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It's easy to be overwhelmed by movies about hip-hop these days. Walk into a music shop and the DVD titles are like a plague: films about Tupac Shakur are worthy of their own section, Snoop Dogg has his own adult films, and there are too many instructional turntablist videos to mention. But one category is strangely absent: a general history of hip-hop. No filmmaker has attempted to cover the movement from its roots until now. In many ways it's understandable; hip-hop's canvas is gargantuan, and putting it on film would be a global exercise spanning three decades of music. For Canadian documentary maker Paul Kell, putting together his film Five Sides of a Coin happened by chance. "When it started out, I was just making a short piece on the local Vancouver hip-hop scene," says the 29-year-old. "I'd just bought a video camera and was doing something that I thought might have some potential appeal for a TV show that I could make." Accident maybe, but Kell has managed to put together a film that features the who's who of the hip-hop underground. He has captured interviews with and performances from groups such as Jurassic 5 and turntablists such as DJ Qbert. advertisement advertisement The film investigates the "five sides" of hip-hop - breakdancing, graffiti, beatboxing, turntablism and MCing - and places them within a historical context. Alongside footage of hip-hop's newer guard are conversations with pioneers Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash, and graffiti legend Phase Too. For a debut feature, the film is an incredible achievement. Kell had a helping hand from the Canada Council for the Arts, giving him the opportunity to interview artists in Europe and Asia - even Melbourne's DJ Dexta gets a guernsey. "It took the leap into being what I eventually had dreamed it would become: a global look at hip-hop as a culture. With the limited resources I had it gave me the opportunity to do way more than I'd imagined. To this day it still blows me away to find out that it's playing in festivals in Australia or Portugal." It's been an odd journey for Kell, who has described himself as "non hip-hop", growing up in the Provinces, Saskatchewan - Canada's equivalent of the Wimmera, before heading to film school in Montreal. "Hip-hop was always a big part of my life but it never really defined my life. Some people might look at me and say, 'What the hell is this guy doing making a hip-hop film?' - and I did get that sometimes. A lot of the time... it's basically a fishbowl approach, being on the outside looking in. But you do have an advantage making documentaries not being on the inside. You're able to approach it more objectively." Yet even with Kell's fresh approach, the film hasn't broken the ground one would expect. While a sensationalist film such as Biggie and Tupac may draw an eager crowd of rap music fans, Five Sides remains very much entrenched within underground and independent filmmaking in North America. In Canada, Kell had no end of trouble finding a distributor for the film. "The problem with Canada and the film industry here is that they are always looking to see what's going on in the States before they'll do something in Canada," he says. "That's why, in the end, I sold it to an American distributor, because they could see the potential in it - which was frustrating." Even more strange is the film's reception in the US. Critically acclaimed, it has failed to hit the mark among the MTV generation or a broader range of rap music fans. "The critics have been really generous," Kell says. "Variety praised it, I've had great press. What's been a little bit disconcerting is that it doesn't really seem to be on the hip-hop community's radar. "When I was in Cleveland showing the film, they had a program where for two days they brought in a busload of kids from the inner city. It was the first time I had been to one of my screenings where my entire audience was black. They were all 16- to 18-year-old black kids. They didn't know anyone in the film. At the Q&A after the screening, the first 10 questions were things like 'How come you didn't have Jay-Z in the film?' or 'How come there was no 50 Cent?' " This has ultimately been Kell's biggest stumbling block. The film is didactic; it seeks to educate a generation of rap fans about the origins of the world's most dominant music genre. But in the US it has fallen on deaf ears. "On a panel they had... a local black poet, who said to the kids, 'You kids don't understand or know your history. This is what you should be fascinated by.' I don't know if it's apathy or what, but the kids don't seem to give a **** about anything unless it's on the radio or MTV." It is in countries such as Australia or in Europe where the film has been a hit, but paradoxically, these are the places where hip-hop fans already understand the culture's long history. It may be a case of preaching to the converted, but Kell puts it down to economics. "Not too many artists outside of the US are getting rich from rapping," he says. "In the US because that's possible, it means people will do it just for the money. Kids don't want to grow up to play professional sports any more, they want to become the next Jay-Z - it's the classic American rags-to-riches tale. It doesn't matter what colour your skin is, where you're from, tall or small, if you can rap, you can be anything and anyone. But, in Canada, you're not going to get rich from rapping. Same thing anywhere else in the world. So people's motivations for it have less to do with money and more to do with their love of what it is. That has everything to do with the business." There is anger in Kell's voice, and his railing against the gradual commodification of hip-hop is now felt by a minority of hip-hop fans around the world. But this is the documentary filmmaker's prerogative, to tell an otherwise unknown story. It's something Kell continues to do - no longer on the streets of New York, but in the world's oceans. He has been shooting a film in the Galapagos Islands about Paul Watson, one of the founders of Greenpeace, who now heads the Sea Shepherds, a direct activism group intent on protecting sea life. "In the last 35 years he's rammed 11 whaling vessels. He's putting himself between harpoons and whales and doing anything he can to stop people harming marine animals. We got attacked by fishermen, we had rocks thrown at us and were hit with pipes. It was fun. It's the kind of thing I like doing - stuff that you actually care about."

