2024: A Year In Hip Hop TV & Film
- Monk
- May 28
- 7 min read
2024 marked an interesting year for Hip Hop in the film and TV mediums. Unlike previous years, the offerings were few and far between. Various factors were at play that heavily impacted film and TV production in general. Corporate layoffs and restructuring at networks and streaming services saw many projects get shelved or cancelled. The 148-day writer’s union strike of 2023 put Hollywood on its heels, and the film and TV industry hasn’t fully recovered. There’s also the issue of getting viewers to return to theaters at the same rates they did before the 2020 COVID pandemic. With all this uncertainty and general chaos, some Hip Hop projects still managed to see the light of day in 2024, below are some highlights.
Never-before-seen footage and interviews with family, friends, and colleagues provide insight into the life and career of hip-hop icon Ol' Dirty Bastard.
This poignant documentary chronicles the life and career of Wu-Tang Clan’s most bold, soulful, outrageous, and enigmatic member, Ol’ Dirty Bastard. It’s a documentary that’s assembled with great detail and care by the father-and-son directing team of Sam Pollard and Jason Pollard. We are presented with never-before intimate footage of Ol’ Dirty, along with commentary and footage from friends, family, and his peers. It’s a poignant visual presentation of one of Hip Hop’s greatest, who unfortunately left us too soon.
Director: Jason L. Pollard, Sam Pollard
Available On: Hulu, Digital Sale and Rental
The never-been-told story of one of the most influential rap group in the history of music, RUN DMC. Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell met on the streets of Hollis, Queens, before these hip-hop legends went on to legitimize a genre of music that critics labeled a fad.
Kings From Queens: The Run DMC Story is a 3-episode documentary series that profiles one of the most important rap groups, Queen’s own Run DMC. It’s a documentary with a lively and engaging presentation that takes us from Run DMC’s humble working-class beginnings in Hollis, Queens, all the way to selling out arena tours worldwide. We get candid commentary from the group members, as well as a who’s who of Hip Hop legends who confirm the significance and influence of the group’s career, which spread Hip Hop culture, and provide solid evidence that the music had an audience and was commercially viable.
Director: Kirk Fraser
Available On: Peacock
Based on the true story of Dell Glover, a CD factory worker who led the music piracy revolution by collaborating with teen hackers; the rise and fall of piracy groups; legal battles, FBI investigations, and the impact on artists and executives.
How Music Got Free takes us on a wild ride through the early 2000s. This was an interesting era for music; CD sales were at their peak, and the industry as a whole was printing money. There’s also another revolution that was happening as high speed internet and writable CD drives were included in every home pc being sold. File- sharing apps like LimeWire and Napster made it easy for users to share music without having to pay for it. And finally, the last piece to this puzzle is a small town Universal Music Group CD manufacturing factory in Shelby, North Carolina. Dell Glover and other workers there were responsible for supplying the secretive internet groups with advanced, freshly pressed copies of highly anticipated albums by swiping them straight from the assembly line.
Everyone chimes in for this two-part series, including Dell, the artist, and the music executives who flailed around for years and lost a tremendous amount of sales to technology and trends that weren’t taken seriously. It’s an eye-opening series that explains how the music business went from a billion dollar physical media based industry to a digital one.
Director: Alex Stapleton
Available On: Paramount+
Hip Hop And The White House showcases the pivotal contributions of artists who created some of the most powerful political songs of all time, and explores the experiences of rappers who interacted with presidents and performed inside the world's most famous residence.
Hip Hop And The White House explores Hip Hop’s political past and how it has influenced the highest office in the US government since its beginning. The engaging film takes us to the beginning, when Melle Mel and Duke Bootee were inspired by an NYC transit strike to create one of Hip Hop’s first conscious protest records, “The Message." Songs by NWA, Public Enemy, and others would continue to address social issues over the years, and Hip Hop’s growing popularity, combined with its influence, would make it both an ally or target of various presidential campaigns. Jeezy provides narration for us, while various political and Hip Hop figures are tapped to provide their insights about the milestone moments between Hip Hop and the White House, including Maxine Waters, Curren$y, Renee Montgomery, Common, and Davey D.
Director: Jesse Washington
Available On: Hulu
DJ Khaled, Latto, and Ludacris are on a mission to discover hip-hop’s next superstar. Set in the heart of Atlanta, GA, the series features hungry contestants from across the nation, each ready to prove they have what it takes to claim the $250,000 grand prize and the coveted title of hip-hop’s rising star.
Rhythm + Flow returns with a new team of judges and a new batch of contestants. DJ Khaled, Latto, and Ludacris are assigned the task of determining who will win the cash prize and the potential boost to their careers for winning the high-profile contest. While the show is full of game show and reality TV aesthetics and the pluses or minuses that come with that, at its core it’s about the rape battles. Our judges are joined by a revolving door of their peers, such as Eminem and Busta Rhymes, who offer critique and support to the contestants. Guest judges, like Glorilla, show up to lend a hand when one of the mains is out for other obligations. Latto is the standout judge here, considering she got her big break by winning The Rap Game, a similar contest in 2016. It gives her a perspective that the other judges don’t possess.
The competition is intense as each rapper faces elimination based on their performances in each fiercely contested round. The contest’s previous winner, D Smoke, went on to sign a deal with Death Row Records in 2023. Can the winner of this season go on to have similar opportunities?
Directed By: Sam Wrench
Available On: Netflix
LEGO bricks tell the life story of singer/songwriter and record producer Pharrell Williams, from his childhood in Virginia to his success in the music and fashion industry.
Piece By Piece is one of the more interesting films of 2024. It combines Hip Hop, documentary filmmaking, and one of the more imaginative animation styles to portray the story of producer Pharrell Williams.
Using LEGO blocks to recreate real-life interviews of Pharrell's friends and peers and animate their anecdotes is genius and leads to some truly beautiful moments in this film. This film is full of star power, but the animators are the stars here for infusing the project with so much attention to detail and creativity; their efforts made Piece By Piece a standout effort for 2024.
Full review, here.
Director: Morgan Neville
Available On: Peacock, Digital sale and rental
When fate brings a Belfast teacher into the orbit of self-confessed "lowlife scum" Naoise and Liam Óg, the needle drops on a hip-hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish language, they soon lead a movement to save their mother tongue.
The fact that Kneecap exists at all is a testament to Hip Hop’s political activism roots and its universal appeal. In this film, an Irish educator who moonlights as a translator for non-English-speaking Irish citizens crosses paths with two local hoods who are also Irish-speaking rappers. It’s a match made in heaven as he recruits them for his cause.
Offering his home studio and his services as the duo’s DJ/Producer, he encourages the duo to make hip hop songs in Irish to draw Millennials and Generation z to the language. The native tongue is slowly being used less and is being pushed out of public places and government institutions in favor of English. The result is a fun film with a ton of heart that reaffirms the power of Hip Hop music as a voice for the marginalized, as a tool for raising awareness, and for inspiring grassroots political action.
Director: Rich Peppiatt
Available On: Netflix, Digital sale and rental
IN CONCLUSION
2024 was a small year for Hip Hop compared to the frequency of projects we saw in 2022 and 2023. We did have some exciting announcements for upcoming projects, such as a Queen Latifah biography film. The untitled film will be co-produced by Latifah and will be the first in line of a series of Hip Hop themed projects from her and her co-producers, which include Will Smith. We also have a scripted series about the FUBU clothing brand on the way, which is great since Hip Hop is definitely about more than just the music. Be on the lookout for updates as the Hip Hop film and TV projects of 2025 begin to roll out.
Words by Monk
