Redefinitions: Hip Hop Roots & Future

In the opening half-hour main program of the four-segment Redefinitions: Hip Hop Roots & Future, luminaries such as Afrika Bambaataa, Zulu Nation's Cassius D, The Real World New York's Heather B, Liberty, and members of Blackalicious and Slum Village all use colorful, candid language to reflect on the past, present and future of the politically and socially controversial hip-hop/rap genres. Unfortunately, these loosely structured interview clips suffer from mediocre sound and picture quality. The second segment--which the jacket flak calls “special bonus footage”--featuring little-known artist Jahi actually takes up the lion's share of the program, weighing in at 50 minutes. The last two short segments offer an “MC” tutorial describing nine elements of hip-hop, and audio excerpts from Jahi's latest album. Only tangentially touching on the topic it claims to explore, this program would be more accurately titled Help Jahi Become Famous. Not recommended. Aud: C, P. (J. Williams)