Hip-hop and Hollywood aren’t strangers. Dating back to seminal rap-centric films such as Wild Style (1983) and Krush Groove (1985), the culture has long been using the cinematic medium in memorable ways. There’s also the long-running list of rappers turned actors, as well as album titles named after movies and several flick-derived MC names, all further blurring the line between the two art forms.

While A-listers in the film industry haven’t always acknowledged the hip-hop culture, one iconic filmmaker who’s never been shy about his rap Jones is Spike Lee. Just look at what he’s doing tomorrow: the Brooklyn-bred, big screen giant is set to direct a live webcast of The Roots & John Legend’s concert inside New York City’s Terminal 5. The show is in honor of the artists’ new collaborative LP, Wake Up! (which also happens to be a popular quote from Lee’s 1988 film School Daze).

What other legendary filmmaker would do such a dope thing? As much as we’d love to see Quentin Tarantino direct a Wu-Tang Clan performance film, we’re not holding our breath for that. Tomorrow’s webcast just proves how hip-hop Spike Lee is, in addition to adding another chapter to his history of contributions to the rap world. Here are 10 of his past moves.


1) In ’88, Lee directed E.U.’s "Da Butt" video for the School Daze soundtrack:

School Daze, the filmmaker’s second feature-length film, centered on the fraternity/sorority scene of a historically Black college and served as a precursor to the much more fully realized social commentary of its follow-up, Do the Right Thing. For the film’s musical component, though, serious issues were abandoned for some good old-fashioned, made-for-dance-floors choreography.


2) The next year, Lee directed his second music video, Public Enemy’s "Fight the Power," from the soundtrack to his classic 1989 film Do the Right Thing

You’d think a film as powerful as Do the Right Thing wouldn’t need its music video element to be just as provocative. But that’s exactly what Lee and PE did with this clip, a call-to-arms staged as a rally down the streets of Brooklyn. Not to mention, a vicious slap to the faces of John Wayne fans worldwide.


3) Four years later, Lee aimed for MTV rotation again with Naughty By Nature's "Hip-Hop Hooray” (1993)

Rather than helm a video for another one of his movie’s soundtracks, Lee stepped outside the cinematic box to call the shots on Naughty’s ubiquitous rap anthem. Check for the movie-man’s cameo near the clip’s end, shortly after the late Eazy-E takes part in a semi-automatic water gun shootout. It doesn’t get much better than this, rap lovers.


4) We can thank Lee and his 1994 film Crooklyn for, you guessed it, "Crooklyn,” from the one-song-only supergroup Crooklyn Dodgers (Special Ed, Masta Ace and Buckshot), from the flick’s soundtrack

You don’t have to hail from New York’s legendary borough of Brooklyn to feel the pride in this clip, which includes cameos from BK-bred superstars Mike Tyson and Michael Jordan. The tight verses from Ed, Ace and Buck, the Q-Tip-produced beat and those sick scratches on the hook don’t hurt, either.


5) In 1995, Lee executive produced New Jersey Drive (theatrically premiered in April) which spawned a star-studded, two-disc soundtrack

Lee served as executive producer on this low-budget carjacker saga, produced under his 40 Acres & a Mule Filmworks imprint. The movie itself, while better than its given credit for, didn’t register much at the box office; the epic double album/soundtrack (released on Tommy Boy Records), however, was a who’s who of hip-hop at the time. Redman, Queen Latifah, OutKast (“Benz or Beamer”), Jeru the Damaja and Organized Konfusion were among the many artists included. The biggest record found within the individually released two-LP series was undeniably Total’s “Can’t You See,” featuring, Biggie Smalls, of course.


6) Also in ’95, Lee’s film Clockers (released in September) included a great scene that used KRS-One's "Outta Here"

There’s nothing cooler for movie-loving rap heads than to randomly hear hip-hop jams within mainstream films. Perhaps the most gratifying example of this came in Martin Scorcese’s Academy Award-winning 2006 hit The Departed, which used Nas’s “Thief’s Theme” to great, albeit brief, effect. Eleven years prior, Lee employed a similar tactic in Clockers, brilliantly scoring a sudden homicide to KRS-One’s hard-as-hell, DJ Premier-produced gem.


7) In 1998, the entire soundtrack to Lee’s He Got Game was recorded by Public Enemy

In a clever tweaking of the traditional soundtrack format, Lee called upon his old friend Chuck D, Flavor Flav and company to treat their sixth studio album as a companion piece to the director’s basketball drama. He Got Game was also PE’s final album on Def Jam Records. Wu-Tang fanatics should also note that the collection includes a Chuck D meets Masta Killa record, “Resurrection.” Yet, the set is most known for its title track, which sampled an old rock hit (Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth”).

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8) A scene in Lee’s 2006 film Inside Man shows a young African-American child playing a PSP game not unlike 50 Cent’s Bulletproof

Inside Man, Lee’s biggest box office hit to date, told the intense story of an intricate bank robbery. In one controversial sequence, the robber (Clive Owen) questions a young buck on his choice of video games; the kid is seen playing an ultra-violent shooter. On the DVD’s commentary track, Lee addresses the scene with, “I really wanted to make a comment on this bullshit, this gangsta rap infatuation with violence.” He later adds, “I’m not on Interscope Records. Jimmy Iovine does not own me.”


9) Lee introduced “Do the Right Thing,” featuring Common, on Ludacris's 2008 LP Theater of the Mind

Luda envisioned his sixth major label album as a cinematic listening experience, a plan convincingly realized on this 9th Wonder-produced team-up with Common. Having titled the song “Do the Right Thing,” it was only, um, right for Luda to get Lee to ad-lib an intro.

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10) This past June, a photo of Lee and Rick Ross laughing together made its way online

The Teflon Don alluded to a possible Spike Lee-directed video a few months back, though no such visual has since come to fruition. There was this unexpected picture, however, which proved that the two had at least chopped it up. We’ll see what happens next, if anything. For now, there’s also this bit of footage from Ross’s birthday mixer earlier this year—watch it and play a bit of “Where’s Spike?”

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