What is it with rappers and acting? The tangible line of success between hip-hop and Hollywood has strengthened through the nineties and into the noughties, with countless examples of successful money-grabbing rappers trying to convert their lyrical talent into acting steel. What is it that prompts this change in field? The money? The ego? Probably both. The on stage persona that is seen as part and parcel in the hip hop industry appears to feed the musicians’ egos to the extent whereby they believe that they have the ability to cut the mustard in front of a camera.

Needless to say, the forgotten failures far outweigh the success stories. For every Common and Ice Cube there is a 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, RZA, Ja Rule, DMX, Eve, Xzibit and Ludacris. ‘Where’s Eminem?’ I hear you cry.  Sorry Eminem fans, but one good role does not make a good actor.

One hip-hop icon who has bucked the trend by making a tentative yet successful conversion into the glitzy world of film and TV has been LL Cool J. With credible turns in Deep Blue Sea, S.W.A.T and Any Given Sunday, J has most recently turned his Shakespearean prowess towards such shows as 30 Rock, House and, most recently, NCIS: Los Angeles in which he has a starring role with Chris O’Donnell of Fast and Furious fame.

Now just as much a seasoned actor as rhyme-spitter, J can be legitimately respected in both fields. This is not to say that he hasn’t appeared in some clangers over the years, but would you be able to name any Academy award-winning star who hasn’t been part of a box office dud in their entire career? Say what you will about James Todd Smith, but the self-proclaimed G.O.A.T. has stayed busy on both the rap and celluloid fronts, acting continuously while finding time to crank out an album every two years or so. Here’s to hoping that 50 Cent’s latest role as a near on anorexic isn’t as god awful as it sounds.

Interview with Michael Rapaport / Beats Rhymes and Life from OBEY CLOTHING on Vimeo.

Artist starts underground art project that explores advertising and semiotics. Artist does this via referencing WWF wrestler, dictators and USSR-esque propaganda posters. Project becomes successful. Popular clothing, music label and new media are born. From the outside looking in it must be difficult for Shepard Fairey to manage to Obey and keep it to true to its original message when his empire keeps growing and mirroring what he originally started out to dissect…theoretical debates aside, however I’m glad it has gone that way. Otherwise gems like this interview with Michael Rapaport, and produced by obeygiant.com, wouldn’t be around.

I love how Rapaport’s enthusiasm for hip-hop shines through, and how open and genuine he is when he explains that creating Beats Rhymes and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest was literally a labour of love. I wonder if he thought about renaming the title to The Travails of a A Tribe Called Quest? Compelling viewing and deserving of much more than 1.3k views.

“I’m a hustler, brother.”

A line said with such tongue-in-cheek sincerity that you cannot help but smile. It’s the perfect quote to outline the aesthetic of Dark Days, a documentary by British film-maker Marc Singer that profiles the lives of New Yorkers who have resorted to living in an abandoned segment of the subway system known as The Freedom Tunnel. What is particularly surprising and enjoyable at the beginning is the light-hearted nature of some of the documentary’s characters. Far from being depressed misanthropes, we are introduced to a variety of people who are recounting past events whilst shaving, going about daily business or painting the walls of their living quarters.

However, underlying the jovial every day nature of some of the film’s subjects, there is the nagging fact that ‘80% or more’ of the people who live in the tunnels are crack heads who “lose sight of reality” and think “someone’s out there to get ‘em”. And inevitably, the narrative begins to slowly become more eye-opening and tragic. Through interviewing various subjects, we learn different stories of how they ended up down there that if anything, works as a paean to the indomitability of the human spirit. Singer chooses black and white film to document his experiences in amongst the homeless, a tactic which removes none of the hard-hitting power that the film exudes. It may be too harrowing for some, but it is ultimately inspiring and uplifting, helped by the plaintive soundtrack written by no other than DJ Shadow.

Singer’s unflinching determination to keep holding the camera, patiently willing his subjects to gradually unravel in front of the lens offers us a human connection with the members of the subterranean community. Devoid of any romanticism, it is perhaps best summed up when noting that Singer had never been a filmmaker before, and saw the production of Dark Days as a means of gaining better accommodation for the residents of the tunnel. A selfless voyage that serves to inform us of the privileged lives we lead. A true underground classic.

