'Beat Street' premieres

Why it matters

Beat Street premiered on June 8, 1984. Stan Lathan directed it. Harry Belafonte (yes, that Harry Belafonte) produced it. The film stars an aspiring South Bronx DJ named Kenny trying to break into the music business with his friend Ramo, a graffiti writer, and his other friend Lee, a breakdancer. The actors are mostly the actual people. Afrika Bambaataa is in it as himself, Doug E. Fresh is in it as himself, Kool Herc is in it as himself, Melle Mel is in it as himself, the New York City Breakers do the breakdancing because they were the actual New York City Breakers. Beat Street is one of three films, along with Wild Style (1983) and Krush Groove (1985), that put hip-hop on movie screens in front of audiences who had no other way to encounter it yet. For a lot of kids outside New York, this is how they first saw the culture moving on actual bodies. Not the smartest film. Not the most polished. But you have to admire what it tried, and you have to admire that Harry Belafonte was the one trying it.