Rubble Kings

How gang violence became Hip Hop

It was an amazing doc all around about the gangs of the Bronx from the early 70s that were started out of rage of Civil Rights leaders being killed, created a history of violence and how coming together in peace helped paved the way for Hip Hop to be born.

It’s a little surreal how the gangs back then really did look like the gangs from the movie the Warriors, it’s a good thing narrator, John Leguizamo mention this in the beginning of the film or I’ve might not been able to take this seriously.

I loved the music that was layered on top of the movie it really helped bring forward the story. The music composed was a combo of rock with a lot of Latin flavor. You can hear the roots of hip hop in the constant beats of the drum, but I think the music comes from or was inspired by the Ghetto brothers, one of the gangs focus on in the movie who also were a successful rock band.

The film was able to use lots of footage taking from the time and mix it with interviews from the surviving gang members (which in itself, an inspiration that they are still around to tell the tale), and a few reenactments, using animation. I noticed that a lot of documentaries these days are capable of using previously recorded footage on their subject to create narrations better than capable before. We live in a world where everyone can and does document their lives and now documentaries made today are showing this was always the case, but in most cases, I think I preferred to see the fictional narration, but Rubble kings does have the old School footage from analog film and video that allowed me to reminisce of a feel of New York that’s long gone (Especially the footage with the old tagged up trains, I miss that so much). It would never been the same in a narration.

Coming from the Bronx, this movie is true to my New York, so I highly recommend taking a gather.