‘Boyz n the Hood’ Movie Premieres in Theaters—Today in Hip-Hop

On this day, July 12, in hip-hop history...

1991: Former N.W.A member Ice Cube proved he could flex his creative muscles far beyond music with the premiere of the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood.

Cube made his acting debut in the John Singleton-directed flick about the pitfalls of South Central L.A. The film also starred Morris Chestnut, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Morris Chestnut, Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long and Angela Bassett. The movie centered around Tre Styles (Gooding Jr.) who gets moved from his neighborhood in Inglewood to live in Crenshaw, Ca. Tre links up with friends Doughboy (Cube) and Ricky (Chestnut) as the teens question everything from race, relationships, gang violence and future prospects.

The coming-of-age tale was an instant hit among American audiences. Though it only had a budget of $6.5 million, the movie became a cult classic, grossed $57.5 million and made stars out of nearly everybody in the main cast.

Rappers like The Game and Lupe Fiasco have referenced the film in their raps decades after its debut. In 2002, the U.S. Library of Congress deemed the Boyz n The Hood a "culturally significant" film for its gripping and realistic critique on society and it was selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. Now, 26 years since its debut, the flick is a certified classic in Black cinema and its message still holds weight in American pop culture today.

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