Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Entertainment
Radheyan Simonpillai

It’s a rap: what are the greatest hip-hop movies?

Aldis Hodge, Neil Brown Jr, Jason Mitchell, O’Shea Jackson Jr and Corey Hawkins in Straight Outta Compton.
Aldis Hodge, Neil Brown Jr, Jason Mitchell, O’Shea Jackson Jr and Corey Hawkins in Straight Outta Compton. Photograph: Jaimie Trueblood/AP

Fifty years ago, on 11 August 1973, a young woman named Cindy Campbell hosted a small party in the Bronx. Her brother DJ Kool Herc was spinning some records, using two turntables to loop a breakbeat. That moment is said to have given birth to hip-hop. No one made a movie about it.

The landscape for hip-hop movies is starved, all things considered. We’re talking about a musical genre, currently celebrating its golden anniversary, where the aspirational stories of overcoming struggle and systemic oppression, building community and, eventually, dominating pop culture, are rarely told on the big screen.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.