Speaker: 00:00:00

We're talking about the 1986 documentary entitled Big Fun in the Big Town.

2

: 00:00:06

Wow.

3

: 00:00:06

What a treasure trove and time capsule of early hip hop in New York City hosted by Marcel

Vanthilt who was a Belgian reporter.

4

: 00:00:18

I cannot believe we just cracked open this one.

5

: 00:00:21

On this episode of Hip Hop Movie Club, we open a time capsule and see some predictions

about the evolution of hip hop that came true, some lesser acknowledged pioneers of rap

6

: 00:00:30

get respect, and a special guest none of us saw coming.

7

: 00:00:34

All thanks to a Dutch filmmaker.

8

: 00:00:36

I'm DynoWright, filmmaker, designer, longtime hip hop fan.

9

: 00:00:39

I'm JB, 80s and 90s nostalgia junkie, longtime hip hop fan.

10

: 00:00:43

I'm Boogie, a DJ, longtime hip hop fan.

11

: 00:00:45

Yeah, this is a Dutch documentary.

12

: 00:00:47

So guys, we finally did a foreign film.

13

: 00:00:52

So it aired on Dutch television in 1986 and it disappeared because there was no repeat

it wound up on YouTube in the: 2010

14

: 00:01:04

company noticed it and re-released it.

15

: 00:01:07

And I watched video that the filmmaker Bram van Splunteren put out for the 50th

anniversary of hip hop about this film and that it was because hip hop was getting popular

16

: 00:01:17

in Holland.

17

: 00:01:19

And so the TV station or network that commissioned this film wanted to

18

: 00:01:25

get to the source.

19

: 00:01:26

And so they sent this guy, Bram there and he took Marcel, the host with him and wow, what

a time capsule.

20

: 00:01:35

Autumn of ‘86.

21

: 00:01:36

So these guys are really really young So like we're seeing pioneers

22

: 00:01:40

that were early in the game and they're still young, teenagers and early twenties, hanging out with young Mr.

23

: 00:01:44

Magic, you see Marley Marl, MC Shan, Grandmaster Flash.

24

: 00:01:50

Young guys, man.

25

: 00:01:51

He just kind of bounced around.

26

: 00:01:52

He went, to the Bronx, hung out in Harlem, he hung out in Queens,

27

: 00:01:58

It was, it was almost prophetic.

28

: 00:01:59

Like they had the foresight to do this.

29

: 00:02:02

And the common theme was among these guys, you see Doug E fresh mentioned it.

30

: 00:02:06

We're going through the same things that rock and roll was going through and like,

31

: 00:02:09

We want to be up here.

32

: 00:02:10

One day we're going to be up here.

33

: 00:02:11

the other guy that compared rap to rock and roll was Schoolly D.

34

: 00:02:15

He came on at the end.

35

: 00:02:16

Schoolly D, Philly's own.

36

: 00:02:18

He said, I hope rap doesn't go the way of rock, where they take away some of that raw and

make it all pretty.

37

: 00:02:24

I say, welp.

38

: 00:02:25

That was a fascinating insight, yep.

39

: 00:02:27

Welp!

40

: 00:02:27

Took some time, but it's there now.

41

: 00:02:30

It's funny, I was trying to think of like what they're referencing because 86, all the hair bands

42

: 00:02:34

I think it was glam rock.

43

: 00:02:35

Yeah, glam rock, right, And because Doug E Fresh mentioned the same thing.

44

: 00:02:39

And so does Schoolly D, the same thing is like, it should still be raw.

45

: 00:02:42

And now it's gone the way of glam rock pretty much.

46

: 00:02:45

They had the big hair and the makeup and the tights.

47

: 00:02:49

I just feel in general there's an evolution that these things go.

48

: 00:02:52

Rock and roll did it and they branched out to a million different kinds of permutations of

rock and roll and rap is probably going that way.

49

: 00:02:59

Hip Hop music is gonna go that way and it has since, in a lot of ways.

50

: 00:03:02

Yeah.

51

: 00:03:03

Yeah, I mean, we talked about when we did the Juice Wrld documentary, like emo rap, and

you see like Lil Nas X with a different type of demographic.

52

: 00:03:12

And yeah, there's all types of rap and rap adjacent styles for all walks of life and for

all styles.

53

: 00:03:20

So yeah, it is there.

54

: 00:03:22

You can’t have a hip hop documentary

55

: 00:03:24

without the kings from Queens.

56

: 00:03:25

Run DMC was on the rise.

57

: 00:03:28

the timing was such that they had just released “Walk This Way”

58

: 00:03:30

think like right around the same day or so that they filmed this.

59

: 00:03:33

So that was about to take off.

60

: 00:03:35

LL comes out with his trademark red Kangol hat.

61

: 00:03:38

It's very prescient, talking about women rappers because the host asks.

62

: 00:03:41

Yeah.

63

: 00:03:42

Yeah, I really loved his response.

64

: 00:03:44

Yeah, he's like, Yeah, listen, we're just trying to break through ourselves and we're

gonna get through the they'll get there.

65

: 00:03:48

They'll get there one day, right now they're here, but they're gonna be there.

