Review: Rize

"The first time I saw Dragon get krump, I thought he was on drugs" -Dragon's mother

So I am fully aware I'm almost a full 4 years behind the ball on this one, but I have a feeling not everyone knows about this amazing film yet. Although Rize (originally a documentary-short named Krumped) is based on the same geographic location (South-Central LA) as Made In America, the moving documentary which premiered this summer, the sets of real-life characters (and I mean characters literally) in each, are consciously different. And that is the whole point of Rize - to focus on those who decided to not follow down the traditional path of gang violence, yet maintained a sense of identity, brotherhood, and creativity - all without having much money or many options to do so.

Simply because Rize was directed by David LaChapelle, one of the most well-known music video directors of all time, you can pretty much assume a killer soundtrack and amazing dancing visuals. And it does not disappoint.

The musical authenticity was certainly present, with hard-hitting original beats coming from two local music-makers, Flii Stylz and Red Ronin. Just as raw and uncut as krumping is a dance style, the in-your-face street hip-hop matched its intensity. The beats were often uptempo and bass-driven, but were sometimes deliberately slowed. The imagry of some of the fastest, fiercest dancing you've ever seen in your life matched with a 70-bpm track is definitely an overall highlight.

Amazingly - in what I suspect was David LaChapelle calling in some favors - the source music included tracks from 2Pac & Elton John, Dizzee Rascal (ok...ok, he was relatively unknown at the time), Christina Aguilera, Planet Asia and Lauryn Hill. Along with the surprisingly emotional score, the music did its job very well both lyrically and sonically to accompany the highs and lows of the characters. And believe me, there were plenty of each extreme.

My very favorite part of the movie is not exactly the music itself, but in the way the music moves the krumpers. From what I can take from it, krumping is basically the act of not-giving-a-f*ck, allowing the music to bind with your soul, and just letting your body do its thing. Not a process you can learn, just something that either comes naturally for some. I'm kind of envious...

Highly recommended. Netflix or buy it. Now.

bonus mp3: from Rize's end credits: 2Pac & Elton John - Ghetto Gospel [download mp3]