Boyz n the Hood
Director1
- John Singleton
Summary
John Singleton's debut feature, following three young friends growing up in early-1990s South Central Los Angeles. Stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett. Singleton became the first African-American and youngest person ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director.
Hip-hop relevance
Ice Cube's lead performance — recorded between AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted and Death Certificate — fused his on-record persona with mainstream cinema, helping establish the hip-hop actor pipeline. Selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry in 2002.
Key cast1
Linked moments 1
External
Citations 2
- B
- A Library of Congress — National Film Registry — Boyz n the Hood (2002 inductee) Retrieved 2026-05-24.