Some people enjoy dancing to the rap songs mainstream puts out today and some people still listen to the albums put on the shelves 15 - 20 years ago, always on the search for great new artists. And there are the others who call the whole genre "c"rap. Despite what you listen to, every fan of music should see this movie. Showing a world where hip-hop artists were able to speak their minds to a receptive audience, this film can be an eye-opener to all - except maybe the fans who were lucky enough to experience it first hand in that little café on Leimert blvd. in Los Angeles, CA. And for those few, enjoy watching this great archive of your favorite artists. I've been listening to "Freestyle Felloship" for 14 and a half years, and Jurassic 5 for ten - so this movie was just a gigantic treat to learn about the history behind both of them as well as all of these other great artists. To bad I wasn't one of the lucky ones to live it. But I do feel pretty blessed as I saw the world premier here in L.A. I met Aceyalone - apparently Mikah 9 was there, but disappeared at credits role as Keyser Soze did in Usual Suspects. But back to the film, it goes much beyond "The Good Life" café that existed in the late 80s and early - mid 90s. Hip-hop was evolving, and these underground artists were taking it to another level - just as many would say the John Lennons and Bob Dylans and countless others had done for rock music in the 60's. Why hip-hop took the turn it did in the mid-90's, this film doesn't try to offer many opinions on the subject. It just shows the artists, whom are narrators of this time period as much as each of them are subjects of each other's reminiscences. Enjoy watching each character, most of whom are ecstatic about discussing this time period and painting a picture of their fellow emcees - they will keep you smiling and laughing. All the while, the past footage of these great artists will keep you entertained - rhyme after rhyme. And at the end, to those of you who just listen to mainstream of today, hopefully your eyes will be opened to what hip-hop has been and still could be. To those of you who listen to those albums 15-20 years ago, hopefully this will give you some insight to some great artists, while giving you the history of this "good life" there once was. To those who think it's all "crap," - if you still think so at the end of this film, then that's OK - you gave it a good chance. And finally to all of you hip-hop artists working hard to get your voice heard...Godspeed.
Review of This Is the Life
