Rap & Hip-Hop

Krush Groove

Like its progenitors Beat Street and Wild Style, Krush Groove is a movie about hip-hop that in its rush to document an emergent culture ignores plot, acting, cinematography, and anything else that makes a movie watchable or worthwhile. That said, Krush Groove contains some nifty performances from hip-hop legends Run-DMC, the always hilarious Fat Boys (see Disorderlies if you can't get enough of their weighty shtick), brilliant MC Kurtis Blow, and Prince protégé Sheila E. Also look out for soon-to-be L.A. Law-yer Blair Underwood in a lead role. Performances aside, Krush Groove isn't def, it's just so-so. --Ethan Brown

In this movie based on the life of Russel Simmons hot young record producer/manager Russel Walker has all the hottest acts on the record label Krush Groove records. The acts include Run-DMC Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Kurtis Blow. When Run-DMC has a hit record and Russel doesn't have the money to press records he borrows money from a drug dealer/loan shark. At the same time Russel and Run are both competing for the heart of Sheila E.Running Time: 95 min.System Requirements:Running Time 95 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS Rating: R UPC: 085391152927

Jay Z - Fade to Black

A once-in-a-lifetime concert event the final live show of multi-platinum Grammy-award winning artist JAY-Z at Madison Square Garden. The reigning king of hip-hop Jay-Z s last solo show brings together an unbelievable lineup of pop music royalty featuring performances by Beyonce Missy Elliot Mary J. Blige R. Kelly and Foxy Brown and appearances by P. Diddy and Kanye West.System Requirements: Running Time 110 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: R UPC: 097363451242 Manufacturer No: 345124

Fade to Black is a document of Jay-Z's self-proclaimed final concert; a grand affair that took place before a sold-out crowd at New York's Madison Square Garden in November 2003. (But anyone who follows celebrity news knows that Jay-Z was out of retirement and back performing at the Garden just a year later.) Fade to Black is a legitimately powerful record of a truly historic event in the annals of rap. Muttering offhand narration with typical bored, streetwise affect, Jay hails the concert as a momentous occasion for being the first time a hip-hop show was allowed to headline at the Garden.

It's unlikely that the full impact of the live performances will hit home to viewers unfamiliar with Jay-Z and his Roc-A-Fella Records stable of artists. Another frustration is trying to identify the array of visitors who trade raps on Jay's stage. Included in the star-studded lineup are Missy Elliott, Foxy Brown, Pharell, Ghostface Killah, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and R. Kelly. One unmistakable figure--and we do mean figure--is Jay's squeeze Beyonce, who raises the temperature and the roof with her skimpy outfit, flowing hair, soulful yowl, and sexed-up dance routine that leaves her boyfriend and the whole of Madison Square Garden slack-jawed with animal desire.

Twenty cameras captured the event, and some of the most powerful sequences are sweeping moves across the swirling, blissed-out masses as they lip sync along in perfect unison with Jay-Z's complex, profane, quick-witted raps. Less effective are intermittent cutaway segments that show the artist in various studio settings working up beats and rhymes. These amateurish home video breaks may give some insight to Jay's perfectionism and dedication to his craft, but they detract from the visceral power of the beautifully executed performance footage. --Ted Fry

8 Mile (Widescreen Edition)

Rap star Eminem makes a strong movie debut in 8 Mile, an urban drama that makes a fairly standard plot fly through its gritty attention to detail. Jimmy Smith (Eminem), nicknamed B Rabbit, can't pull himself together to take the next step with his career--or with his life. Angry about his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) and worried about his little sister, Rabbit lets out his feelings with twisting, clever raps admired by his friends, who keep pushing him to enter a weekly rap face-off. But Rabbit resists--until he meets a girl (Brittany Murphy) who might offer him support and a little hope that his life could get better. Under the smart and ambitious direction of Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys) and ably supported by the excellent cast and the burnt-out environment of Detroit slums, Eminem reveals a surprising vulnerability that makes 8 Mile vivid and compelling. --Bret Fetzer

