For many Millenials, 2002 feels more like five years ago than twenty. But believe it or not, several of the movies that captured and defined Black culture in the early aughts are turning 20 this year, reaching true classic film status.
From "hood classics" starring your favorite rappers to love stories that shaped how our young minds viewed relationships, these films stayed in heavy rotation in our DVD players (and often on our cable television providers) for years after their initial release...and may even remain there to this day.
Actresses like Regina Hall, Sanaa Lathan, Zoe Saldana, Nicole Ari Parker, Eve, and Kimberly Elise flaunted unapologetic Black beauty and womanhood on screen in various scenarios. From lush Southern college campuses to the gritty streets of NYC at the height of the drug epidemic, from journalists/authors who sip champagne at high-end restaurants to local barbers scraping to get by, these women showed the full breadth of Black women's experiences with their portrayals.
And we can't forget actors like Denzel Washington, Taye Diggs, Mekhi Pheiffer and Boris Kodjoe among others providing both eye-candy and either comedic or heart-wrenching performances.
And in a true sign of the times, even some of your favorite rappers from Beanie Siegel and Cam'ron, to Eminem and Jay-Z graced the screen.
Check out the films that are turning the big 2-0 this year. Did any of your faves make the list?
01
Brown Sugar
The ultimate "will they or won't they?" tale of romance between two lifelong friends who bonded over their love of Hip-Hop music. gave us classic cultural in-jokes that prevail to this day. Syd (Sanaa Lathan) and Andre (Taye Diggs) discover their romantic feelings for one another just hours before his wedding to Reese (Nicole Ari Parker). This discovery sends the two on a journey of maintaining the purity of their platonic connection while they watch their beloved music genre slowly lose its authenticity. This one also features hilarious co-starring roles from real-life rappers, Queen Latifah and Mos Def. And who could forget Rin & Tin, the Hip-Hop dalmatians?
02
Drumline
The film that inspired a generation to pick up an instrument and join the band. Nick Cannon's turn as the cocky and rebellious prodigy snare drummer Devon on a fish-out-of-water journey in a regimented band program at a Southern HBCU took viewers inside the world of Black marching bands. Orlando Jones is his stern yet fair band director D. Lee, while Zoe Saldana is his veteran dancer love interest Laila. The energy of the blaring horns and hip-rolling dancers supported by the steady beat of the intense drums bring a jolt of nostalgia for any HBCU alum watching this coming-of-age story of self-realization and romance.
And, if you subscribed to cable TV anytime from 2004 to...the present, you've likely heard the infectious rally cry of "One band, one sound!" on more than a few occasions.
03
Paid in Full
Loosely based on a true story, this classic film tells the tale of one man's chaotic rise from dry-cleaning clerk to reigning Harlem crime boss – and his subsequent downfall. Wood Harris' starring turn as Ace is complemented by Mekhi Pheiffer's emotional portrayal of "Money Makin'" Mitch and rapper Cam'ron's charismatically unhinged Rico as their friendships and loyalties are tested the more money and power rolls in.
Starring Regina Hall and Elise Neal in supporting roles, the film also gifted us the enduring cultural in-joke that applies to infinite situations in Cam'ron's now-infamous line: "N*ggas get shot every day, B. You'll be a'ight, n*gga. You're tough, right?"
04
Barbershop
One of THREE film projects from Ice Cube released this year, Barbershop took an unprecedented and comedic look inside one of our community's cultural havens. The movie follows a single day in the life of a Chicago barbershop, it follows Calvin (Ice Cube) after he sells his father's barber business to a local loan shark and slowly realizes the mistake he may have possibly made trading his family's legacy for a few dollars. Eve, Anthony Anderson, Deon Cole, Cedric the Entertainer and Michael Ealy round out the support cast showing with hilarious comings and goings of customers and barbers at the struggling shop.
05
Antwone Fisher
Another true story, Antwone Fisher is the heart-wrenching tale of a young naval officer with violent outbursts and anger issues getting to the root of his tumultuous upbringing and reconnecting with the family he never knew. Derek Luke played his breakout role as the titular character in this emotional account, with Denzel Washington as his military-appointed psychotherapist guiding him along the way. Not exactly a light watch, but a classic nonetheless.
