Documentary
VH1 teamed up with acclaimed filmmakers Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman and famed author, award-winning entrepreneur, advertising executive, and record executive Steve Stoute for a 4-part documentary series based on Stoute’s best-selling book, “The Tanning of America: How…

1970s - 1986: From Blaxploitation films through groundbreaking television like “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons;” racial strife in New York City and the birth of hip-hop; the rise of Def Jam and Run DMC breaking thru on MTV; the 80s success of Eddie Murphy and the Cosby Show.

1987 - 1992: From the dawn of political and gangsta rap through the debut of hip-hop movies to the election of Bill Clinton; Arsenio Hall; the Fresh Prince; hip-hop’s influence on fashion and Madison Ave; the Beastie Boys; The Source magazine; Yo! MTV Raps; MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice; the LA riots and racial strife in America.

1993 - 1999: The rise of Snoop and Dr. Dre, hip-hop hits the suburbs; Tommy Hilfiger turns hip-hop fashion into millions; Biggie and Puffy, Jay and Nas, Ghetto Fabulous and Bling; the influence of music videos; Vibe magazine; the rise of FUBU and Jacob the Jeweler; Will Smith saving the world in Independence Day and Time Magazine proclaiming America as a “hip-hop nation.”

2000 - present: From Eminem to hip-hop empires; Sean John and Rocawear; Vitamin Water and Beats by Dre; hip-hop slang pervades the culture; Ice Cube, Ice T and Queen Latifah become lovable TV and film stars; the dawn of a new political movement in hip-hop; Vote or Die; Hurricane Katrina and the election of the first African American president.

himself

Public Enemy’s Chuck D leads a cast of hip-hop icons and leading African-American and Latino cultural commentators as they chart the factors that led to the birth of the revolutionary art form of hip-hop in 1970s New York, as well as the creation of the seminal hit The Message. They evoke a picture of how, after the turbulence of the 60s and the civil rights struggles, desperate social conditions and the experience of countless dispossessed people of colour living in a city mired in crisis helped give birth to a new art form.

The Swagg Man case has sparked a buzz over the Internet. With paradise villas in Miami, luxury trips all over the world, shiny gold chains, and purple Euro notes galore, the rapper has been flaunting his success since 2009. But ten years later, the dream has lost some of its magic. As Swagg Man gets prosecuted for money laundering, he claims his innocence opposite former followers accusing him of swindling them.