The Hip Hop Project

Name: The Hip Hop Project
Genre: Music, Documentary
Released: May 11, 2007
Duration: 88 min
Rating: 66
Cast: Bruce Willis, Chris 'Kazi' Rolle, Russell Simmons

2007

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Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

Sundance Channel | Release Date: May 11, 2007 | PG-13

Starring: Bruce Willis, Chris 'Kazi' Rolle, Russell Simmons

Summary: From Executive Producers Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah, The Hip Hop Project is the compelling story of Kazi a formerly homeless teenager who inspired a group of New York City teens to transform their life stories into powerful works of art, using hip hop as a vehicle for self-development and personal discovery. (ThinkFilm)

Director: Matt Ruskin

Genre(s): Music, Documentary

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 88 min

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Critic Reviews

Peter Rainer

Kazi is a bundle of energy, and the film touches on an important and often-overlooked issue: The commercial pressure that is often brought to bear on rappers to be scurrilous and offensive. This project, which was produced by Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah, shows that there is another way. Read full review

Nathan Rabin

Project provides an unmistakably one-sided view of rap as God's gift to the poor, angry, black, and young, but given the beating rap has taken in the press lately (please Oprah, don't hurt 'em!), the film's pro-rap cheerleading couldn't be more timely or necessary. Read full review

Michael Phillips

The film works best when it pays specific attention to how hard it is to write a rhyme worth hearing. Read full review

Mark Olsen

Perhaps the film's biggest failing is simply that the music of The Hip Hop Project isn't more thrilling, that there isn't a sonic equivalent to the wounded, searching feelings of the young writers' lyrics. Read full review

Elizabeth Weitzman

Although it often feels more like a promotional tool than an objective documentary, there is no denying the emotional resonance propelling Matt Ruskin's first feature. Read full review

Bill White

While their stories are well worth telling, first-time director Ruskin fails to shape his material into the dynamic film it might have been. Read full review

Michelle Kung

And while the young director tends to skip over many of the larger societal issues plaguing many of the HHP participants, his desire to honestly platform the emotional heartbeat of his subjects still rings true. Read full review

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