A playlist for Hip Hop Day, which of course could include
anything, made in an impressionist response to my choices for films to
talk about in “Hip Hop Day the Grumpy Way“. Bodied (2017) and
Dreams Never Die (1982) not only represent book ends for filmic
representation of Hip-Hop on the timeline but also a wide gap between
forms of the absurd that are inherent to any art form emerging from
naturally forming communities. Both films involve an absurdity in how
outsiders see them, often rooted in thinking these art communities are
evil unto themselves, rather than a response to the endless nastiness
of existence. Both films are funny, intentionally or not, because
seriousness without humor is not seriousness at all. So this playlist
is designed to walk that spectrum. Of the gravely momentous. Of the
let-it-all-out gut busters. Of the stupid even. Not because any of
these are better than the other, but because there is an earnestness
to it all, and while one can never see the entire picture, the looking
should be done without blinders.
MIXTAPE: HIP-HOP DAY