dope..it was one of those wack after party type crowds..but jeff rocked a great set!

The last action hero July 23, 2004 Will Smith in I, Robot. There's more to Will Smith than his solar-powered smile and thermonuclear charm - he sees the need to bolster action with intellect. Wary of the time when the physical strain of action films may force him to give up the action genre, he says he's adding subtext to his blockbusters. "As I get older, it's going to be a necessity to have ideas in these films - you can only save the world so many times before people start saying 'All right buddy, we got it,"' he says. "Audiences are going to reject action movies where you just blow stuff up and a guy looks cool. These films need to be intellectually stimulating." Although Smith was Oscar-nominated for his performance as Muhammad Ali in 2001's Ali, and has given good performances in such serious movies as Six Degrees of Separation and The Legend of Bagger Vance, if he harbours unsatisfied creative yearnings, he's keeping them to himself. Sequels like Men in Black II and Bad Boys II further suggest Hollywood doesn't want the star to stray far from his successful formula. "After Ali, I went back to (action films), back to that comfort. Some people, once they get an Oscar nomination, they get the bug to only do serious films. For me, I know I'll have time for that, so I didn't want to lose my connection to the youngster in me. "I feel confident at this point that I can pretty much do what I want. I've found a comfortable creative freedom. It's my decision which side of myself to show." The 35-year-old actor has starred in a bunch of big-budget action-adventure films from Independence Day in 1996 to his latest, I, Robot, which is now showing in Australia. I, Robot, based loosely on Isaac Asimov's 1950 short-story collection, reflects Smith's desire to make an adventure that takes place in a murkier moral universe. He plays a Chicago detective in 2035, who investigates a robot accused of murder. Like Blade Runner and Minority Report, the film touches on the idea of whether it's emotion, intelligence or violence that makes humans unique. Smith was born in 1968 and reared in a suburb of Philadelphia. At 16, he and his friend Jeff Townes began performing as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - a high-school teacher gave Smith the nickname "Prince" because of his ability to charm himself out of trouble. The duo released an album, Rock the House, in 1987; their second, 1989's He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper, contained the single Parents Just Don't Understand, which earned the first Best Rap Performance Grammy award. Producer Quincy Jones and series creator Benny Medina tapped Smith for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which aired on NBC from 1990 to 1996. Smith had a small role as a homeless teen in 1992's Where the Day Takes You, then got excellent reviews as a gay charlatan who smooth-talks a New York art world couple in Six Degrees of Separation. In 1995's Bad Boys, he was second-billed behind comic Martin Lawrence, but by 1996, when he starred as a smart-aleck Army pilot who saves the world from aliens in Independence Day, Smith had found his game. "I'm not a long-range kind of guy - I'm a one-step-at-a-time guy, making each step as perfect as I can," says Smith. "I have a sense of what direction I'm going in, and then I put my head down and barrel forward. "The bottom line in this business is, the person who pays the most attention and studies the hardest wins. And I refuse to let someone work harder than me. When people in Hollywood said I