The Barbican are offering a rare chance to see some of the best 80s and 90s hip hop movies on the big screen when they kick off their rap culture film season in March. Hip Hop Matters will see teen comedians Kid n Play (kings of flattops and fades) having an epic House Party whilst the family house is free. Boyz n the Hood follows three friends – Ricky, Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr) and Doughboy (Ice Cube) – and their tragic passage into manhood in South Central LA. Breakin’ is a showcase for the best 80s street dancers, and CB4 is one of Chris Rock’s first major movie roles, a hip hop mockumentary telling the story of three middle-class friends who turn into the planet’s most gangster rappers (check the cameos from Eazy-E, Shaquille O’Neal, Ice Cube, Flavor Fav and Ice-T).
It’s all been curated by Blue Boy Entertainment, (some of the Barbican’s Artistic Associates) who were keen to curate a season of films which both celebrate and investigate the international growth of hip hop and explore how it found its way into popular culture
Hip Hop Matters: Music, Dance, Culture runs from 5th – 24th March.