It was supposed to be epic. The director was already a legend. A visionary credited with transforming  how people watch music, a visual savant. The cast was littered with emerging and established members of the hip hop glitterati. There was a story- full of drugs, sex, guns and redemption. It was supposed to define a generation. Instead…. it was just Belly.

Miscast, melodramatic and perhaps too large a project for a first time film director to take on, Belly is, nonetheless, one of the greatest movies ever. I revisited Belly a few weeks ago; was chillin with new dude, still in the getting to know you phase, and we were making it a blockbuster night. Was scrolling through his DVD collection.

“Belly? You got Belly?!”

Hmm..I just might be able to fucks with him yet.  (and a fuck you if you don’t think cuddling up to Belly is an enjoyable night- we keep it Hip Hop and gully  24/7 here at Alumnah)

See, here’s the thing about Belly. It was an incredible ambitious pipe dream. Hype Williams, undeniably brilliant behind the lens on a video set, wanted to push his own creative envelope. He could direct videos for years, but jumping from 3 minutes to 180 is a big jump. Granted, he still made it one of the most aesthetically pleasing films to date. Bold colors drenched the screen, shocking pinks, vivid blues, stark blacks and whites. The opening sequence was cinematic ecstasy- Nas & X rolling through a club, black lights illuminating neon strips, iridescent contacts. It was an ill intro Hype was a master of details, from Taral Hicks glistening body being pounded by a buck nekkid X, to a massive bowl of weed at Lennox (I don’t even smoke and I was impressed), to the quiet simplicity of Nas & T-Boz’ life in comparison with DMX’, to the bad mamajama in the leather and spikes who swooped down and slit Lennox’ throat like a ripe papaya- he crafted nuances and moments that drew you in.

A master of subtlety, Hype was not. How to let the viewers know the characters are now in Jamaica? Let’s play some yardie riddims. Back in the US? It’s time for Hip Hop. Guns were always flashing, drugs and ignorance were around. Sure there were odd plot holes that didn’t ever make sense: How the hell did Method Man survive getting drugged, blasted out a door from a shotgun blast to the chest, get hit by a car…  only to get his ass kicked by Taral Hicks as the perennial black girl lost, but finally found. How realistic was DMX’s Buns transformation from banger to religious scholar, a 180 turn from “I don’t give a fuck sell out my boy Sin” to religious and humble. How did Lennox, high as fuck and half incapacitated mange to kill an army of motherfuckers sent to shoot him? And why did he have no alarms going off letting him know an army of motherfuckers was running up in the spot to kill him? Why were T-Boz and Nas always so damn calm when telling each other they got shot, or came home to a room full of dudes with guns?  This of course leads me to the acting.

Belly included some of the worst acting by musical artists in celluloid history-specifically dear Nasir and Tionne. Maybe Nas was just blunted during filming, but T-Boz’ pitch perfect valley girl delivery of the line “Africa’s Far” was hilarity.

Nontheless, we learned things. Redemption is possible. It’s never too late to reevaluate your life and make change. The Police are out to get you and kill powerful Black men.  Even dear Tionne dropped a gem, out shopping with Taral: “Don’t get it twisted, I’m happy with Sincere because I’m happy,” letting us know that in order to feel any positivity in the outer world, we most first get right within.

Despite all its obvious flaws, Belly is still a masterpiece of Hip Hop cinema. And Hype Williams is undoubtedly a genius behind a lens.  So go rent Belly tonight, cop the soundtrack which had some bangers on it, and share your Belly experience.