In what will now become a weekly feature on Bonafide, I will take time out to look back on all things hip-hop in the world of film. From failed rappers-cum-actors, to killer soundtracks and eye opening documentaries, I will also be casting an eye on forgotten classics that have been lost in the bargain buckets of your local petrol station, reconsidering movies that were originally panned on release, and inform you all of recent releases and whether they are worth your time or not.

So here goes. Let’s begin with a classic. As far as ghetto/ hood dramas go, Spike Lee’s 1989 masterpiece Do The Right Thing still represents the high water mark in the genre, as well as a time capsule for African American cultural history as a whole. Such is its enduring importance and lasting influence that it’s been chosen to be preserved in the National Film Registry, but this only partially explains why it is still held in such high regard. For one thing, it included ‘Fight the Power’ as part of its soundtrack; a song that would re-enter the public consciousness a year later as part of Public Enemy’s seminal rap album Fear of a Black Planet. What makes this piece of observational film-making all the more remarkable and astonishing, is that it was made by Lee while still in his salad days as a director. Indeed he also plays one of the central characters to the storyline working as a pizza boy at Sal’s pizza parlour, which only seeks to accentuate his youthful yet already fully-rounded worldview on the racial morals and dynamics between African Americans and Caucasians. Rarely equalled and never bettered, Do The Right Thing is and will remain an important historical and political document for years to come.

This week saw the premier of Hennessy’s music inspired The Art of Blending project. The 30 minute documentary features performances and interview pieces with an impressive line up of artists including Q Tip, The Roots, Ron Isley, Erykah Badu and…erm…Daniel Merriweather. Directed by Thibaut De Longeville the Blue Note cool aesthetic perfectly fits the music on offer (Merriweather doesn’t perform).

Using the broad ‘blending’ concept the artists have been brought together; singing, rapping and jamming over each other songs in a naturally polished set of live performances. The Roots have long established themselves as the tightest band in hip-hop and ?uest Love’s snares and kicks provide the setting for hits belted out by Bobby Brown, Eve and Isley, as well as energetic covers of classics like Excursions with Tip. Talking of which, when’s that Tribe documentary going to get a UK release?

Nice trailer for the Art of Rap directed by video game junkie, F1 petrol head, Law and Order actor and these days occasional rapper Ice-T. Definitely not sponsored by Lipton (though there has been a suggestion that the Beeb might be involved in someway) The Art of Rap basically looks the biz and an education for those who fawn over the latest Gucci Mane or Soulja Boy wackness – the line-up, soundtrack and editing suggests that is going to take the excitement of the artform and blow it up for the big screen. At any decent cinema this autumn hopefully – though since the initial hype there doesn’t seem to be much around confirming this.

Sheffield’s Doc Fest has a strong line up – contributions by the likes of Herzog and Scorsese and features on everything from robot footballers to Ayrton Senna through to errr Justin Bieber. The one that caught my eye though is Michael Rapaport’s Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest. I might well award myself a tour to the Steel City and check it out.

Once Upon a Time In New York: The Birth of Hip-Hop, Disco and Punk is a rare treat. Full of vintage visuals, archival interviews and great insights into the unique melting pot that was New York in the 70s and early 80s. Set to a killer soundtrack, this is kind of thing the Beeb was devised for.

Deadly Avenger was always on the cinematic tip. Anyone who’s listened to his early output, either his Illicit material or his excellent FabricLive 04 mix that opened with the fantastic film riffing track We Took Pelham, would have clocked on to the fact that the dude also known as Damon Baxter had, besides an excellent appreciation of hip-hop beats, a wider vision. Fast-forward a few years and Deadly Avenger is now the go-to-musician for the likes of HBO and SKY and also for commercials that clock up a cool 1.3 million views and some which don’t get viewed that often but really should be.

We will have a Deadly Avenger exclusive shortly, but in the meantime check out his new website and treat yourself to a free MP3 while you are there.

Don’t know too much about this but if this teaser and the pedigree of Stephen Powers (Espo) and Joey Garfield is anything to go by, A Love Letter To You promises to be a pretty special.