Eighteen hip hop and rap films will stream starting August 1st

The Criterion Channel is celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip hop with a mixtape of the cultural phenomenon’s finest movie moments. The lineup includes films featuring A Tribe Called Quest, Grandmaster Flash, Public Enemy, Tupac Shakur, RZA, Nas, Ice Cube, MC Lyte, and DJ Kool Herc.

It was Herc who, at a Bronx dance party on August 11, 1973, first used two turntables to create an instrumental “break beat,” an innovation that sent the crowd wild. This modest New York origin story inspired an unparalleled nationwide, then global, explosion encompassing music, dance, public art, fashion, and, eventually, cinema.

The Criterion Channel’s dynamic program spotlights the many ways that hip hop has intersected with film, showcasing raw early documents of the scene’s key players, intimate and informative portraits of musical expertise and technical wizardry, and definitive, star-studded evocations of the culture’s impact.

“We’re extremely excited to present this wide-ranging series that highlights the incredibly varied ways that hip hop has shown up in film since the culture’s birth 50 years ago,” shares Criterion’s Curatorial Director Ashley Clark. “From raw, pivotal early documents like Wild Style and Style Wars onward, there’s something for everyone here, whether you’re an expert or a beginner.”

Film’s featured include Tony Silver’s Style Wars, Michael Rapaport’s Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood and others.

Most films begin streaming August 1st with drops September 1st and November 1st.