Beat Street (1984)

An aspiring DJ, from the South Bronx, and his best friend, a promoter, try to get into show business by exposing people to hip-hop music and culture. 

It's refreshing to see Beat Street representing Hiphop culture in 1980s New York, before the mass marketed commercialism of gangsta rap took over its projected platform. In this film, the elements of break dancing, Mc-ing, Dj-ing and graffing are all treated with equal importance and the style is far more open. As we follow the lead characters attempts to make it out of the slums, many innovators of the culture make appearances including Afrika Bumbaataa, Kool Herc and The Rocksteady Crew among others.