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The Hip Hop Project (2006)

tomatometer

57

Average Rating: 6.3/10
Reviews Counted: 37
Fresh: 21 | Rotten: 16

Director Matt Ruskin's enthusiasm for the project is readily apparent, but his film is unfocused, meandering, and frustrating to watch.

47

Average Rating: 6/10
Critic Reviews: 15
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 8

Director Matt Ruskin's enthusiasm for the project is readily apparent, but his film is unfocused, meandering, and frustrating to watch.

audience

66

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 2,452

My Rating

Movie Info

Chris Rolle was born into poverty in the Bahamas and found himself forced to fend for himself as a child when he was abandoned by his mother. Rolle came to America in his teens but soon found himself homeless on the mean streets of Brooklyn, NY. Rolle had a natural talent as a rapper, and had the good fortune of meeting Scott K. Rosenberg, who was the founder of Art Start, an organization that brings arts education to New York City's underprivileged. Encouraged by his contacts at Art Start,

Jan 5, 2010

ThinkFilm

All Critics (38) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (16) | DVD (1)

It makes the viewer uncomfortable, too -- but it's unquestionably honest, like so much of Hip-Hop.

July 22, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film meanders, sidetracks, and frustrates -- few of the rap songs, some of them boasting wildly inspired couplets, are shown and heard in their entirety.

May 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | Comment
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Dramatically, the movie lacks motion -- the kids don't seem a lot better off at the end -- and the point of the program escapes me. These kids badly need an education.

May 11, 2007 Full Review Source: New York Post | Comment
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[Director] Ruskin is so awed by his subject that he never gains the distance needed to create a bigger, more powerful picture.

May 11, 2007 Full Review Source: New York Daily News | Comment
New York Daily News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Will the music of The Hip Hop Project album change your life? Likely, no. Did the process of making it change the lives of those involved in its creation? Undoubtedly. And that, perhaps, is inspiration enough.

May 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There is some inspired camera work during some of the performance sequences, but none of the performances themselves stick. It's a shame when a film about the power of music doesn't contain one memorable song.

May 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comment
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

With 100% of the profits going to non-profit charities devoted to youth, check with your accountant, but this might very well be the first totally tax-deductible DVD.

December 30, 2009 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | Comment
NewsBlaze

Rolle's passion and perseverance power the film, and along the way he gets a boost from rap mogul Russell Simmons and Bruce Willis.

April 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | Comment
Boston Phoenix

[A] powerful and, if we're lucky, influential documentary.

September 18, 2007 Full Review Source: Cinematical | Comment
Cinematical

Based on what we hear, though, it's hard to assess whether anyone has any breakthrough potential. Likewise, there's nothing remarkable about the filmmaking.

August 30, 2007 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | Comment
Boxoffice Magazine

Even if you don't particulary care for rap, The Hip Hop Project may persuade you that there's something to be said for it, after all.

May 23, 2007 Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | Comment
One Guy's Opinion

Unfortunately, this is a Hallmark version of hip-hop-and it really hurts to knock this film.

May 19, 2007 Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | Comment
Hollywood.com

A big, wet, sloppy valentine to hip-hop's power to give voice to the voiceless.

May 12, 2007 Full Review Source: AV Club | Comment
AV Club

The story is compelling enough that even glib phrases like 'healing through hip-hop' can't drag it down.

May 11, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

First-time director Matt Ruskin is a skilled documentarian; he releases information gradually so the narrative develops in an organic fashion that is consistently engaging.

May 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Seattle Times | Comment
Seattle Times

Net profits from the theatrical release of The Hip Hop Project will be donated to youth organizations, so you can feel doubly good about attending this modestly moving tribute to a small but significant kind of inner-city success.

May 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | Comment
Los Angeles Daily News
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Hip Hop Project

In 1999, Chris ?Kazi? Rolle, a former performing arts student, rapper and one-time street hustler, created the "Hip Hop Project" under the auspices of Art Start, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing art and inner-city teenagers together. Rolle created the Hip Hop Project, an outreach program for inner-city

April 7, 2007
fyodor_fish
Mel Valentin

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