couldn't star in Independence Day because black actors don't translate internationally, that spurred me on. I thought, 'I'll take that fight."' In 1997, he released his first solo album, Big Willie Style, which won another Grammy, and co-starred with Tommy Lee Jones in the hit Men in Black. On New Year's Eve that year, Smith married actress Jada Pinkett (The Matrix Reloaded, The Nutty Professor), whom he met when she auditioned for a role on Fresh Prince. The two were friends through Smith's three-year marriage to actress Sheree Zampino, whom he divorced in 1995 and with whom he has a son, Trey, now 11. Smith had another hit with the techno-political thriller Enemy of the State in 1998. His ironic smile enabled him to transcend the action genre. An Everyman whose jokey bantering was an invitation to a good time, he became the coolest black actor around at a time when Chris Rock was mainly known for comedy, Wesley Snipes' action roles were becoming more specialised, Eddie Murphy was segueing into family fare, Denzel Washington and Samuel L Jackson were maturing, and Laurence Fishburne was attaining mythic stature in The Matrix. But then in 1999, Smith reteamed with his Men In Black director, Barry Sonnenfeld, for the ill-conceived movie of the '60s TV show Wild Wild West. Its failure brought him back down to earth. "Wild Wild West was bittersweet, because while I was disappointed the movie wasn't received the way I'd hoped, I was relieved that people had stopped viewing me as a magician, able to work magic anytime," says Smith. "And failures help you to judge your successes. Independence Day and Men in Black broke box-office records, but it was like having chocolate cake for every meal. So Wild Wild West hurt, but it relieved me of that burden." Currently filming the romantic comedy The Last First Kiss, co-starring Eva Mendes, around New York, Smith will be heard but not seen in the animated Shark Tale, due in autumn in the US. "That's one my younger kids can see," he says, referring to his children with Pinkett, son Jaden, 6, and daughter Willow, 4. He is also working on a new album. Though he and Pinkett Smith are looked at as one of Hollywood's most successful couples, he says the onscreen romance of Last First Kiss is undiscovered territory. "Young black couples will walk up to me and Jada on the street and say, 'Y'all got to stay together, because if you guys can't make it, none of us can!' We love that. "But I've only recently gotten comfortable with movie romance. I've never wanted any woman to feel like I'm disrespecting her, and that's created a distance in my roles. I think there's a certain energy that you need in order to create (romance in movies)." Smith's personal energy, though, has never been in doubt. "There's real pleasure that I get out of being happy and getting people energised - that's when I'm at my best," he says. "I need that dynamic both selfishly and selflessly: I try to encourage everyone around me to go someplace different artistically, to think differently." Does that ever get exhausting for his wife? "Jada and I can (talk) about things for hours, but when other people are around, yeah, I can wear her out," Smith says, flashing his killer grin. "I think my energy can get a little oppressive for her. But she understands that it's a life-force for our relationship, as much as it might get on her nerves. "It's like, we all love the sun, but the sun can burn you sometimes!" - KRT [url="http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/23/1090464837211.html?oneclick=true"]http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/...l?oneclick=true[/url]

