border between the warring parties. Everything that happens on the streets of the city is reflected in the musical field. For those who live in poor and dangerous neighborhoods, the only peace of mind is the existence of hip-hop.

Starring: rap artist Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer and others.

Get rich or die

A 2005 film directed by Jimi Sheridan.

The film tells the story of an orphan boy named Marcus, who earns money by selling drugs. However, at one point he decides to change his life by starting a musical career.

"Get Rich or Die" is a movie with a rapper who is known by almost everyone under the pseudonym 50 Cent. Also starring Adewale Akinoye-Agbaje, Joy Bryant, Omar Benson Miller and others.

Fuss and movement

A 2005 film featuring rappers directed and written by Craig Brewer. The film won an Oscar for best song.

DJ - rapper and part-time pimp - is trying to record his debut album. The main character is helped by his friends. Assuming that this might be the first and last chance, he decides not to miss his opportunity. When hip-hop superstar Skinny Black arrives in the area, DJ tries to get attention by pushing his"best" offer.

Starring: Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taraji P. Henson, DJ Qualls and more.

Notorius

"Notorius" is a 2009 rapper film directed by George Tillman Jr.

The picture tells the story of life and death about the rapper under the pseudonym Notorious B. I. G., whose real name is Christopher Wallace. He was a Brooklyn-based musician who had a dazzling creative career and tragically passed away from the world of the living in the early hours of 1997 in Los Angeles.

Cast: Jamal Woolard, Derek Luke, Dennis L. A. White, Angela Bassett and others.

CB 4: Fourth in a row

A 1993 film about rappers directed by Tamra Davis.

A picture of the fictional rap group CB4, which is named after the cell block where the original Cell Block 4 was supposedly formed.

Three young performers dream of building a successful music career. Albert, Euripides, and Otis approach local nightclub boss Gasteau to make a name for themselves, but the meeting ends badly. Gasteau goes to jail, but promises to take revenge on the guys. Meanwhile, the boys become the top group on the charts.

Starring: Chris Rock, Allen Payne, Dizer Dee and others.

Fun fact: Halle Berry, Ice-T, Ice Cube, Shaquille O'Neal, Eazy-E appear in one of the episodes.

2pac:Legend

A biopic about rapper Tupac Shakur directed by Benny Boom in 2017.

The film tells the story of a man who earned the title of rap legend, but died at a very young age. The film shows the whole truth inside out: how a native of the ghetto, who has repeatedly participated in criminal showdowns and was prosecuted, was able to unleash a deadly war between labels and become a real voice of the street. Tupac has become one of the most influential artists in the global rap culture.

Starring: Demetrius Shipp Jr., Danai Gurira, Kat Graham, Hill Harper and more.

BEEF: Russian hip-hop

Domestic film with rappers, filmed in 2019 by director Roman Zhigan.

The film demonstrates the entire path of domestic hip-hop from the underground to huge stadiums through the eyes of the most famous performers. In the film, viewers will look behind the scenes of Russian rap, where all quarrels, conflicts and clashes will be exposed. The film will reveal the essence of the genre, and will also answer the question: how and why did rap manage to capture the younger generation and become the number one musical direction?

Starring such famous performers as Basta, Jah Kalib, Vakhtang Kalandadze, Timati, Feduk, Guf, Oksimiron and others.

Friday

This is another 1985 film about hip hop and rap culture directed by Felix Gary Gray. The work was nominated for three MTV awards: "Breakthrough of the Year","Best Comedy Role" and "Best Screen Duo".

The picture is an everyday comedy. The events of the film take place on one of the Fridays in the Los Angeles area, namely in South Central. The main characters - Craig and Smokey - are friends who like to sit in the evening on the threshold of the house, drink, smoke and reflect on life.

However, this Friday they have a problem: after taking weed to sell, they couldn't help but smoke it themselves. But nothing is free, so they need to get $200 for a drug dealer by 10pm.

The film starred: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long and others.

"Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Journey of A Tribe Called Quest"

2011 film directed by Michael Rapaport.

This picture reveals the path of formation of the group A Tribe Called Quest. It also shows the relationship of the team from the inside. Actor Michael Rapaport, playing the title role, thus confessed his love to one of the most influential hip-hop teams.

Starring: Fife Dog, Ali Shahid Muhammad, Q-Tip, Jarobi and others.