Combining interviews, behind-the-scenes segments, and live performance footage, Omar “Iceman” Sharif's (not to be confused with the Egypt-born Oscar-nominated Dr. Zhivago star) low-budget production plays like a jumbled video diary rather than the “insightful” music doc the box art promises. From varied locations, including Compton, the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ, and Moscow, Russia, Sharif leads viewers on a tour of the current state of hip hop and rap seen from the perspective of women rap stars, emcees, and DJs, including Eve, MC Lyte, and Missy Elliott. We also hear observations from folks like Moby, super-producer Rodney Jenkins (who proves to be an expert at namedropping), Spinderella (the DJ from Salt-N-Pepa), and, of course, leading hip hop aficionados Robin Leach and Steve Guttenberg (what !?!). While it's interesting to hear the stars discuss topics such as breaking into the biz, musical inspirations, and life after fame, the program is plagued by shoddy audio and overall poor production values (not to mention the fact that Missy Elliott's name is misspelled twice, and she's without question the most famous face here). Not recommended. Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood)
Female American Rap Stars
(2004) 85 min. DVD: $14.98. Ardustry Home Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Volume 19, Issue 5
Female American Rap Stars
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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