This is DJ Special Blend from Chicago. What’s up America and the World! Was just kickin’ back and decided to count down my top ten Hip-Hip movies of all time. Yep, just like one of those VH-1 countdowns… the one’s that you don’t agree with… the type of thing that if you ask ten different people, you’ll get ten different answers. I jotted down about twenty-two main stream movies off the top of my head that I would consider Hip-Hop movies, and these are my top ten out the bunch. I’m sure I overlooked a few.  Regardless, let’s count down the top ten Hip-Hop movies that came to mind as we start it off a little something like this…

Number 10

At number ten, we are gonna roll with “Notorious.” The life story of my boy Biggie was generally okay. I went to see it the first day it came out, at the first matinee at the Streets of Woodfield. I was bound to be generally disappointed with the movie with all the hype that lead up to it. Nothing short of him coming back to life would have been satisfying. However, this is now one of the full length movies that I have saved and locked on my phone. Peep this vintage footage of the talent he had back in the day to absolutely crush this dude on the mic to the point that dude literally ran away…

Number 9

Number nine is gonna go to “Krush Groove.” Loosely based on how Russel and Ruben started Def Jam from a dorm room, this movie stared Run DMC, The Fat Boys, New Edition, Sheila E., and it introduced us to LL Cool J.  These are just a few of the celebrities in this East coast flick from the eighties.

Number 8

Gonna put “Love Jones” in at number eight on my favorite Hip-Hop movies of all time. Lorenz Tate’s character Darius definitely get’s credit for being an MC, so it’s on the countdown. It’s hot-to-death the way he talks Nia Long’s character out of her panties on the mic in the “Brotha To the Night” scene. Hands down one of the best fictional brain storms ever. This movie was based in Chicago and is one of my favorite movies of all time over all. No movie has really ever captured true Urban adult culture in Chicago, but this was a very nice try. The characters just didn’t have Chicago accents… but I still love it.

Number 7

8-Mile is unquestionably on my list of top ten Hip-Hop movies. Loosely based on Eminem’s life coming up in Detroit, this actually turned out to be a good movie. I love it. White people are now equal again! But seriously folks, a brotha came across some raw footage of Eminem sticking it to somebody on the mic. Dude definitely had his moment on top of the world as a Hip-Hop artist. The first time a white MC went to the top that actually had skillz, and managed to not say or do anything stupid in a world where everyone waits for one to fuck up. Gotta admit that the idea of MC’s battling is to disrespect the opponent. He always flips it when he gets the racial attacks on the mic, and its extremely clever without crossing the thin line. Impressive.

Number 6

“Wild Style” is at number six on the Hip-Hop movie countdown. It would be soo disrespectful to leave this movie out of any Hip-Hop movie countdown. This has go to be the original movie about the misunderstood graffiti artist. In fact, the original Hip-Hop feature film period released in 1982 featuring Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quinones, the Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers, Patti Astor, Sandra Fabara and Grandmaster Flash. And ya don’t stop!

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Number 5

“Juice” is at number five on my list of favorite Hip-hop movies of all time. Gotta get the flick in there that focuses on the DJ. Hey, that’s how I’m in the club. The movie also of course stars the late Tupac Shakur. I think seeing himself on the big screen playing the bad guy in this movie kinda stuck in his mind too much. Does that make sense? I could clearly tell a difference in his work after this movie came out even back then.  Though he never topped 2pacolypse Now in my mind, “Juice” is still an all time classic movie.

Number 4

Number four is no doubt “Brown Sugar.” This movie used the metaphor of Hip-Hop compared to love, just as Common used the Hip-Hop as a metaphor for a girl in his classic song “I Used to Love Her.” This Hip-Hop love story featuring Sanaa Lathon has become an instant chick flick, and I can live with that. It also is a good exam of African Americans as everyday people. It’s one of those movies that has a Black cast, but halfway through the movie you forget that the cast is Black. It’s a chick-flick on channels like Lifetime and WE on a regular basis.

Number 3

“Breakin’” is no doubt at number three on this Hip-Hop movie countdown representing the West coast. This scene with Turbo dancing with the broom was supposed to end up on a Fred Estair slash Micheal Jackson level, and I think that you have to mention Boogaloo Shrimp in the same sentence with those greats when it comes to great single individual performances. This movie made being a B-Boy (or B-Girl) a huge national trend in the early eighties. Definitely a movie that has had a huge impact on Hip-Hop. This is “Breakin’” at number three …not to be confused with “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” which is generally considered by Hollywood as the worst movie sequel of all time. No joke.

Number 2

We used to argue which was a better movie: “Beat Street” or “Breakin’?” Well, “Beat Street” gets to be on top this time. This movie is very entertaining, and it manages to have a story line among the corniness of the eighties. This one also incorporates all four aspects of Hip-Hop into the storyline well including DJing, MCing, B-Boying and of course the misunderstood Graffiti artist. Gotta respect the East coast when it comes to Hip-Hop.

Honorable Mention:

• A couple movies that came to mind that didn’t make the top ten were Hustle & Flow, Idlewild, How High, and Boyz N the Hood.
• A couple others that came up but were debatable on being considered “Hip-Hop movies” were Love & Basketball, In Too Deep, and Menace to Society.

remembering lou albano. rest in peace

And now…

Number 1

“Belly” is absolutely the best Hip-Hop film ever. Directed by Hype Williams, this movie is like a 90 minute music video. Imagine if Quentin Tarantino decided to make a grimy Hip-Hop movie staring Nas and DMX. The famous opening scene features a robbery over the Soul to Soul accapella version of “Back to Life,” and it never looks back. My vote for number one today. All congrats due…

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Just caught the notion and decided to do that… and I think I’ll do something similar to that again. Maybe the top ten cleavage shots from my favorite actresses or something. I dunno. But I’m bout to bounce outta here for now. Catch me next time. Same time, same place. ’til then, don’t bump into the turntables!

5000!