Okay when we get to fox studios in Sydney it is absolutely teaming down with rain.. through the back entrance as someone opens a gate.. umbrellas up and away we go.. through the crowds “yo jazzy jazzy ..its jazzy jeff!” over the steel gate and up through the red carpet to the stage.. the women up on the stage is trying to get the crowd hyped “are you ready?” she screams to the soaked onlookers.. “for a monsoon?” Jeff slyly remarks.. Okay up on stage and darnell(jeffs guy is setting up the equipment) making sure those cdj’s and turntables are finely tuned..and laying out jeffs 2 crates of records and 1 bag of cds… will comes up the red carpet in his suit and goes back into the booth to get into his hip hop gear on…ahh just 1 problem carlos has got wills jeans.. and wheres carlos? I think he got lost in the rush..okay here comes carlos with wills clothes..crisis adverted and wills ready to roll… the women/mc/crowd hyper walks past me says hi as she steps on stage.. are you ready to see will smith and jazzy jeff? Yeah the crowd is ready and the rains eased off just a bit.. someone quickly jumps up on stage with a towel to get rid of the excess water on the stage.. darnell gets sum tape and tapes the set list up near jeffs decks.. will actually wanted to do 11 tracks included ol skool classics such as parents just don’t understand and nightmare on my street.. but they were supposed to be on stage at 6..its now about 7:10 and wills gotta get into the I robot premiere plus its pouring with rain so theirs no time for all those tracks… Okay jeff steps up to the decks and the crowd roars.. first up jeff plays beyonces crazy in love.. the horns blaring as Will steps out on the stage.. will then goes into his beyonce dance!!hilarious stuff as wills shakin his booty like B to the crowds excitement.. “where my ladies at?????” will yells .. “where my fellas at?” Okay now we’re getting into it..str8 into brand new funk! Get down! [b]“A literary, genius, and a superior beat creator have come together, and we made a musical composition which we think is a remedy to cure all the dance floors that's empty You wanna dance? We got what you want Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince bustin out with the brand new funk “[/b] brand new funk sounds awesome live.. like 100 times better than on a cd..especially nowadays..wills voice is deeper.. and the lyrics still stand up.. in the beginning its just the drum track from bnf..the bass lines supposed to kick in but it isn’t.. will later clowns jeff “rookie mistake jeff….rookie mistake!” “I was wondering why that wasn’t sounding right” jeff replies back laughing… okay now the brand new funk begins to hit in..and jeff sets it off with his superb scratching..*hit it* and yes jeff comes in with “yeah def aint it” will is absolutely ripping the lyrics..showin real skill! And it was the live version of brand new funk! Cause will said the “no small letters and our names only capitals” line but will changed hundreds of thousands of fans to hundreds of millions of fans I think haha okay now men in black.. and wills got the crowd singing along to the chorus.. and into getting jiggy wit it.. huge crowd response… okay will pulls it down a bit as he begins to talk to the crowd “I got my new single switch coming out in 6 weeks.. ive never performed it..this is the first time here in Australia” then will proceeds to show everyone the “switch dance” and its very hard to describe.. a pretty kool dance.. u got ya hands down by ya side and then out in front as if u gonna clap and movin em back n forth.. I think! The beat for switch comes in.. it really hits hard..it’s a club banger..and will sets off the rhyme .. “you though u could come in the club and dance nekkid?” I think will says.. he raps the verse about this girl in a club.. and then into the chorus.. switch! And will switches up the dance..and gets the whole crowd doin the switch… okay now its back into Miami.. but this time its “I’m goin back to Sydney” to the crowds delight… okay after tearin down that track as the rain begins pouring down again Will walks up to where jeff is and begins to have a conversation.. “you know its july..and in the US its summer.. but down here its in reverse…” jeff: “yeahH” will: “look jeff I wanna feel summer..” jeff: “lets show em what its like” “take me there jeff” and summertime blasts!! Damn that beat sounds good! Blaring out of the speakers.. and its into another jazzy jeff and fresh prince classic… summer summer summer time…the pouring rain doesn’t dampen the brilliance of this song… and then its over.. will thanks the crowd.. “you guys are true fans right here!!.. I gotta go into the premiere now.. on behalf of dj jazzy jeff and yours truly..we wanna thank you for coming out tonight!” and there it is 2 musical saviours..its 2004.. and jazzy jeff and fresh prince are still rockin it.. their performance showed that they not only still got it..but they are one of the dopest hip hop groups live.. so many give substandard performances..but will brings it with the energy, great stage performance.. and the back n forth between will and jeff is another example of their great chemistry… every song of theirs sounded so much better live! Another example of their superiority..yeah these guys have rocked some crowds before and they haven’t lost any of their touch .. my highlight was probably brand new funk! Yeah even more than summertime.. will and jeff just ripped it! And the track sounds great to this day.. nother hip hop classic… as jeff and will leave the stage the rain really begins to pour down..it held off just long enough so jjfp could do their thing.. and everyone was loving their performance… ..and u could tell will and jeff enjoyed it so much much 2.. will may be one of the biggest movie stars in the world..but hes a hip hop emcee through and through.. and he showed that night hes still got the hunger and love for the music.. so get ready y’all jazzy jeff and fresh prince are comin back at ya..and they’re bringin the heat… 4 real…. Heres a report of the show they had on the news.. with a tiny clip of brand new funk live [url="http://www.jazzyjefffreshprince.com/audio/jjfplivenews.mp3"]Will raps with Jeff[/url] [img]http://images1.wireimage.com/images/thumbnail/3096176.jpg[/img]

