Monday, June 18, 2012

My Favorite Scene: Hustle & Flow

Craig Brewer’s Hustle & Flow doesn’t get enough credit. It’s perfect in its depiction of a gritty, sweaty, realistic urban rap game. But perhaps its finest achievement is captivating viewers who couldn’t care less about the world it portrays. Basically, in no way do you have to enjoy rap music in order to appreciate this film, or its best, most thrilling sequence.


After we’ve met Djay, a desperate, heartfelt pimp trying to make something of himself (played without a single fault by Terrence Howard), we witness him and his sound engineer friend, Key (Anthony Anderson) mix their first track together. Before they begin, they are joined by Shelby (DJ Qualls), a scrawny, absentminded sound mixing genius. The three become acquainted (Djay, it goes without saying, is stunned by Shelby’s blasé entrance into Djay’s not-so-humble abode), and they agree on a hook for Djay’s first song. (“Beat That Bitch,” it humorously turns out, is too sexist for the radio-friendly vibe they’re going for).

Once the hook is locked, Shelby spends less than a minute completely blowing our minds.
First, with the hurried encouragement of Djay and Key, he tries to find the rhythm of the track on his keyboard. Gently plugging one key, then another, before losing it, then finding it definitively. With the rhythm set, he begins to develop the beat, first by adding a sparse clap, then throwing quick snares on top of it. Once Shelby gets the beat to where it could reasonably stay, he brings on the power, throwing a hard bass loop on top of it all. Shelby spends exactly 40 seconds finding and developing the beat to what soon turns into “Whoop That Trick,” a thumping anthem that represents Djay’s anger and resentment.

Once Djay begins to rap (and this, it should be noted, is done by Howard himself, in his own voice), the scene completely takes off. The lyrics are presented with a moderately elementary flow, which works flawlessly, as we're dealing with dream-seeking amateurs. For a first song, the lyrics aren’t bad. At all. And with that catchy of a beat supporting the words, there’s simply no arguing the bravado of this cinematic moment.
Two things I want you to picture, both of which help accentuate the scene for me, personally. When I saw Hustle & Flow in the theater, the place lost it during this scene. The crowd, which was at capacity with people of varying ethnicities, tapped their feet, bobbed their heads and chanted the words “Whoop that trick,” over and over with equal admiration. It was heavenly.

Second. I showed Hustle & Flow to my mother the day before the 2005 Oscar ceremony (where the film would eventually win an award for its miraculous track, “It’s Hard Out Here For a Pimp”). My mom likes movies. All kinds. But Hustle & Flow is simply not something she would enjoy. She knew it, and I knew it. And to make a rather long, rather triumphant story short, the night after watching this movie, I caught her singing “Whoop That Trick” to herself while cooking dinner.

I could go on, but that about sums this scene up perfectly, don’t you think?

16 comments:

  1. That is a great scene. For me, my favorite scene is where Djay finds Skinny Black in the bathroom all drunk. It's a terrifying moment because Djay works so hard to create something that would give him a better life and this man who was supposed to be the guy to give him his break. Instead, it's a heartbreaking scene.

    I was elated when "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" won and who could not enjoy that Oscar moment. Three-6 Mafia was like "oh shit!!! We won and... oh, wrong way... oh!!! we won, we won!" You couldn't get a better way to accept the Oscar and make it meaningful. Plus, having Jon Stewart adding commentary afterwards makes it much sweeter.

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    1. That scene you mentioned is so good for the exact reasons you talked about. Another one I love is Djay listening to the choir singing, with tears going down his face. That is so evocative.

      It's almost as if, with that Oscar win, the Oscars were like, "Okay, in the past three years we've given it to two rappers, a child molester, and two "nutjob" liberals, so, let's go back to being boring."

      (sigh)

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  2. Glad I'm not the only one who loves this film. Great scene; and I love your anecdote!

    It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp, indeed!

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    1. Thanks Dave!

      They have a whole lotta bitches jumpin' ship. Ya heard?

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  3. I haven't seen this movie but this post makes me want to check it out.

    p.s. Your mom sounds gangsta.

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    1. Dude, this movie is badass. I highly recommend it.

      My mom's didn't even know what she was singing, I had to call her out on it. It was awesome.

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  4. Fantastic writeup. The film sounds excellent.

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    1. Very different, very authentic, very good. Check it out!

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  5. My favorite scene in the movie too. And I still sing whoop that trick while making dinner sometimes. One of my personal favorite memories....."it's Hard out Here for a Pimp" was your ringtone for a long time. I'm in a mtng at work, my phone rings loudly. "It's my son" as half of the people at the table starts shakin it......

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    1. Ha, I remember that story. Funny shit. Glad you liked the post, ma.

      Ps, remind me to show you how to write your name when you leave a comment. 'Anonymous' always gets flagged for spam.

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  6. I love that scene too. Hustle & Flow has many great parts like that which show the whole creative process involved in any art form.

    I don't know if I could pick an entire scene as my favorite (so many great ones), but one MOMENT in this film that I really adore is when Taraji P. Henson's character hears herself singing on the recording for the first time and is completely overcome with surprised joy. Wonderful.

    Great post!

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    1. Thanks Emil!

      Oh that is a GREAT moment. The way the camera slowly pushes in on her as she gasps... really great moment to highlight.

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  7. Really nice piece. I've actually been interested in watching Hustle & Flow for a while, but have been kinda put off from it by the music it's based around (of which I am not a fan), but based on this, I may have to acquire a copy in the future.

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    1. Trust me, man, you DO NOT have to be a fan of rap music to enjoy this film. Which really is part of its... charm.

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  8. My favorite bit is when Henson's character hears her own voice coming back out of the speakers as the hook on the song Hard Out Here for a Pimp.

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    1. Seems that you would agree with Emil... and who can blame you, that is a perfect (and perfectly timed) sequence. Henson was so much better here than in Benjamin Button. I'll never quite get her Oscar nom for Benjamin Button, but I guess that's for another post!

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