66

: 00:03:52

And he was right.

67

: 00:03:53

Yep, they're out there.

68

: 00:03:54

It's inevitable.

69

: 00:03:55

They're gonna rise.

70

: 00:03:57

I do appreciate too that this documentary actually included one of the members of The Last

Poets, Suliaman El Hadi.

71

: 00:04:05

I mean, for people who know The Last Poets are, they were like, before there was like

really any hip hop, there was The Last Poets.

72

: 00:04:11

know, they're basically like spoken word, but they were like almost community activists as

well and educators.

73

: 00:04:17

And he was...

74

: 00:04:20

He wasn't too happy with the way the rap was going.

75

: 00:04:22

He said, yeah, they have nursery rhyme raps and they don't talk about much any substance.

76

: 00:04:29

They don't talk about the real stuff.

77

: 00:04:30

He said they need to address more issues with their energy.

78

: 00:04:33

But, you know, on the flip side, LL, juxtaposed to have him he's like, yeah, I'm just

trying to take the pressure off of the listeners.

79

: 00:04:40

I don't want to talk about the heavy stuff.

80

: 00:04:42

I want them to come out and have a good time.

81

: 00:04:44

I don't want have them come out and talk about the sad, depressed stuff that's going on.

82

: 00:04:47

I want them to enjoy themselves.

83

: 00:04:49

It's kind of funny, it's like how they edited that.

84

: 00:04:53

it's like almost like him responding to Suliaman.

85

: 00:04:56

No, that was a choice. Yeah.

86

: 00:04:58

Yeah.

87

: 00:04:58

The Last Poets, I'm glad they put this in here.

88

: 00:05:02

I agree with you because again, a lot of hip hop documentaries don't mention folks like

Schoolly D or the Last Poets. Because we get to see Grand Master Flash and Run DMC and LL and

89

: 00:05:15

Biz Markie and Roxanne and those types.

90

: 00:05:17

But you dig a little bit deeper and you get to Schoolly D and you get to The Last Poets

and you get to those people that really paved the way for a lot of what we see now.

91

: 00:05:27

The scene that stole the whole documentary for me, you probably saw.

92

: 00:05:31

LL Cool J's grandmother?

93

: 00:05:32

come on.

94

: 00:05:34

That was insane.

95

: 00:05:35

It was insane to have that footage on film that I've never seen where, you know, he knocks

on LL Cool J's front door.

96

: 00:05:42

And his grandmother answers.

97

: 00:05:43

And he's like, I'm here to see LL Cool J. You must be the grandmother.

98

: 00:05:47

She's like, yes, I am.

99

: 00:05:48

You're so sweet.

100

: 00:05:50

And she said come on in.

101

: 00:05:52

Oh my God.

102

: 00:05:52

And then he'll be here in just a moment.

103

: 00:05:55

I'm like, I was like, she is so charming.

104

: 00:06:02

All so let's go around and rate this documentary, Big Fun in the Big Town.

105

: 00:06:07

Boogie, would you bring this funky flick back or leave it in the vault?

106

: 00:06:10

Bring this funky Flick back, no hesitation.

107

: 00:06:13

Mm-hmm.

108

: 00:06:15

Dyno Wright, bring this funky flick back or leave it in the vault.

109

: 00:06:18

Absolutely bring this funky flick back.

110

: 00:06:21

Yes, I will make it unanimous.

111

: 00:06:24

Bring this funky flick back.

112

: 00:06:25

This was a great one.

113

: 00:06:30

Thank you for tuning in to the Hip Hop Movie Club Show.

114

: 00:06:32

The show for serious hip hop fans who want to deepen their cultural knowledge.

115

: 00:06:37

I'm Dyno Wright, filmmaker, designer, longtime hip hop fan, and I recommend, Origineel

Amsterdams by Osdorp Posse.

116

: 00:06:45

But if you want a English song from them, Toys in the Attic.

117

: 00:06:48

I'm JB, 80s and 90s nostalgia junkie, long time hip hop fan.

118

: 00:06:52

And I admittedly have always been a fan of LL Cool J's tender love raps, especially I Need

Love.

119

: 00:06:59

Love that one.

120

: 00:07:02

I used to know that, I used to have the whole thing memorized.

121

: 00:07:05

Yeah.

122

: 00:07:06

man, the ladies definitely love that song.

123

: 00:07:09

And I'm Boogie, a DJ, longtime hip hop fan.

124

: 00:07:12

And this documentary actually reminded me of a time when I was in high school when some

French rap artists came to our high school to sit down and talk to us.

125

: 00:07:20

Cause they were curious about hip hop and they wanted to learn a little bit more from us.

126

: 00:07:25

It was a pretty cool experience.

127

: 00:07:26

You could have been in a documentary.

128

: 00:07:28

Yeah, that's And remember, don't hate, appreciate.

129

: 00:07:36

Nice.

130

: 00:07:43

I appreciate you.

131

: 00:07:44

Yeah, we appreciate listeners and viewers.

132

: 00:07:47

Yes, absolutely.

133

: 00:07:48

We appreciate you all.