Afrika Bambaataa Movies

James Brown: Soul Survivor spans more than four decades of the one and only Godfather of Soul, documenting the rise and fall of the "hardest working man in show business." Through archival footage, excerpts read from his biography, and interviews with the people closest to the man, you get an inside look at the music and political times which helped shape Brown's career through the ages. Various friends lending thoughts in the program include the Rev. Al Sharpton, rapper Chuck D, Little Richard, and former long-time musical director Fred Wesley. Performances include segments from a House of Blues gig along with rare, behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage of the maestro at work. Originally aired as part of the American Masters television documentary series, this 90-minute special was later released on DVD under the Polydor label. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

In this tense drama, four close friends in their early thirties from New York City -- two African-American, two Hispanic -- decide to take a vacation together. They decide to visit a small town in the deep South where all four spent holidays as children; however, once they arrive, an argument with some locals at a diner turns into a violent altercation, and soon the four men are running for their lives from trigger-happy police officers, who were told by paranoid witnesses that the four young professionals were actually drug dealers. Back Road Diner was directed by Winston I. Dunlop II, who also stars as Wilson; hip-hop legend Afrika Bambaataa contributed to the film's soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the early '70s, the rough-and-tumble South Bronx gave birth to several distinct but related phenomena which would in time be heard around the world. A disc jockey named Kool Herc who spun records at block parties began digging up obscure records with great rhythm breaks, and he began cutting back and forth between two copies of the same record, allowing the breaks to go on as long as he pleased. Other Bronx DJ's, such as Grandmaster Flash, began combining "cross-mixing" with "scratching," in which the sound of the record being manually moved back and forth against the stylus was used for sonic and rhythmic effect. The new sounds prompted new styles of dancing, bringing in wild acrobatic moves including back spins and head balancing. And some DJ's began working with MC's who would add rhyming raps over the newly extended rhythm breaks. Add in the flashy and distinctive style of Bronx graffiti art and you have the birth of the hip-hop revolution, which over the next 30 years would impact practically every aspect of Western popular culture. The Freshest Kids: The History of the B-Boy is a documentary which looks at the pioneers of Bronx hip-hop, featuring interviews with a number of the major players in the original "B-Boy" movement (including Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, KRS-One, and Fab Five Freddy) as well as current rap and hip-hop artists who acknowledge the importance of these musical pioneers (among them Redman, Mos Def, and Jurassic Five). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

No one does hip-hop flavored techno rap quite like Africa Bambaataa, and now with this collection of classic video clips including "World Destruction", "Renegades of Funk", "Free South Africa", and "Looking for the Perfect Beat", music lovers can find out just why the man they call Bambaataa has risen from 70s era DJ to establish himself as one of the most prolific and influential musical artists of his generation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This documentary offers viewers an in depth look at the world of hip-hop and rap music as it chronicles a diverse group of performers preparing to give a major concert at Philadelphia's Armory. Interspersed amongst the preparations are interviews with rappers past and present, looks at their personal lives, commentary on their significance and upon the music, and plenty of concert footage. Featured acts and performers include, Slick Rick, who has been imprisoned for second-degree murder; Snoop Doggy Dog and Tha Dogg Pound, Russell Simmons, Dr. Dre, B.I.G; Melle Mel, LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Da 5 Footaz, YNN and more. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Documentarian Iara Lee, a U.S.-based, Brazilian-born filmmaker, skated through virtual reality, cyber-stimuli, and recreational technologies in her fast-paced Synthetic Pleasures (1995), notable for the memorable "surf's up" sequence inside a Japanese indoor beach with rolling waves. Where Synthetic Pleasures attempted to explore all aspects of the digital domain, Modulations focuses just on modern music-rave parties, techno dance music, and the history of electronic music (John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Robert Moog), moving on to '70s innovators (Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder), hip-hop pioneers, and more recent club-scene creators (Prodigy, Moby, Money Mark, Future Sound of London, The Invisibl Skratch Piklz), capturing diverse dance-track styles (house, trip-hop, acidhouse, ambient). The 35mm film brings together archival material, video clips, concert footage, and numerous interviews with musicians. Shown at 1998 film festivals (Sundance, Berlin). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide