For April’s Virtual Piazza and a Movie Night, we decided to choose a couple of cult classic films that the teens might not have seen before.

The choices were…

And the Winner was…

Beat Street

1h 54m | 2016

Director: Stan Lathan

Writer: Steven Hager

Starring:  Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, Jon Chardiet

Here’s what the teen audience had to say about Beat Steet

Every Virtual PaaM night, we ask the teens what they thought about the winning movie. Keep scrolling, to read what they had to say about 

What did you think about the movie? Good/bad?

Alisa: I liked the movie! it showed a variety of things like graffiti, the mixing of music and break dancing. the dance-off and all the moves were cool!

Bjorn: Those dance moves are insane. They were awesome

Danielle: I liked how it showed the various activities during those times.

Ameena: I loved it I think it was made for its time.

Rafir: I liked it primarily because the culture that it represented was so pure and compelling.

What has changed in hip-hop culture?

Rafir: A LOT. The lyrics! I feel like the morals in hip hop changed a lot too. People just spoke about people and life back then, now everything is so subliminal and materialistic.

Danielle: The clothing and dancing. Although, the 80s and 90s culture is coming back kind of.

The movie shows a lot of what hip hop looked like when it was in its early stages in the Bronx. It featured many figures that were trailblazers for hip-hop.

Figures such as…

Afrika Bambaataa

Born Lance Taylor, on April 17th, 1957 in the South Bronx. He’s known as “The Godfather” and the father of electro-funk because he’s one of the originators of breakbeat DJing. In the 1980s he released a series of genre-defining electro tracks that influenced the development of hip-hop culture.

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

Originated as a hip-hop group in the South Bronx in 1978. The members consist of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, The Kidd Creole, Keef Cowboy, Scorpio, and Raheim. They were a significant part of the early development of hip-hop music thanks to their use of turntablism, breakbeat DJing, and conscious lyricism. They built up their reputation in the 1970s by performing at local parties and live shows.

DJ Kool Herc

Born Clive Campbell, April 16, 1955, in Kingston, Jamaica. He’s credited with creating hip-hop music in the Bronx. In the 1970s he hosted an event called the “Back to School Jam” on August 11th, 1973. His little sister was the driving force for him hosting this event because she wanted money for back-to-school clothes so she decided to get her brother to play music for their neighborhood in their apartment.

Join us for the next FREE Pizza and a Movie!

FRIDAY, MAY 7th @ 5-8pm

RSVP here: teens.artsconnection.org/paam/

PLEASE NOTE: This is a TEENS ONLY event.