Fifty years ago in the Bronx, a new genre of music was born, the product of a people searching for their voice and the opportunity to be heard. For decades, the community was bound by the words of leaders like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X before their assassinations attempted to thwart the messaging. While their lives ended, the impact of their words never would, instead paving the way for others. Soon, athletes and entertainers would step to the microphone and boldly become the sound of a new generation and an inspiration to their people. When the world looked to silence them, the culture found a way to speak louder than ever before. From Muhammad Ali to Public Enemy, Jay-Z to Lebron James and beyond, the impact on sports has been indelible.
Fifty years ago in the Bronx, a new genre of music was born, the product of a people searching for their voice and the opportunity to be heard. For decades, the community was bound by the words of leaders like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X before their assassinations attempted to thwart the messaging. While their lives ended, the impact of their words never would, instead paving the way for others. Soon, athletes and entertainers would step to the microphone and boldly become the sound of a new generation and an inspiration to their people. When the world looked to silence them, the culture found a way to speak louder than ever before. From Muhammad Ali to Public Enemy, Jay-Z to Lebron James and beyond, the impact on sports has been indelible.
2023-08-11
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Sports and Hip Hop are two pillars of Black culture that empowered a community to be heard and celebrated against the backdrop of cultural oppression and political persecution.
The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio mans moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party.
Alan do Rap was one of the precursors of Hip Hop in Salvador, who to promote his songs would invade the stage of famous hip hop acts and take the mic. Alan's journey shows the difficulties and injustices faced by young blacks from the periphery who try their hand at art and end up clashing with a racist, oppressive, and violent system.
Time Is Illmatic is a feature length documentary film that delves deep into the making of Nas' 1994 debut album, Illmatic, and the social conditions that influenced its creation.
Following a childhood tragedy, Dewey Cox follows a long and winding road to music stardom. Dewey perseveres through changing musical styles, an addiction to nearly every drug known and bouts of uncontrollable rage.
A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowning and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.
G-Funk is the untold story of three childhood friends from East Long Beach who helped commercialize hip hop by developing a sophisticated and melodic new approach – merging Gangsta Rap with elements of Motown, Funk, and R&B.
A group of Sydney-based, Pacific Islander kids start recording drill raps to avoid a life of crime. Two years into their meteoric rise, a police task force shuts down their sold-out national tour due to concerns that the group's music will incite violence.
In a blockbuster performance deserving of Hollywood, the Los Angeles Lakers added the latest sequel to their championship legacy behind their leading man, Finals MVP Kobe Bryant. In the series billed as Disneyland vs. Disney World, the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals
Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G., remains one of Hip-Hop’s icons, renowned for his distinctive flow and autobiographical lyrics. This documentary celebrates his life via rare behind-the-scenes footage and the testimonies of his closest friends and family.
In the late '90s, Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd had their musical ambitions consistently ridiculed for having the 'wrong' accents, so they went for broke and reinvented themselves as Californian rappers. The duo re-recorded their own tracks with fake accents and turned up in London claiming to be an established duo on the Cali scene as well as childhood friends with Eminem. They quickly bagged themselves a record deal, a hefty sum in advances, and an appearance on MTV... until it all came crashing down.
Raw and unflinching examination of the courageous life of basketball star and social justice activist Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Born Chris Jackson, he overcame tremendous adversity to reach the NBA and found his true calling when he converted to Islam. His decision not to stand for the national anthem, however, turned him from prodigy to pariah. Told candidly by Abdul-Rauf himself more than 20 years later it’s the remarkable story of one man who kept the faith and paved the way for a social justice movement.
Biopic about French cult hip-hop duet Supreme NTM. A story of Paris suburbs, protests, police brutality that shaped the music of JoeyStarr and Kool Shen.
Concert film combining the footage from 50 camcorders given to audience members of a sold-out Beastie Boys show at Madison Square Garden on October 9, 2004. The audience members were instructed to keep the cameras rolling at all times.
Reggie Miller single-handedly crushed the hearts of Knick fans multiple times. But it was the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals that solidified Miller as Public Enemy #1 in New York City. With moments to go in Game 1, and facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit of 105-99, Miller scored eight points in 8.9 seconds to give his Indiana Pacers an astonishing victory. This career-defining performance, combined with his give-and-take with Knicks fan Spike Lee, made Miller and the Knicks a highlight of the 1995 NBA playoffs. Peabody Award-winning director Dan Klores will explore how Miller proudly built his legend as "The Garden's Greatest Villain".
To die-hard fans of NBA franchise, the Vancouver Grizzlies, like filmmaker Kat Jayme, the team’s abrupt move to Memphis in 2001 is much more than a sore spot, it’s an unsolved mystery and possibly a criminal conspiracy. What begins as a superfan’s investigation into her hometown team’s disappearance, becomes a love letter to the worst professional sports franchise in history, and an exploration of the deep roots of fandom.
Part of the Almost Famous series. She was arguably the greatest women's basketball player. She won three national trophies; she played in the ’76 Olympics; she was drafted to the NBA. But have you ever heard of Lucy Harris?
Using unprecedented Olympic footage and behind-the-scenes material, The Redeem Team tells the story of the US Olympic Men's Basketball Team’s quest for gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing following the previous team’s shocking performance four years earlier in Athens.
Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's PBS documentary tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, skateboarding and hip-hop culture collide in downtown Manhattan. Archival footage from the era showcases the fusion of these two forms of expression.
This nostalgic sports documentary captures the New York Knicks at the height of their golden era during the 1970s, revealing in the process a singularly gifted and inspired team revered by its fans.