'Krush Groove' premieres
Michael Schultz's roman-a-clef about the early Def Jam years opens theatrically. Russell Simmons is fictionalized as 'Russell Walker' (played by Blair Underwood); Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Kurtis Blow, the Fat Boys, the Beastie Boys, and Sheila E. perform as themselves. The film opens at #1 at the box office and confirms the commercial appeal of films built around hip-hop's emerging stars.
Why it matters
Krush Groove premiered October 25, 1985, directed by Michael Schultz. The movie is a thinly fictionalized version of the founding of Def Jam, with Russell Simmons rewritten as a character named Russell Walker (played by Blair Underwood) and most of the actual Def Jam roster (Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Kurtis Blow, the Fat Boys, the Beastie Boys, Sheila E.) playing themselves doing their actual songs. The film opened at number one at the box office, which is the number-one position. That was not supposed to happen for a rap movie. It happened. The movie itself is fine; the soundtrack is better than the movie; the moment is bigger than both. What Krush Groove proved is that a movie starring rappers and built around hip-hop could be the biggest-opening movie in America in any given week. Hollywood took note. The next ten years of music-driven movies (House Party, New Jack City, Juice, all of them) descend in part from this one weekend in October 1985, when a low-budget Def Jam vanity project beat everything else at the multiplex. You can still rent it. You should.
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