Planet Rock: The Story of Hip-Hop & the Crack Generation

Sep 12, 2011
7:00 PM ET
New York
   

Narrated and executive produced by Ice-T, this VH1 documentary explores how crack cocaine had a major impact on popular culture, especially the evolution of hip-hop. Twenty five years after the drug ravaged many American cities, Ice-T talks honestly with several of the dealers who became rappers, transforming contemporary music. The film candidly shows how hip-hop reflected the crack epidemic, with frank interviews with such survivors as Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill’s B-Real, and Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA. Using rare footage and creative animation, all set to iconic beats, Planet Rock also examines how crack changed this country politically and socially, especially because of the hysterical media reaction to the crisis. After the screening, our panelists will assess all the changes, from music to fashion, engendered by the crack revolution.

Ice-T
Azie Faison, Former Cocaine Kingpin
Freeway Rick Ross, Former Crack Kingpin
Nelson George, Journalist
Martin Torgoff, Producer, Planet Rock
Richard Lowe, Producer, Planet Rock
Moderator: Barry Michael Cooper, Journalist/Author, New Jack City
 

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