AllMovie

From the same director as Breakin' and Lambada comes Rappin' - a rare rap musical set in the hard streets of Pittsburgh (!) that features the stellar, tongue-tied stylings of Mario Van Peebles, Kadeem Hardison, and Eriq La Salle. A classic Cannon release from 1985, Rappin' is basically a straight urban drama that's highlighted by some of the most ridiculous rap songs this side of Body Rock, though this tale isn't quite the nonstop laffer that the latter "masterpiece of cheese cinema" from the year before was. That seems to be Rappin's fate though -- when it's on, you're either amazed at the outrageous breakdancing or in guilty glee when the old Grandma joins in on a down-and-out-in-the-ghetto rap. Sadly when those gusto moments are over, you're basically following a kind of bastard main character that raps only to buy a car stereo back that his little criminal brother stole. So there's this weird dichotomy going on with the whole film, which possibly makes it great since there's nothing else quite like it. Just compare the fat kid in the "I Love Food" shirt singing his "Snack Attack" song with the scene where one of the neighbors in the hood is forced to their deathbed due to landlord cutting off the heat. Strange as the tonal shifts might be, Rappin' still delivers, thanks in large part to the ending where all of the neighbors and the evil white goon (ex-Kim Delaney hubby Charles "Creepy Eyes" Grant) show off their rap skills to downright heavenly results.