Street Muzik (Hip-Hopumentary)
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: C Main Program: C+
Street Muzik is a surprisingly interesting
work (73 minutes) of a Hip Hop group touring the country to do shows, connect
with fans and promote their music.
Except for a few wasted moments with the tired, predictable gross humor,
sex and drugs talk that feel like bad forbidden “reality TV” moments, this is a
good record of a little-seen world of touring for a more independent act in the
genre and the state of independent music in America today. Everyone has interesting moments, but it is
rapper QT who becomes the star and immediate focus of the whole piece. It is hard to say whether a star is born or
not, but this is one of the few records of the Hip Hop touring life to date
with any seriously enduring, archival worth we have seen to date. Too bad that is not the whole work and it is
not longer.
The 1.33 X 1 image was shot under various conditions very
loosely on amateur analog video, even if it was NTSC-oriented DV, which gives
it a raw look that adds to its aesthetic, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is
very simple location stereo at best.
The sound is as choppy as the video, but it is never as phony as most
reality TV to its advantage. Extras
include four deleted scenes/outtakes and three Music Videos, the Vids of which
are down one generation too many for fans of the format.
- Nicholas Sheffo
