IMDb plot summary: A mockumentary chronicling the rise and fall of NWH, a not particularly talented--or particularly bright but always controversial--hip-hop group.
Directed by Rusty Cundieff. Starring Larry B. Scott, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Rusty Cundieff, and Kasi Lemmons.
One review I read said that what Spinal Tap did for metal music, this does for hip-hop, and I think that's a pretty accurate comparison. The low-key mockumentary style of humor means that not every moment is hilarious, but the characters and the scenarios they're in are entertaining, with occasional bursts of hilarious genius. While I definitely don't have enough knowledge or experience in this scene to know if the satire always hits, so I could be reading it wrong, to me it seems to do a pretty good job of satirizing the push for visible violence to maintain "street cred," whether that's artists openly flaunting their actual violent acts or non-violent artists pretending they have a past so they'll be respected. The music in this is also pretty enjoyable, if definitely very tongue-in-cheek. I knew nothing about this film going in, but I had a pretty good time with it, and I'm glad I got the push to seek it out as part of my "100 movies from 1994" project.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Fear of a Black Hat > The Misfits
Fear of a Black Hat < The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Fear of a Black Hat > Fantasia 2000
Fear of a Black Hat > The Artist
Fear of a Black Hat > Being There
Fear of a Black Hat < Muriel's Wedding
Fear of a Black Hat > The Ten Commandments (1956)
Fear of a Black Hat > V for Vendetta
Fear of a Black Hat > The Dark Knight
Fear of a Black Hat > Brazil
Fear of a Black Hat > Gremlins
Fear of a Black Hat < Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
Final spot: #906 out of 3405, or 73%.
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