"You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge." So began N.W.A.'s seminal 1988 record, Straight Outta Compton, an angry, complex hip-hop salvo that announced the West Coast crew as an incendiary cultural force, piqued the FBI's interest, and laid the groundwork for hardcore gangsta rap. The group, which featured trailblazing icons Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, only lasted a few years and recorded two albums, but its defiant, aggressive musical influence is legendary in the rap world. On August 14, the long-gestating biopic "Straight Outta Compton," written by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff ("World Trade Center") and directed by F. Gary Gray ("Friday," "The Italian Job"), will bring its big beats into theaters. With Dre and Cube as producers, the film carries major credibility, but anyone looking to broaden his or her understanding of the hip-hop world further would do well to dig in to Signature's comprehensive book-and-film primer, below.
BOOKS
Hip Hop America by Nelson George (2005)
A Brooklyn-born writer and journalist (The Death of Rhythm and Blues), George approaches urban youth culture from a very personalized point of view, since he was growing up just as the movement's dominant figures were birthing and shaping it.
The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop by Dan Charnas (2010)
Just as the subtitle promises, this detailed history digs into the tumultuous evolution of the business and marketing of hip-hop music, the inner workings of the major labels, and the battles fought between and on behalf of the genre's artists.
Jay-Z's Decoded (2009), KRS-One's The Gospel of Hip-Hop: The First Instrument (2009), Eminem's The Way I Am (2008)
These autobiographical works from three of rap culture's most dominant forces take very idiosyncratic routes to revealing the art, the lyrics, the personalities, and the philosophies that informed their creative careers.
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation by Jeff Chang (2005)
Chang's popular, award-winning work very effectively explains the political, racial, and musical contexts that gave rise to hip-hop in the 1960s and '70s. It manages to be both scholarly and accessible in ways that speak to both hardcore fans and curious outsiders.
BIOPICS
"Notorious" (2009)
Written by Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo Hodari Coker, this biopic of Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G., spends a lot of time on the childhood of the hugely influential Brooklyn rapper, who was murdered in Los Angeles in 1997 at age twenty-four. At its best, the film highlights the human complexity behind the image.
"8 Mile" (2002)
While technically fictional, this hugely successful ($242 million worldwide) Curtis Hanson-directed drama written by Oscar-nominated scribe Scott Silver ("The Fighter") is loosely based on the blue-collar Detroit beginnings of Eminem, who stars. It may follow a fairly predictable trajectory, but the up-from-nothing tale illuminates what it really takes to find the courage to express one's truth with passion, creativity, and clarity.
"Get Rich or Die Tryin'" (2005)
The most curious thing about this 50 Cent vehicle is its filmmaking pedigree: Oscar-nominated "In America" and "My Left Foot" director Jim Sheridan and Emmy-winning "Sopranos" writer Terence Winter, who lay out the successful New York rapper's harrowing history -- parents dead or gone, drug dealing, gunshot wounds, prison -- with simple, powerful storytelling.
"Krush Groove" (1985)
Basically Ground Zero of rap cinema, this goofy early effort fictionalizes the story of the birth of Def Jam Records, and how Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin set the stage for the mainstreaming of hip-hop. Blair Underwood, in his feature-film debut, plays the Simmons character, who meets and manages the groups and personalities -- Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and more -- who would later become rap royalty.
SATIRE
"Fear of a Black Hat" (1993)
The rap world's answer to "This Is Spinal Tap," Rusty Cundieff's fake rockumentary delves deep into the ludicrous mystique of NWH ("Niggaz With Hats"), a parodic version of N.W.A. -- hit song "Kill Whitey"!! -- that comes up with ever more inane explanations for the genre's self-justifying excesses as the group's cultural relevance wanes.
"CB4" (1993)
Chris Rock starred in and co-wrote this hilarious mockumentary about a trio of middle-class, wannabe gangsta rappers who invent street-thug personalities to realize their musical ambitions and then run into trouble when the real thing comes along. Co-written by cultural critic Nelson George, the film bravely spoofs everything about rap culture (while taking a few direct swings at N.W.A.).
"Malibu's Most Wanted" (2003)
Using the phenomenon of white kids who fancy themselves gangstas as an entry point, this Jamie Kennedy project takes aim at just about everyone it can, starting with a deluded senator's son convinced of his own rap genius and a couple of black actors (Taye Diggs and Anthony Anderson) hired to play no-less-fake hardcore playas who end up just as in over their heads.
DOCUMENTARIES
"Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap" (2012)
In his directing debut, Ice-T uses his unimpeachable authority, his genuine curiosity, and the deepest Rolodex in the business to get scores of hip hop icons, representing all styles, geographies, and temperaments, to talk about their personal histories and approach to the music. As a bonus, he has each on-camera subject compose a fresh rap that only exists for the film.
"Scratch" (2001)
Filmmaker Doug Pray delves into the birth, rise, practitioners, and methodologies of DJing, a vital element of the hip-hop world that has only continued to expand and dominate live-music and dance culture.
"Rhyme & Reason" (1997)
Oscar-nominated writer-director Peter Spirer has spent his career exploring every corner of the hip-hop world ("Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel," "Notorious B.I.G. Bigger Than Life"), and in "Rhyme & Reason" he compiles testimony from Kurtis Blow, Chuck D, Dr. Dre, KRS One, and many more to provide a snapshot of just how rap had evolved into a mainstream cultural force after two decades in the streets.
IN THE WORKS
"Tupac"
A straightforward biopic about the life of bestselling rapper Tupac Shakur has been in the works for years now, first with "Boyz N the Hood" filmmaker John Singleton at the helm, and now with "Devil in a Blue Dress" director Carl Franklin developing it. A number of writers have been involved in the project at different points, including "Ali" co-writers Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson. Singleton has meanwhile vowed to make his own Tupac film, while another producer has launched a crowd-funding campaign for "7 Dayz," which would focus on the final week before Tupac's murder in 1996.
"Untitled Run DMC Movie"
"Notorious" co-writer Cheo Hodari Coker was at one point working on a script based on Bill Adler's authorized 1987 biography Tougher Than Leather: The Rise of Run-DMC, which detailed how the group's 1986 record "Raising Hell" pushed rap into the mainstream for the first time.
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