Jeremy Elkin’s All The Streets Are Silent: The Convergence of Hip Hop and Skateboarding is a fascinating examination of how these two emerging cultures intersected and influenced each other in the late 80s and early 90s.
Despite burgeoning acts like Run D.M.C., Salt-N-Pepa, and various others, during that time rap as a concept was still primarily underground. The film then focuses on the opening of Club Mars, the unofficial first Hip Hop Club, opened by DJ Yuki Watanabe. The club attracted upcoming emcees and even actors alike, with Big Daddy Kane, Ice Cube, Black Sheep, Vin Diesel, and Ben Stiller as regulars.
We then shift to the skateboard scene, and it soon becomes a loving, heavily researched tribute to how hip hop and skateboard culture intertwined during that time. Elkin explores Zoo York, a graffiti crew that eventually adopted skateboarding elements that fizzled out when most members escaped to California. But it reemerged in 1993 and became synonymous with skating and New York City.
The film is peppered with anecdotes from Fred Braithwaite (aka Fab 5 Freddy), Rosario Dawson, Leo Fitzpatrick, and various others on how hip hop and skateboarding intermingled during these times. Elkin intersperses these interviews with footage from the time, and this juxtaposition strengthens the storyline. Elkin shows off his filmmaking skills here, making an effective, informative film. Aud: C.