Belly

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Belly

R

1998

1h 35m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Music

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

29%

Tomatometer

24 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Ever since they were kids, Sincere (Nas) and Buns (DMX) have lived life close to the edge, doing whatever it takes to survive. As adults, they build up their kingdom of crime on drug dealing and robbery. But Sincere grows weary of the criminal lifestyle and joins a black Muslim religious group. Buns, on the other hand, sinks deeper into criminality and faces serious prison time. The cops offer him a deal, however -- assassinate the head of the Muslim group, and he will go free.

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Jake Cole

Slant Magazine

Feb 3, 2023

Hype Williams’s film resolutely believes in finding a better path, culminating in both of the main characters seeking their own form of peace.

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Pedro Gallego

Espinof

Aug 14, 2026

4/5

It takes what could be considered exploitation and transforms it into a thought-provoking art-house film where the worlds of hip hop and cinematic violence merge into a distinct creation. [Full review in Spanish]

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DJ BenHaMeen

For All Nerds Podcast

Jun 5, 2026

3/5

While 23% fresh is hard to disagree with, Belly is still a cultural classic, and almost as quotable as the Bible. "When it rains, ninjas get wet." Wisdom. Plus Hype Williams at his most Hype.

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Sean Burns

WBUR’s Arts & Culture

Aug 20, 2023

An often astounding spectacle of a movie that doesn’t make a lick of sense, but that’s almost beside the point.

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Patrick Dahl

Screen Slate

Sep 14, 2022

Sanctimonious, silly, occasionally brilliant and exquisitely vivid, Hype Williams’s Belly (1998) crowned the decade in which hip-hop swallowed popular culture, and we never looked back.

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Brandon Collins

Medium Popcorn

Mar 5, 2020

2/5

That opening scene bumps it up. I forgot, upon rewatching, how great the opening is and how terrible everything after is. Should've just been a music video...

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RonaldMovieCritic ..

@RonaldMiamiMovieCritic Jun 19, 2026

Good Movie!!! A++ 🍿🎥🍿

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Damon G

@Dmoney420 Feb 22, 2026

Super dope rip dmx a legend gone too soon nas and dmx did their thing with this movie super gangsta movie

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Derek H.

@DerekProject Dec 21, 2025

Beautiful looking movie but unforgivable story decisions.

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Apr 21, 2024

The visual aspect of the film alone is 4 stars! Nas and DMX are great actors as well.

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Sep 5, 2023

Started off very strong but falls apart towards the end, could have been much better.

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santana !

@RT31087214 Aug 18, 2023

so visually stunning

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Hype Williams

Director

Nas

Sincere

DMX

Tommy 'Buns' Bundy

Taral Hicks

Kisha

Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins

Tionne

Method Man

Shameek

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Synopsis

Ever since they were kids, Sincere (Nas) and Buns (DMX) have lived life close to the edge, doing whatever it takes to survive. As adults, they build up their kingdom of crime on drug dealing and robbery. But Sincere grows weary of the criminal lifestyle and joins a black Muslim religious group. Buns, on the other hand, sinks deeper into criminality and faces serious prison time. The cops offer him a deal, however -- assassinate the head of the Muslim group, and he will go free.

Director: Hype Williams
Producer: Larry Meistrich, Ron Rotholz, Robert Salerno, Hype Williams, Avram "Butch" Kaplan
Screenwriter: Hype Williams
Distributor: Artisan Entertainment
Production Co: Big Dog Films
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 4, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 7, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.6M
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Dolby A, Surround, SDDS

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