Assassination: Conspiracy or Revenge

Adventures in Hollyhood

Tupac - Resurrection (Widescreen Edition)

"This is my story. A story about ambition violence redemption and love."Tupac Shakur rose from the ghetto fought for fame and fortune and became the number one best-selling hip-hop artist of all time. He was insightful and sensitive and spoke with an uncensored voice of truth.During his brief life he touched millions of young people around the world. His influence and importance have only grown in the years since his shocking untimely death.Now for the first time Tupac tells his own dramatic life story. Narrated entirely in Tupac's own voice this major motion picture is the only film made in collaboration with Tupac's mother Afeni Shakur and the only film to feature Tupac's music and electrifying concert performances.Special DVD Features:Audio Commentary by Tupac's mom Afeni Shakur director Lauren Lazin and Surprise Guests4 Deleted ScenesExclusive InterveiwsMalcolm X dinner speechDepositionAbout the Resurrection soundtrackMusic VideosRemembering TupacMutulu Shakur interveiwTupac Amaru Shakur Center for the ArtsTrailersBootleg This!Widescreen Version Enhanced for 16X9 TVsDolby Digital: English 5.1 Surround English Dolby SurroundEnglish SubtitlesSystem Requirements: Running Time 112 Min Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: R UPC: 097363433743 Manufacturer No: 343374

Title aside, we'll never see the likes of Tupac Shakur again. The late rap superstar was a complex, contradictory figure and, throughout the course of this riveting documentary, it's as if he's back in our world again. Produced by his mother, former Black Panther Afeni Shakur, Tupac Resurrection isn't so much "biased" as it's subjective. In the MTV film, accompanied by a book and soundtrack, director Lauren Lazin looks at Tupac's short, full life from beginning to end and doesn't avoid the dark times--the arrests, the shootings--but she does tend to emphasize the positive over the negative. More to the point, the narration comes from Tupac himself, smoothly edited from countless interviews, so we're constantly getting his take on events. He's more thoughtful and articulate than his detractors might expect (despite the profanity), but the contradictions remain, making this essential viewing for even the most casual of fans. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

John Legend - Live at the House of Blues [Blu-ray]

John Legend: Live At the House of Blues is an outstanding full concert performance by 3x Grammy Award-Winning artist John Legend. In this musical journey singer-songwriter and pianist Legend brings his old-school soul sound to the stage. This classic concert was recorded at Hollywood's House of Blues in August 2005 and released on Blu-ray on October 3, 2006. Legend delivers remarkable live renditions of his hits such as "Let's Get Lifted," "Number One," and "Ordinary People", with Kanye West and Snoop Dogg making guest appearances during the show. Prior to delivering his first solo record 2005's critically acclaimed GET LIFTED, John spent a number of years performing in small jazz clubs and hiring out his talents to other artists as a session player. The pedigree shows. Now a full-fledged superstar, John Legend: Live At the House of Blues captures this artist at his passionate best, and is destined to become a timeless "Legend" in and of itsel! f.

Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis

No Description Available.
Genre: Music Video - Pop/Rock
Rating: PA
Release Date: 4-DEC-2007
Media Type: DVD

Rude Boy

Featuring tracks by Snoop Dogg Elephant Man Sizzla and Buju Banton and starring Ninja Man and Beenie man - witness the biggest trade connect between the U.S. and Jamaica when a naive Jamaican becomes a mule for the deadliest Don on American soil.Julius St. John has big dreams of becoming the biggest reggae DJ in the U.S. but when his status in America is jeopardized he makes a deal with the devil and agrees to carry a bag of contraband through customs in exchange for his papers. But what begins as a one time deal descends into a deadly spiral that Julius cannot escape-and murder is the only way to survive.System Requirements: Running Time 91 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 012236151654 Manufacturer No: 15165

Incubus - Alive At Red Rocks - (DVD/CD combo in DVD digipak)