Review: 'The Breaks'

There are certain magical times that mark seismic shifts in the popular music scene. The American South in the mid 1950s, England in the early 1960s, California in the 1970s, Seattle in the 1990s....you get the point. Another key moment in music was the New York hip-hop scene of the very early 1990s. Rap and hip-hop was just starting to move into the mainstream, yet it
was still a small enough world that the scene was equally filled with hustlers and undiscovered raw talent. It was a time that has been neglected by the mainstream entertainment world, but it's wonderfully brought to life in the new VH1 movie THE BREAKS.

Set in New York in 1990, THE BREAKS is loosely based on the Dan Charnas book "The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop." The book is a comprehensive look at the early hip-hop scene and it provided the framework for this authentic and bittersweet film. It looks back at a time when the music was as much a lifestyle choice and movement as it was a career. It's an attitude that seems almost naive in today's rap music world and that is part of the film's charm. It's an "American Graffitti" for early NYC hip-hop and it's surprising that this story hasn't been told before now.

The film centers around a trio of friends who see hip-hop as their calling. Afton Williamson plays Nikki Jones, a valedictorian who chooses the music over law school. She gets a job with the streetwise hip-hop manager and mogul Barry Fouray (played by Wood Harris). Her boyfriend David Aaron (David Call) is interning at the city's top R&B station and fights to convince the station's celebrity DJ to play "real" hip-hop music. Their friend DeeVee (Mack Wilds) is an aspiring producer who works out of his garage. His search for new talent leads him to a talented drug dealer whose lifestyle might endanger everyone's dreams. Everyone is hustling to break out and find their way in the middle of an explosion of talent and opportunity.

The music for the film perfectly captures the era, thanks to a soundtrack from producer D.J. Premier, who was one half of the 1990s band Gang Starr. There are some new 1990s-style raps as well as better known but historically accurate tracks from Public Enemy and A Tribe Called Quest.

THE BREAKS is a bit of a back-door pilot for a possible series and I'd love to see that happen. This is a world I don't know all that well, but it's one that seems worthy of exploring. It also seems like a great fit for VH1's viewers, which have responded strongly to its emphasis on African-American friendly reality programming. This is an entertaining and worthwhile film that I hope finds the audience it deserves.