narrative feature /1985

Krush Groove

Director1

  • Michael Schultz

Summary

Michael Schultz's fictionalized origin story for Def Jam and Russell Simmons' management work, with Blair Underwood standing in for Simmons and a stacked roster of cameos: Run-DMC, Kurtis Blow, LL Cool J, the Fat Boys, the Beastie Boys, Sheila E. and New Edition. Released by Warner Bros. in October 1985.

Hip-hop relevance

The first major-studio hip-hop musical built explicitly around the founding moment of Def Jam and Rush Management, fixing the canonical mid-1980s lineup on film at the moment of crossover. LL Cool J's 'I Can't Live Without My Radio' debuts here.

Key cast5

Linked moments 0

No moments anchored here yet.

External

Citations 2

  1. B
    Wikipedia — Krush Groove Retrieved 2026-05-24.
  2. B
    The New York Times — Krush Groove — NYT review Retrieved 2026-05-24.

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