African Underground: Democracy in Dakar (NaN)

1h 7m

African Underground: Democracy in Dakar is a groundbreaking documentary film about hip-hop youth and politics in Dakar Senegal. The film follows rappers, DJs, journalists, professors and people on the street at the time before, during and after the controversial 2007 presidential election in Senegal and examines hip-hop’s role on the political process. Originally shot as a seven part documentary mini-series released via the internet – the documentary bridges the gap between hip-hop activism, video journalism and documentary film and explores the role of youth and musical activism on the political process.

Related Movies

1256535-thumbnail

Sk8face (2024)

Tells the history of skateboard art and its evolution through the decades, as iconic and rebellious skateboarders and artists give firsthand experiences and stories about their art that challenged the establishment.

529859-thumbnail

Sunset in My Hometown (2018)

On the day that underground rapper Hak-soo fails his 7th audition, he receives a call from his hometown that his father is in the hospital. But he finds out that it was his father's plot to bring him to Byeon-san. To top it all, he is suspected as a phishing scam criminal and locked up in this small, boring suburb.

684636-thumbnail

Risen: The Story of Chron "Hell Razah" Smith (2020)

Discovered by Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, Hell Razah had a promising career and gold records before he was tragically struck down with a brain aneurysm. Risen traces his journey to recovery - both spiritually and physically - back to the mic.

103693-thumbnail

Classic Albums: Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt (2007)

Reasonable Doubt is the debut album of American rapper Jay-Z, released June 25, 1996 on Roc-A-Fella Records in the United States and on Northwestside Records in the United Kingdom. The album features production by DJ Premier, Ski, Knobody and Clark Kent, and guest appearances from Memphis Bleek, Mary J. Blige, and The Notorious B.I.G., among others. Similar to Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995), Reasonable Doubt incorporates a mafioso theme, while it also integrates topics such as betrayal and reminiscence.

106066-thumbnail

Tougher Than Leather (1988)

Legendary hip-hop group Run-D.M.C. must find and punish the evil drug lord-record company executive who murdered their friend. Along the way, they encounter racist bikers, blonde bimbos, and the Beastie Boys!

711790-thumbnail

Flowers And Rain (2020)

Childhood was complicated for Yoshida and he faces Japanese society as an outsider after his return from London alongside his parents. He feels displaced and frustrated, but soon finds new strength through hip-hop. Under the name of SEEDA, he starts to rap and deals drugs to produce his music while surviving in Tokyo. When he realizes that his new life as a rapper can’t simply undo the connections to his family, it’s too late.

1254830-thumbnail

Not Withholding Anything from You (2024)

How do artists view their own work? How does actor Esko Salminen immerse himself in his roles, how does the writer/director Saara Turunen create a whole new world for the stage, and why does musician PK Keränen pick up his guitar time and time again? Is creativity a conscious or subconscious process, a pleasure or a compulsion? Veikko Aaltonen’s documentary takes us straight into the heart of creativity with artists from different fields and generations. Celebrating the various forms of passion and creative work, the film presents a compelling case for the significance of art.

102108-thumbnail

Moleman 2: Demoscene (2011)

In the 1980's, something changed the world forever. Computer technology, mostly due to the appearance of affordable Commodore 64's, entered households worldwide, providing the opportunity for everyone to create digital art. Moleman 2 is about the demoscene subculture, told by mostly Hungarian sceneres, but it features also some other nationalities.

105579-thumbnail

Hokusai (1953)

A documentary about the life and art of wood-block artist Katsushika Hokusai.

105580-thumbnail

Ikebana (1957)

The history and art of ikebana, a centuries old Japanese art of flower arrangement and a look inside the Sogetsu School of Ikebana, where the director's father Sofu Teshigahara worked as the grand master of the school.

1439942-thumbnail

What Now Mama (2025)

A mother struggles to hold her family together as multiple crises threaten to destroy them.

1257405-thumbnail

Tinkebell - Who Killed the Blue Bird? (2024)

Artist Katinka Simonse, alias Tinkebell, is a controversial, very mediagenic phenomenon. In her universe there is no distinction between life, art and activism; Tinkebell is her own work of art. Everything she encounters on her life path can become part of her story. Filmmaker Judith de Leeuw was given access to all images about Tinkebell, including her entire private archive. She thus constructed an archive film about how as a human being, living on the ruins of the past, you can be a character in your own story. What is the price you can afford if you continue to believe at any cost?

713669-thumbnail

Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool (1994)

A musical documentary accompaniment to the 1994 benefit compilation album concerning AIDS in the African-American community.

685471-thumbnail

All this Roughness (2020)

An unnamed passer-by is forced to trace a circular route inside an abandoned tram station, facing loss and time. The broken walls act as a channel, transmitting fragmentary, blurred and analogical memories. 

1238604-thumbnail

Freeze: But is it Art? (1994)

In 1988, art student Damien Hirst and a group of like-minded associates mounted an exhibition in a building in the East End of London. Entitled Freeze, it was a huge critical and commercial success, propelling Hirst and the group into the spotlight of the avant-garde. More than five years later, Hirst exhibits to international acclaim and is regularly derided in the tabloid press. This portrait of Hirst, which resumes the Omnibus season, is presented as a drug-induced nightmare after Hirst has been put to sleep by a sinister dentist, played by Donald Pleasence. In between interviews with fellow Freeze artists including Angus Fairhurst , Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin , Hirst is seen preparing Mother and Child Divided, his work for last year's Venice Blennale. The piece consists of a cow and a calf, each sawn in half, pickled in formaldehyde and exhibited in four tanks.

686887-thumbnail

Eminem: A Shady Story (2019)

Marshal Bruce Mathers III, better know by his stage name Eminem and his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and actor. His somewhat humorous songs combined with dark and edgy lyrics give detailed accounts of his troubled upbringing, and feature all the personal struggles he went through on his journey to superstardom. Eminem recently released the much hyped and anticipated album The Marshall Mathers LP 2, a sequel to the recordbreaking and multi platinum album The Marshall Mathers LP. There is quite simply no other Hip Hop artist like Eminem, he has been on top of the game since his debut album The Slim Shady LP, and he shows no signs of letting up. This is the story of how a poor kid from Detroit rose to become a Hip Hop Legend. This is….A Shady Story.

691483-thumbnail

This Movie Is a Gift (2019)

A film about the artist Daniel Spoerri. It's actually a film about a thought by Daniel Spoerri: a film almost without Daniel Spoerri, it's actually mostly acted out by a child - to say no less than that everything somehow goes on in life, even if you die in between.

1237871-thumbnail

Secret Mall Apartment (2025)

In 2003, eight Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside a busy mall and lived there for four years, filming everything along the way. Far more than a prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for all involved.

686165-thumbnail

Straight from the Streets (2000)

Straight From The Streets is a unique mosaic of inner city culture and politics that goes where no other film has dared!

97399-thumbnail

This Is the Life (2008)

In 1989, a collective of young hip hop artists gathered at a health food café in South Central Los Angeles. Their mandate? To reject gang culture and expand the musical boundaries of hip hop. DuVernay's documentary chronicles the historic legacy of the Good Life Cafe — the open mic nights that became an L.A. institution, the eclectic array of talented young MCs that emerged there, the alternative hip hop movement they developed, and their worldwide influence on the artform.