Movies like The Hip Hop Project

A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time.

In 1997, rap superstars Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls, The Notorious B.I.G.) were gunned down in separate incidents, the apparent victims of hip hop's infamous east-west rivalry. Nick Broomfield's film introduces Russell Poole, an ex-cop with damning evidence that suggests the LAPD deliberately fumbled the case to conceal connections between the police, LA gangs and Death Row Records, the label run by feared rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight.

INOCENTE is a personal and vibrant coming of age story about a young artist's determination never to surrender to the bleakness of her surroundings. At 15, Inocente refuses to let her dream of becoming an artist be caged by being an undocumented immigrant forced to live homeless for the last nine years. Color is her personal revolution and its sweep on her canvases creates a world that looks nothing like her own dark past. INOCENTE is both a timeless story about the transformative power of art and a timely snapshot of the new face of homelessness in America: children. The challenges are staggering, but the hope in her story proves that the hand she has been dealt does not define her, her dreams do.

In 1985, the administrators of St. Augustine's, a poor Catholic school in the South Bronx where many children were failing miserably at basic academics, tried a new approach. They revamped the curriculum to stress the arts, particularly music. The kids lifted up their instruments and, eventually, their test scores, too. This infectious, inspiring musical documentary by Emma Joan Morris won three awards at the Sundance Film Festival.

For one emotional night, a group of slum children in Mumbai, India, get a chance to experience a different world as they perform The Sound of Music with a classical orchestra, fostering hopes that it could change their lives forever.

Ballou , a documentary film, follows the talented Washington, DC, Ballou Senior High School Marching Band, as they overcome their negative environment filled with guns, drugs, and violence, and uplift the community with music, dedication, and personal sacrifice. This Washington, DC, High School Marching Band--from an impoverished community just 3 miles away from the US Capitol building--is on its way to the national band competition. They are a family with heart and soul that use hard work, discipline, and compassion to overcome all obstacles. Political leaders and celebrities including Rev. Jesse Jackson, Gen (ret) Colin Powell, Congressman John Lewis, Marion Barry, Denyce Graves, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and Chuck Brown are featured in the film to show the importance of a small marching band in the lives the band members and in the community.

Fezeka's Voice tells the true story of choirmaster Phumi Tsewu and his unwavering dedication to his township, his school and his choir. For 15 years he has been teaching the children at Fezeka High School in Gugulethu, South Africa - not just how to sing but how to live. Chronicling the highs and lows of their first adventure overseas to perform on a world stage, the film exposes Phumi's commitment and spirit as he teaches his students everything from manners to Mozart, bringing them focus, pride and joy.