Sidney and Dre can attribute their lifelong friendship and the launch of their careers to one single childhood instant... witnessing the birth of hip-hop on a New York street corner. Now some 15 years later, she is a revered music critic at a national magazine and he is a successful, though unfulfilled, hip-hop record company executive. Both come to realize that their true life passions will only be fulfilled by remembering what they learned that day on the corner.
Acting
Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs have chemistry that should be illegal.
Writing
That opening question will live in your head rent-free.
Sound
Soundtrack is basically a love letter to hip-hop's golden era.
Director
Rick Famuyiwa
Sanaa Lathan
Sidney 'Sid' Shaw
Taye Diggs
Andre Romulus 'Dre' Ellis
Yasiin Bey
Chris Anton 'Cav' Vichon
Nicole Ari Parker
Reese Marie Wiggam Ellis
Boris Kodjoe
Kelby Dawson
Queen Latifah
Francine
Wendell Pierce
Simon
Erik Weiner
Ren
Marc John Jefferies
Young Dre
Angie Martinez
Self (Radio DJ)
Rosalyn Coleman
Trish Hofmann
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Yasiin Bey (then Mos Def) improvised most of his scenes; the 'coffee shop freestyle' was entirely unscripted.
The film captures hip-hop's corporate takeover era, with Dre's crisis mirroring real debates about artistic integrity in the early 2000s.
US