the i robot premiere in london is wednesday the 4th of august.. uk people enter this competion here... [url="http://www.stercentury.co.uk/t2/html/comps/i_robot_comp.htm"]http://www.stercentury.co.uk/t2/html/comps/i_robot_comp.htm[/url] and here: [url="http://www.uk.scifi.com/compsdetails.asp?cid=8"]http://www.uk.scifi.com/compsdetails.asp?cid=8[/url] and here: [url="http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/entertainment/i-robot-competition.php"]http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/entertainment...competition.php[/url]

come on guys..wills first single in over 2 years drops in a few weeks..its time to step up the promotion.. we need some banners and stuff.. saying will smith is back switch out late august! and related stuff.. lets begin the campaign..we waited this long when nothing was happening..now its time to step it up..and promote the hell out of the new music post all the stuff u come up with here

but you were making posts that were unrelated to the topic..and didnt make much sense..that is all

you have 2 days to post a verse..there are no restriction on how long it is or anything... when the 2 days is up everyone will vote for who they thought dropped the best verse..and u cant vote for yourself... let the competition begin!

dude ya 12 days late :nana:

my account of the show 2 follow.. anybody got any questions? i'll answer what i can :thumb:

the chorus of switch is just ... SWITCH! ... ... ... ... SWITCH! ... ... .. .. SWITCH! onbiously ur doin the dance at that point :ohnoes:

you got no idea

stevie wonder superstition :dancingcool: :dancingcool:

jeff isnt on switch i dont think

i just got back from seeing i robot again..and i must say it was so much better the 2nd time.. the 1st time i saw it so much went right over my head..but this time i was really able to take everything in..i wasnt thinking what was happening next or trying to figure it all out..i could just appreciate everything..i think it is absolutely brilliant!! i loved wills performance..what was so great was will really had this intensity..and you were just drawn into this really tough character..and glued to the screen..sonny was brilliant.. when they were about to kill him u really felt the emotion..thats how much they brough him to life on screen..so yeah i loved this movie..and u gotta atleast go see it twice!! :thumb:

when jeff was playing records..will got right up close 2 him..like a few inches away..and was dancing to all the traxs jeff was playing :thumb:

julie its a free concert that he'll do at the red carpet premiere of i robot in london.. u cant get tickets..just find out where and when the premiere is and go..and jjfp should rock the house!

these actually show jjfp [img]http://www.archive.newspix.com.au/newsphotos/images3/Lores/15855053.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.archive.newspix.com.au/newsphotos/images3/Lores/15855048.jpg[/img]

i wouldnt risk it stecki..not sure jeffs gonna be there.. the performance wouldnt be 2 long and its b4 the premiere..and u gotta have a pass 2 get in2 the after party..depends how bad u wanna see will perform right...

i thought it was great!! sonny kicks ass :thumb:

heres a few pics i took at the after party [img]http://www.jazzyjefffreshprince.com/images/irobotparty1.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.jazzyjefffreshprince.com/images/irobotparty2.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.jazzyjefffreshprince.com/images/irobotparty3.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.jazzyjefffreshprince.com/images/irobotparty4.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.jazzyjefffreshprince.com/images/irobotparty5.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.jazzyjefffreshprince.com/images/irobotparty6.jpg[/img]

[quote=Da Brakes,Jul 20 2004, 07:29 AM]I really need to hear this song!!! Hey Tim!! Do u think it has the potential to go to number 1??[/quote] certainly has the potential if the switch dance catches on..look out :eek4:

i can confirm there is new jazzy jeff and fresh prince that u will be rocking soon

will walked down the red carpet in his suit and that..and then he had to change into his rapping gear backstage :thumb:

yes will is performing in london..and jeff wants to make it..so all those in the uk..go see the performance!!