I give this one an Excellent. I thought I would probably like it going in. I was shocked at how much I loved it. I do not remember the last time I went to a movie and felt so good on the other side. Usually, the movies that I like a lot are downers, Crash, Hotel Rwanda, The Defiant Ones, The Mission, etc. They feel important. This one also felt important, but it was all upbeat. I loved it. The music was amazing. It was rap at its intellectual, political finest. Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Mos Def, Kanye West, Talib Kwali, The Roots, Dead Prez. They were all great. Seeing Badu and Scott together was awesome. It was exhilirating to see Erykah Badu pulling off her wig and singing on. And I can't say enough about ?uestlove. He seemed to be playing the drums for every single act. That's right, playing the drums. Not a drum machine, actual drums. Listening to the Dead Prez telling me to turn off my radio reminded me of just how synthetic all of the rap on the radio is. This is the real deal. No gangsta, no hos. John Legend singing in the background (gospel rap?). And all of this before we get to Dave Chappelle who drove the bus. He was very funny, not to mention the brilliant concept that was his to begin with. Watching the band react when it turned out that they were going to NYC was awesome. The only downside of the whole movie was that I knew that it was very unlikely that anyone else would like it the way I did. It is, after all, built around a rap concert. But I loved it. Maybe if you see it, you will enjoy it in spite of your aversion to rap music. Maybe it will open you up to a different bit of rap that you haven't seen before. Maybe you won't like it at all. Either way, keep an eye on this one for the upcoming Beeb season.
6 comments:
Based on your recommendation, I've upgraded Block Party from "not gonna see" to "will check it out when it gets to cable." A year ago, I might have bumped it all the way up to "see when it comes to Evanston," but my time demands are different now.
I think of The Edukators as an important, upbeat film, by the way.
Good point on The Edukators, though I sort of felt it on an intellectual level, rather than an emotional feel-good.
hey--akid and i read this blog and we both like rap music. where's the love????
I own two jill scott albums, 1 kanye west album and 1 roots album. WHERE'S THE LOVE????
we will be seeing this movie, when we get back on the movie bandwagon. which by the way we saw 52 movies last year so you can't say you didn't include us because we never watch movies . . .
I recognize that you like movies, and you will recall that I called you right after seeing, though I could not get you. And yes, I suspect you will like it. I don't think either of you will like it the way that I did. I don't know why. Maybe you will prove me wrong.
Do you have a 52-movie goal again this year?
yeah-- if we do have a 52 movie goal this year, we are falling way behind. we haven't been cataloging very carefully either. stay tuned. . .
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