Our doc film fest (presented with the homie Andreas Vingaard) continues tomorrow night at the Maysles Institute with two more incredible films. Electric Boogie (1983) (under no circumstances to be confused with this) is a lost gem that focuses on a quartet of SBX youths attempting to pop, lock, and wave their way to fame, or at least neighborhood fame. While most documents of New York's early '80s hip-hop scene focus on legendary figures, Tana Ross' film's focuses on a few days in the lives of four unknowns, and is ultimately arguably more emotionally effective for it. For every old school pioneer we know about there were thousands of kids like the Electric Boogie Boys, for whom a trophy claimed at a Skate Key dance contest meant not just temporary celebrity but a distraction from the daily hazards of rocking a sheepskin amidst stick-up kids, or a decision of whether to join the military after high school. That this wonderfully simple film remains as virtually unknown as its subjects may on the one hand be considered poetic. But I hope it doesn't stay that way.
Our other featured presentation, director Dick Fontaine's truly classic Beat This! A Hip Hop History (1984) is probably best known for its inventive imagery: Kool Herc driving huge speakers around in a convertible while revisiting his old stomping grounds, Bambaataa (Vocoder alert!) and Soulsonic space-invading the Museum of Natural History's planetarium, Cold Crush rocking some serious rock star wear. But beyond that there are great moments of candor and insight. Not the least of which - just after the footage of Soulsonic and my favorite seminal '80s producer/Boston sports fanatic Arthur Baker tracking "Renegades of Funk" in the studio - is the nostalgic conversation Bam and Mr. Biggs have while overlooking the myriad of highways and train-lines that run through their part of town.
With additional appearances by Lisa Lee, Sha-Rock, Jazzy Jay, Malcolm McLaren, graf writer Brim of the Tats Cru, and Officer Kevin Hickey of NYPD's infamous Vandal Squad, and with narration by NYC broadcasting legend Gary "Soul Traveling" Byrd, it's a heavily star-studded affair.
Once again, we'll have some original school luminaries and great creative minds in the place for the post-film Q&A, specifically the Soulsonic Force and Easy AD of the almighty Cold Crush, as well as filmmaker Tana Ross. And Sugar Hill beer will once again be served at the bar. (Sugar Hill, Sugar Hill!) Got to be there.
