HipHopBattle.com: Hip Hop 4 Life (2001) User Reviews

Like a 94 minute advert for a battle rap website, knowhatImsayin?

[Seth_Rogue_One · 2/10 · 20 February 2016]

This movie barely has a plot, and is done solely to get attention for the (real) battle-rappers' involved in this' website.

The lead guy does have a bit of charisma and he does make this somewhat watchable AT TIMES, however after that ending which literally turns this movie into a advert with literally a message from the love-interest of the lead telling the viewers to log on to their website...

Like in the actual movie, not in the credits, not after the story of the movie is wrapped up but as a part of a final introspective look of what the character have been through throughout the movie she says something like "and I couldn't have done it without my friends on **********.com"

I'm not gonna write the name of the site and give them even more advertisement, however it actually shows up as a subtitle here on IMDb so I guess it's not hard to figure out, the DVD I bought was simply called HIP HOP 4 LIFE though.

And unlike for instance 8 MILE where the battlers seemed to be doing their best, it's obvious that they are pretending to be worse than they are at times in order for our main guy to be able to out-battle them, so even the battles are barely worth your time.

As far as the plot goes yeah there is really not much to talk about there it's random everyday scenes of the main guy and his friends in between battles and the dialogue is for the more part pretty damn bad.

I was going to say that the budget of the movie was probably just a couple thousands, and low and behold IMDb states it at 12.000 dollars and that's probably mostly gone to payments for locking down locations to film in, film equipment rentals and transportation plus VHS tapes to film it on, I actually wouldn't be surprised if it was filmed on VHS cause it doesn't look good at all.

Borning, Ridiculous, Not a Hip Hop film

[cquiros · 1/10 · 5 March 2005]

Okay, It's been a long time since I went to the premiere of this film, which was presented on the same digital camera it was shot with. It was boring, the plot line was boring, I didn't feel for Q-Nice's Character "Devon" dilemma at all. I was under the impression I was going to see a hip hop movie, not a cheesy romance film with a couple of hip hop scene's thrown in. To top it off, mid-film, the director had to change tapes...what a joke. When I see a film, independent or otherwise, I like to think of a memorable moment that can be recalled in the film a day, week, or month later, I couldn't tell you a single memorable moment in the film, five minutes after it ended. Hip Hop films like Krush Groove are still vivid memories in my mind, Maybe next time fellas.

For Hiphoppers and Beboppers

[LJAllen · 10/10 · 30 December 2001]

Director David Velo Stewart's debut film is a documentary-styled fictional account of a young rapper named Devon. Our young protagonist is an eloquent word smith who is at a crossroads: Does he finish college as his dream-crushing father wishes him to do or does he immediately pursue his dream of becoming a master MC? In the midst of his quest for stardom, he is confronted by friends and associates, all of whom have an assortment of problems. And he must contend with a warm, but strained, romantic relationship with a young woman who requires more time than he can give.

In spite of this film's title, this is no ordinary "Rap" movie. For movie goers under the age of 30, this film should more than sate their delight in the genre. For movie goers of the R&B, Motown, and Jazz generation, it will come as a refreshing surprise that there is a burgeoning Rap scene that seeks to elevate this form to high art. Devon (portrayed by newcomer Q-Nice) raises the bar on what Rap is and what it can become. With a rare symbiosis of performance poetry, Bebop rhythms, and socio-political commentary, Q-Nice as Devon brings to mind vivid memories of Miles Davis's minimalist Bebop and the activism-cum-poetry of "The Last Poets"; the verbal pyrotechnics of the "Prop" tests alone make this film worth the viewing!

Made on a shoestring budget with a cast of largely unknown talent, Stewart's debut film manages to pull off what few films of this genre have done: satisfy both a young and old audience. Showcasing the largely unknown talents of Cleveland, Ohio's burgeoning and socially conscious Rap scene, he avoids the misogyny and profanity that has become the studio-sanctioned formula for Rap and films of this genre. With equal parts of romance, humor and conflict, Stewart "keeps it real" without descending into Walt Disney territory. The performers featured in this work will send their record-selling Rap contemporaries "Back to School". Redefining what Rap and Hip Hop is, HipHopBattle.Com: Hip Hop 4 Life appeases the most discriminating film and musical tastes and has the capacity for silencing Rap's harshest critics.