European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 27, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Rappers hip hop from records to movie by James Bernard the new York times just when hip hop culture seemed Content to confine itself to a few obscure late night radio shows rap exploded and lodged itself firmly into the country a popular imagination. Television shows from fresh Prince of Bel air to in living color sport the hip hop attitude a its music its stars its willingness to confront social issues its dancing and its humor. Young . And heavy d. Are hawking soda while Yoyo and Rakim arc pushing malt liquor. But nowhere has the arrival of rappers been More dramatic than at the movie theater. Two of this years most critically acclaimed debuts were by ice to in new Jack City and ice cube in Boyz n the Hood. Earlier this month ice to made his second screen appearance in Ricochet in which he stars As a major underworld figure alongside the Academy award nominees Denzel Washington and John Lithgow. House party 2 takes the rap duo kid a no play Back to school this time to College where kid struggles both financially and educationally through his freshman year while play dumps academic life in favor of chasing the twin illusions of Money and Fame. The list goes on. Vanilla ice will be seen in Cool As ice a movie about a rapper and his motorcycle due to open later this month. Queen Latifah is in both Jungle fever and House party 2. Kamron of Young Black teen agers plays kids College Roommate in House party 2. Tonc Loc has a Small part As a Jovial Carriage Driver in the forthcoming car 54, where Are you . Cool j. Turned up in the hard Way and Nathaniel afrika Hall narrates Livin Large. Certainly there is diversity in the Way rappers Are being used in these films. While ice cube portrayed a Young Black urbanite teetering Between a jail cell and the barrel of a sawed off us Mvi Nal City studio Vanilla ice is a hot item in Cool As ice. Shotgun. Kid a no play appear As themselves in comedies laughing and dancing their Way through their teens and 20s. Quot As with any Ripple on the surface of popular culture the intersection of hip hop and film May be either a cynical attempt to Cash in or evidence of a revolution. A we done to know yet if this can work a a cautions Mike Medavoy president of Tri Star pictures which has so far not cast rappers in its pictures. A we done to know yet if rappers will make great actors or big  the Cross fertilization of rap and film was aided by the emergence of an unprecedented number of Young Black film makers. This year alone saw the completion of More than two dozen films by Black directors. A if there had been the same number of Young Black film makers when soul music was big then there would have been a lot More soul musicians in movies a a says Risa Bramon Garcia a los Angeles based director and producer. A the timing is sort of  the so called hip hop Market in movies has been warming up since 1985, when Krush Groove first put run-d.., Kurtis blow the fat boys and . Cool j. In front of a camera. The $3 million film grossed $15 million at the Box office. It Wasny to until 1990, however that the Boom began when the first House party won the film makers trophy at the Sundance film festival. A there you have a $2.5 million movie that grossed Over $25 million a says Maynell Thomas of Gordy Depasse productions which just finished shooting a class act a Prince and pauper comedy that also features kid a no play. A it comes Down to economics you can now make a profit on a movie that features Young Black hip hop  As the Market for hip hop grew the Market for rap influenced movies expanded to include new Jack City and Boyz n the Hood which were seen by people who done Teyen like rap. The two movies grossed More than $50 million each. In the my too world of Hollywood a trend was born and that has spawned what some Sec As Raspl citation. A there arc a lot of film makers who put rappers in their movies because they figure they be got to make x amount of Money a says John Singleton the writer and director of Boyz n the Hood. Doug Mchenry would seem to be at the Center of the rap movie nexus. Along with his partner George Jackson Mchenry directed Krush Groove produced new Jack City and House party and produced and directed House party 2. Even Mchenry believes the situation has gone too far. A Many of these projects today say a Urban drama of we got to stick in an ice cube acct. Ice run ice some body a he says sarcastically. A put some scratching in the soundtrack and put it out there. That a the Type of exploitative approach that was the demise of Many of the Black films of the �?T70s that were made by White  the use of popular music performers in films is not new. Frank Sinatra Sammy Davis jr., Dean Martin barbra Streisand and Madonna made a transition into motion pictures. A we look at kid a no play As the hip Ultra Cool Hope and Crosby of their Day a says Jackson. On the other hand there were those Elvis movies which Garcia explains by saying a what Cvar generation a music exists those musicians will translate to the  and she says one should not discount the Novelty Factor a Rock a no Roll had its movies in its time and that s what rap is doing now. Rappers As actors Are a Novelty and their Are some Quirky movies that might warrant that. Some rappers can act and some  Why not a guns a no roses movie or a Garth Brooks movie or a Metallica movie Doug Mchenry argues that a despite How great guns a no roses arc they arc basically five Guys with guitars who did exactly what i saw the rolling stones and led Zeppelin do. Hip hop works because it is refreshing it is new and it is More visually  even though rockers like David Bowie and sting have appeared in films most Rock n Roll artists shr nud themselves in mystery rather than presenting and explaining themselves to their audience As thoroughly As rappers do. Hence rappers might make better film personalities. A you could never pin Mick Jagger Down to find out who he was As a person says Garcia. A but the rappers Are in your face. They re much More in the  Columbia a Arturo a ice cube plays doughboy a native of South Central los Angeles in the film Boyz n the  27. 1991 sunday a