This Is the Life

The best films are the ones that appeal to even people who don't "fit" the demographic. "This is the Life" puts me in the mind of the great Tupac documentary, "Resurrection," a film that even non-rap fans found appealing.

I had never heard of any of the people featured in this film and I'm not a huge rap fan...yet I just caught a lot of this documentary on TMC and I couldn't turn away. This film is top-notch, A+ on production. It flows well, it's informative, and you can tell that the people who put the film together had real love for the subject. (I think I saw at the end that the producer is herself a rapper of the era.) Basically, once you get past the initial "yuck, more rap crap" you might feel when first hearing some of the music, you'll find a gem of a documentary. 8/10 (took away two points because in general I find rap annoying, and found myself annoyed with some of it in the film as well, but not too much that it gets in the way of the overall quality.)

In the past decade, Ava DuVernay has become one of the most renowned directors. She turned out "Selma", about Martin Luther King's 1965 march; "13th", about the roots of mass incarceration; and "A Wrinkle in Time", an adaptation of Madeline L'Engle's novel.

It turns out that DuVernay debuted with a documentary in 2008. "This Is the Life" tells the story of the alternative hip hop scene in South Central in the early '90s. Centered at The Good Life, this group of people had a great time with their music. It was one of those things that could only happen for a short period of time.

DuVernay herself appears as one of the interviewees, as she was one of the original Good Life emcees, having been half of the all-female group Figure of Speech. In all these years I'd never known about this early half of her career.

Anyway, it's a fine documentary about a part of culture that most people don't know. I don't know if it's available on any streaming service, so you'll have to see if a neighborhood video (yes, they still exist) has it.

This is by far the best documentary I've ever seen. I was engaged from beginning to end. You can't help but to walk away from it feeling good. It provides an in depth view of the people and the culture of the underground hip hop scene at the Good Life in Los Angeles, California. The film offers an intimate look into the artists that emerged from the Good Life. It depicts a rare moment in time when rap music was raw and real. The documentary definitely leaves you wanting more. And makes you wish you could turn back the clock and experience it all for yourself. Any and every one who loves hip hop should see this film. You'll be glad you did.

Some people enjoy dancing to the rap songs mainstream puts out today and some people still listen to the albums put on the shelves 15 - 20 years ago, always on the search for great new artists. And there are the others who call the whole genre "c"rap. Despite what you listen to, every fan of music should see this movie. Showing a world where hip-hop artists were able to speak their minds to a receptive audience, this film can be an eye-opener to all - except maybe the fans who were lucky enough to experience it first hand in that little café on Leimert blvd. in Los Angeles, CA. And for those few, enjoy watching this great archive of your favorite artists. I've been listening to "Freestyle Felloship" for 14 and a half years, and Jurassic 5 for ten - so this movie was just a gigantic treat to learn about the history behind both of them as well as all of these other great artists. To bad I wasn't one of the lucky ones to live it. But I do feel pretty blessed as I saw the world premier here in L.A. I met Aceyalone - apparently Mikah 9 was there, but disappeared at credits role as Keyser Soze did in Usual Suspects. But back to the film, it goes much beyond "The Good Life" café that existed in the late 80s and early - mid 90s. Hip-hop was evolving, and these underground artists were taking it to another level - just as many would say the John Lennons and Bob Dylans and countless others had done for rock music in the 60's. Why hip-hop took the turn it did in the mid-90's, this film doesn't try to offer many opinions on the subject. It just shows the artists, whom are narrators of this time period as much as each of them are subjects of each other's reminiscences. Enjoy watching each character, most of whom are ecstatic about discussing this time period and painting a picture of their fellow emcees - they will keep you smiling and laughing. All the while, the past footage of these great artists will keep you entertained - rhyme after rhyme. And at the end, to those of you who just listen to mainstream of today, hopefully your eyes will be opened to what hip-hop has been and still could be. To those of you who listen to those albums 15-20 years ago, hopefully this will give you some insight to some great artists, while giving you the history of this "good life" there once was. To those who think it's all "crap," - if you still think so at the end of this film, then that's OK - you gave it a good chance. And finally to all of you hip-hop artists working hard to get your voice heard...Godspeed.

Hard to believe anyone would fund movies like this.