This Is the Life

This Is the Life

97 mins | Documentary, Music | Feb. 8, 2008

In 1989, a collective of young artists gathered at a nondescript health food store in gang-infested South Central Los Angeles. Their mandate? To explore the musical boundaries of hip hop and reject gangster rap. DuVernay's documentary chronicles the rise and fall of this "family" of African-American street poets, while examining their obstacles to commercial success. They all took different paths, but remain connected by the music they made, the alternative hip hop movement they developed, and their worldwide influence on the art form.

This Is the Life

97 mins | Documentary, Music | Feb. 8, 2008

This Is the Life
In 1989, a collective of young artists gathered at a nondescript health food store in gang-infested South Central Los Angeles. Their mandate? To explore the musical boundaries of hip hop and reject gangster rap. DuVernay's documentary chronicles the rise and fall of this "family" of African-American street poets, while examining their obstacles to commercial success. They all took different paths, but remain connected by the music they made, the alternative hip hop movement they developed, and their worldwide influence on the art form.
IMDb rating 6.9
Producers The DuVernay Agency
Original title This Is the Life
Directors Ava DuVernay
Writers

Cast

Abstract Rude

as Self

Big Al

as Self

Busdriver

as Self

Chali 2na

as Self

Cut Chemist

as Self

Ellay Khule

as Self

Fat Jack

as Self

NgaFsh

as Self

Tray Loc

as Self

Riddlore

as Self

Wreccless

as Self

Ganjah K

as Self

Born Allah

as Self

Medusa

as Self

Myka 9

as Self

P.E.A.C.E.

as Self

Pigeon John

as Self

T-Love

as Self

Volume 10

as Self

2Mex

as Self

Jyant

as Self

Ava DuVernay

as Self

B. Hall

as Self

Roderick Hall

as Self

Brian Cross

as Self

Keen

as Self

Sheena Lester

as Self

Monalisa Murray

as Self

Mear One

as Self

Mike Nardone

as Self

Garth Trinidad

as Self

Omid Walizadeh

as Self