06
City of God
Another true story crime drama, this Brazilian import follows the deferring paths of two childhood friends navigating the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s. While Rocket (Phellipe Haagensen) dreams of a career in photojournalism, his friend Zé (Douglas Silva) strives to become a big-time drug dealer and crime boss. The two team up to achieve each of their respective dreams – Rocket as a direct line for reporting of the ins and outs of crime in his area, and Zé to posture himself as the toughest and most dangerous criminal amid a bubbling turf war – as the poor community around them suffers the consequences.
07
All About the Benjamins
Ice Cube was a very busy man in 2002. In his second entry on the list, he teams up with Mike Epps for a hilarious action-packed romp through Miami. Cube portrays Bounty hunter Bucum Jackson, who is on the hunt for local con artist Reggie Wright (Epps). Randomly, Reggie and his girlfriend Gina (Eva Mendes) win the $60 Million jackpot in the state lottery in the midst of Jackson's pursuit. Through a series of mixups and mishaps, the winning ticket falls into the hands of murderous diamond thieves and the two must team up to retrieve millions and keep themselves alive.
As far as pervasive early aughts movie quotables go, look no further than Epps' exclamation of "45, 47!!" while rattling off his chosen lottery numbers.
08
8 Mile
Befoe Anthony Mackie was Captain America, he was Clarence. And "Clarence lived at home with both parents. And Clarence' parents had a real good marriage"...at least as Eminem revealed to us in this classic Hip-Hop battle drama, loosely based on his real-life struggles as an up-and-coming rapper from a poor neighborhood in Detroit. One of the few highly-produced movies of the early aughts rapper film era, 8 Mile saw Eminem as Rabbit, an underemployed and depressed battle rapper with severe self-doubt and stage fright. Supported by fellow battle rapper Future (Mekhi Pheiffer) and good fried Sol (Omar Benson Miller), he must find his confidence to win it all and prove his worth to himself and his peers.
09
State Property
The late 90's and early aughts was the golden era of label-produced films starring your favorite rappers. This one is true to form: produced by Rock-A-Fella, starring Beanie Siegel, Dame Dash, Memphis Bleek, and Jay-Z. A low-budget cult classic, the film follows Beans (Siegel) on a quest to snatch the American Dream through force and violence. He and his crew wreak havoc on the city, jockeying for power and position in the Philly underworld, until his home life starts to suffer and loyalties begin to weaken.
10
Queen of the Damned
This Halloween classic featured the sultriest and (and sadly last) performance by the late Aaliyah in a feature film. A sequel to 1994’s mainstream classic Interview with the Vampire, the flick finds the undead vampire Lestat (Stuart Townsend) having reinvented himself as a modern rock star after hundreds of years in darkness. His passionate music awakens Queen Akasha (Aaliyah), the matriarch of all vampires. Overpowering the protagonist with both her physical and bloodlust, she makes it clear she wants not only Lestat but the entire world all for herself, and will not stop until she claims both.
11
Friday After Next
Ice Cube was a force to be reckoned with in 2002! This year also found him writing, producing, and starring in this eventual Black holiday cult classic. Teaming up with Mike Epps for the third time since Next Friday Cube's eternally unemployed character Craig and his equally struggling cousin Day-Day (Epps) secure new jobs as security officers in a local strip mall in an effort to pay the rent by Christmas. When that doesn't work out, they opt to throw a holiday rent party, and hilarity ensues. This film also gave us the debut of Katt Williams as Money Mike and Terry Crews as the landlord's recently-released son Damon.
12
Like Mike
Child Hip-Hop star Bow Wow's film debut found him as a diminutive orphan with big dreams of joining the NBA. Young Calvin Cambridge's (Bow Wow) luck turns around when he finds a beat-up old pair of basketball shoes initialed "MJ," that seem to give him magical basketball prowess...eventually taking him all the way to the pro's at the tender age of just 12. Morris Chestnut supports as his teammate and mentor Tracy Reynolds.
13
Shottas
Starring dancehall DJ Spragga Benz, Ky-Mani Marley, and late dancehall artist and actor Louis Rankin, this gritty flick brought a shot of Jamaican flavor to the early 00's crime drama genre. It follows two drug dealers (Marley, Benz) deported from the United States, who travel back to Miami to continue their violent reign over the game.
14
John Q
This often forgotten Denzel Washington classic saw the Oscar-winning actor as a frustrated father at his wit's end after discovering that his insurance will not cover his 9-year-old son's life-saving transplant surgery, which he and his wife (Elise Neal) could not even begin to afford. With his back against the wall, he grabs a gun and holds the hospital surgeons hostage until his son's surgery can be completed.
