Angie Martinez Movies

Hip-hop mogul Damon Dash wrote, directed, and stars in this hard-hitting examination of life in the criminal underground of a great city. Three different crime bosses are locked in a battle over the drug trade in Philadelphia. New York transplant Dame (Damon Dash) and his umbrella crew command a powerful network that controls the city's dope traffic, but he has two bitter rivals who both oversee competing gangs from behind bars -- Beans (Beanie Siegel), Philly-born leader of the once-dominant ABM Crime Syndicate, and Loco (Noreaga), a slick street hustler from Miami who has the bankroll to finance a powerful operation. As these three men and their underlings scramble for money and power, another player is quietly consolidating his forces and rising up against them. State Property 2: Philly Streets also features supporting performances from Mariah Carey, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Cam'ron, and a handful of other hip-hop and R&B stars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Paid in Full marks the feature debut of director Charles Stone III, who rose to fame after creating Budweiser's "Wassup" commercials. The urban gangster drama is loosely based on the true story of 1980s Harlem drug kingpins AZ, Rich Porter, and Alpo. (This story was also the basis for a documentary, Game Over (Part 1).) Ace (Wood Harris) works at a laundromat, struggling to get by, while his friend Mitch (Mekhi Phifer) lives the high life selling heroin. His sister's boyfriend, Calvin (Kevin Carroll) also sells drugs, and looks down on Ace for struggling to earn a living. Out delivering laundry one day, Ace meets Lulu (Esai Morales), a big time coke dealer, who lives better than anyone Ace has ever known. When Lulu leaves some coke in the pocket of a coat he's having cleaned, Ace returns it to him, and Lulu rewards him for his honesty by letting him keep the drugs. When Calvin gets busted, Ace hesitantly takes his place in the neighborhood, and starts working for Lulu. As the crack business takes off, Ace finds himself making more money than he knows what to do with. Mitch goes to jail for a short time, where another inmate, Rico (rapper Cam'ron in his acting debut), defends him in a fight. By the time Mitch gets out of prison, Ace is running the neighborhood. Ace makes Mitch his right-hand man, and when Rico gets out of jail, he joins the crew. The drugs and money flow, and Ace tries to keep everyone happy, but there are some who want what's his, and will stop at nothing to get it. Paid in Full was shown at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

In this road comedy, NYC film school grad Leta (Melissa De Sousa) gets a job assisting music-vid director Bleau Kelly (Downtown Julie Brown), and a group of rappers, singers, starlets, and showbiz wannabes sign on for a video to be shot in Florida. The gang gets acquainted on a decaying bus as they travel down the East Coast, encountering barroom fights and other problems en route to the vid gig. Cameo by Snoop Doggy Dogg. Not to be confused with another 1998 release titled The Ride. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide