You ignore ants I guarantee you buggin I separate from society But I admit I am human I am intellectually driven Some ideas that I have have sent men and women to prison I bench press my petty problems Building muscle to carry the world For now I persist to put my letters into words There's no Tussin' to my allergic reaction to bullshit and wars I don't know you Not telling you how to live But hate is a verb learn the adjective HA! It's been a minute.

Chris "Kazi" Rolle is my new hero- not so much because of his hard-working vision to inspire young people, but because of his humble and tender heart. His willingness to ask for forgiveness and take the first step in reconciling to those who have hurt him is the real star of the show here. It's Kazi's profound "everyday" actions of faithfulness and integrity that make him a role model worth emulating.

A documentary-style look at inner city youth brought together under the hip hop banner by a formerly homeless teenager and how their lives were transformed for the better. With a lack of direction, this script meanders all over the place and makes for a dull, uninspiring and frustrating watch. The smattering of music that is played is very good and accents the film well, but unfortunately, they decided not to include full versions or more of it. Certainly not worth the time needed to watch it, even for the hardcore fans of the genre or idea behind it.

An alright documentary. It had some really great side stories following the lives of the kids in this film outside of the music. But after watching this I don't think anybody is too much better off. Seemed like an after school program with cameras in the room. Meh.

It's a pretty typical documentary overall. Inspirational and interesting topic about a program to use hip hop to effect people positively rather than glamerizing drug runs and violence.

as documentaries go this has everything, drama, conflict, resolution and something to say. the characters are real and talented and some low emotional points balance out the high energy of the rap scenes. if it doesnt get a wide release id be surprised - seek it out

I loved this film. I think hip hop could use more kids like this coming up in the game. Kids that treat hip hop like the art form that it really is.

Excellent conscious film, particularly relevant during this time of controversy for hip-hop. If only it got more support :-(

this was pretty good.

Saw this last summer at TCI film festival!

sounds like a good movie

who cares about NYC teens? not even NYC parents!

In 1999, Chris “Kazi” Rolle, a former performing arts student, rapper and one-time street hustler, created the "Hip Hop Project" under the auspices of Art Start, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing art and inner-city teenagers together. Rolle created the Hip Hop Project, an outreach program for inner-city teenagers interested in becoming hip hop artists or joining the music industry. Over the next six years, the Hip Hop Project became a surrogate family, with the youthful Rolle as a surrogate father figure. Remarkably, Rolle was only in his early twenties when he started the Hip Hop Project. Rolle and the Hip Hop Project are the subject of Matt Ruskin's first documentary. [i]The Hip Hop Project[/i] follows Rolle as he sets up Hip Hop Project, introduces teens involved in the program, and eventually settles on two inner-city teenagers, Diana 'Princess' Lemon and Christopher 'Cannon' Mapp. The only woman in the group, Lemon emerges as a strong-willed, dedicated young woman. With her father in jail for selling drugs and high school daunting, Lemon initially sees the Hip Hop Project as a place to hone her rapping skills, network, and launch her music career. The Hip Hop Project eventually becomes more than that, giving her purpose, direction, but most of all, giving her a stable support group. Mapp shows the rhyming skills necessary to become a successful rapper, but as we learn more about him, we learn that all that bluster hides an insecure, sensitive young man. Abandoned at an early age by his father, Mapp suffered a devastating blow when he learned that his mother had multiple sclerosis. Mapp's mother passes away during production of [i]The Hip Hop Project[/i]. Mapp's maternal grandmother becomes his legal guardian (and his younger sister's), but Mapp and his family face a new crisis when their landlord attempts to evict them from their apartment. Like Lemon, the Hip Hop Project ends up providing Mapp with emotional support otherwise missing from his turbulent life. If [i]The Hip Hop Project[/i] has a lead character or "protagonist," it's Rolle. Rolle's story is every bit, if not more compelling than Lemon or Mapp's. Born in Nassau, Bahamas, Rolle was abandoned by his mother when he was three when she moved to the United States. Rolle moved a lot, living first with his mother's friend, then a state orphanage, and eventually a foster family. At fourteen, he moved to Brooklyn to live with his mother. The effort at reconciliation failed badly. Homeless, Rolle got by through stealing and hustling. Remarkably, Rolle still managed to get his high school degree from a performing arts school. Three years later, Rolle founded the Hip Hop Project. [i]The Hip Hop Project[/i] also follows the group's first tentative steps toward creating rap lyrics and developing their performing styles. Rolle pushes his students to find their own voices, their own stories and to avoid clichéd stories about money, cars, and women. It takes a while, years actually, but Rolle gets through to them. Eventually, Rolle faces the prospect of finding studio space and time with limited or non-existent resources. Luckily, a fundraiser helps to spread Rolle's efforts through the local media and just when everything looks bleak, a high-profile celebrity unexpectedly steps in to guarantee studio time for the Hip Hop Project to record their CD. While success seems assured for the Hip Hop Project, Rolle's story takes a personal turn when he decides to renew contact with his biological mother. It doesn't go as well as he (or we) hopes, but Rolle pushes forward with his own recording efforts, proposing marriage to his longtime girlfriend (who worked alongside him on the Hip Hop Project), and in a bittersweet moment, leaving the Hip Hop Project in the hands of a successor picked from his students. Post-Hip Hop Project, Rolle went on to start up his own hip-hop record label, Momentum. He also co-founded A.P.E.X., a non-profit organization that holds monthly college prep workshops among its other activities. Rolle is also working on his debut album, [i]Many Faces[/i]. Ultimately, [i]The Hip Hop Project[/i] demonstrates how important after-school outreach programs are and can be, especially in inner-city neighborhoods where unstable families are the norm. Without the Hip Hop Project, it’s hard to say where Lemon, Mapp, and the others would have ended up, by choice or by circumstance. Led by the dynamic Rolle, whose simple life philosophy is to move forward and always give back, the Hip Hop Project is the kind of model program needed in inner cities. Thanks to first-time documentary filmmaker Matt Ruskin and his producers, [i]The Hip Hop Project[/i] gives us a chance to see the positive, potentially long-term effects of youth-oriented outreach programs in action.