Themes: Going Straight, Fighting the System, Stop the Wrecking Ball
Main Cast: Edye Byrde, Rony Clanton, Charles Flohe, Eriq La Salle, Leo O'Brien
Release Year: 1985
Country: US
Run Time: 92 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
In Rappin', Mario Van Peebles is John Hood, a con who when released from jail goes back to his neighborhood to find his girl shacked up with a nasty gang-leader named Duane (Charles Flohe). Duane is on the take with a corrupt contractor who plans to tear down Hood's neighborhood and he and his gang serve as ruffian rowdies who help evict the tenants. John Hood will not put up with this nonsense; he throws a community rap session and gets everybody aligned against the bad guys. His rappin' is so ratin' that he impresses a record company and wins his gal back. ~ All Movie Guide
Review
From the same director as Breakin' and Lambada comes Rappin' - a rare rap musical set in the hard streets of Pittsburgh (!) that features the stellar, tongue-tied stylings of Mario Van Peebles, Kadeem Hardison, and Eriq La Salle. A classic Cannon release from 1985, Rappin' is basically a straight urban drama that's highlighted by some of the most ridiculous rap songs this side of Body Rock, though this tale isn't quite the nonstop laffer that the latter "masterpiece of cheese cinema" from the year before was. That seems to be Rappin's fate though -- when it's on, you're either amazed at the outrageous breakdancing or in guilty glee when the old Grandma joins in on a down-and-out-in-the-ghetto rap. Sadly when those gusto moments are over, you're basically following a kind of bastard main character that raps only to buy a car stereo back that his little criminal brother stole. So there's this weird dichotomy going on with the whole film, which possibly makes it great since there's nothing else quite like it. Just compare the fat kid in the "I Love Food" shirt singing his "Snack Attack" song with the scene where one of the neighbors in the hood is forced to their deathbed due to landlord cutting off the heat. Strange as the tonal shifts might be, Rappin' still delivers, thanks in large part to the ending where all of the neighbors and the evil white goon (ex-Kim Delaney hubby Charles "Creepy Eyes" Grant) show off their rap skills to downright heavenly results. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Melvin Plowden - Fats; Tasia Valenza - Dixie; Mario Van Peebles - John Hood; Rutanya Alda - Cecilia; Anthony Bishop - Mr. Fiorello; Don Brockett - Store Manager; Harry Goaz - Thorndike; Kadeem Hardison - Moon; Ice-T - Himself [uncredited]; Charles Nelson - Force M.D.; David Storrs - Ice-T Group; Richie Abanes - Richie; Claudja Barry - Performer; Anthony Bradberry - Man in Bathroom; Dan Caliguire - Cecilia's Son; Thomas Clint Clutter - Technician; Willie Cross - Tuff, Inc.; Ernest Cunningham - Ice-T Group; Jessie Daniels - Force M.D.; Angela de Filippo - Girl; Arlinda Dickens - T-Force; Michael Esihos - Stavros; Brandi Freund - Rosalita; Eric Garcia - Ice-T Group; Joanna Gardner - Performer; Debra Greenfield - Magnolia; Clayton D. Hill - Kilroy; Salvador Irizarry - Tuff, Inc.; Ruth Jaroslow - Mrs. Goldberg; Christopher Johnson - T-Force; Antoine Lundy - Force M.D.; Fredric Mao - Mr. Chan; Joe Marmo - Shortie Johnson; William Mott - Psycho; Stacey O'Neal - T-Force; Trisco Pearson - Force M.D.; Scott Peck - Oil Truck Driver; Lyn Philistine - Girl; Jack Reese - T-Force; Carlo Fred Robinson - Bum; Tommy Ross - Duane's Gang Member; Harry Scanlon - Officer; Joe Schad - Burton; Rosie Steave - T-Force; Eugene Wilde - Performer; David Butler - Bravman; David Whitaker - Tuff, Inc.; David Marshall - Tuff, Inc.
Credit
Edmond Kresley - Choreography, Aude Bronson-Howard - Costume Designer, Joel Silberg - Director, Bert Glatstein - Editor, Andrew Horvitch - Editor, Marcus Manton - Editor, Michael Linn - Composer (Music Score), Jeannee Josefczyk - Makeup, Bruce A. Miller - Production Designer, Steve Miller - Production Designer, David Gurfinkel - Cinematographer, Yoram Globus - Producer, Menahem Golan - Producer, Jeffrey Silver - Producer, Bruce A. Miller - Set Designer, Edgard Mourino - Stunts, Tom Wright - Stunts, Adam Friedman - Screenwriter, Robert Jay Litz - Screenwriter
