by morgan henley freefunk322@aol.com
Jacksonville can definitely claim that they have an emerging film community along with a growing hip hop scene, but when these two young forces combined to make Grind 2 Shine, the result does not do either justice.
The makers of Grind 2 Shine definitely had a large and difficult task at hand, trying to emulate the full essence of our cities’ rising hip hop industry. With such a broad topic, it was hard to find a focus to the Grind 2 Shine film. With messages about the cities’ overwhelming and devastating murder rate, the struggles that rappers face, and the need for a more centralized rap scene, the overall sentiment of the movie was somewhat lost. As it showcased many of the artists in town, it used their personal interviews to try to paint a picture of what the scene in Jacksonville is like.
But, the problem is that there is no clear picture of the Jacksonville rap scene, as reflected in the artists and venues featured in the film. The film was somewhat narrated and guided through by rapper, J-Pimp as he was driving throughout the city, smoking Black & Mild cigars, constantly. With interviews from local rappers, J-Pimp served as the interviewer and somewhat cohesive force throughout. As he was one of the two makers of the film, he helped direct the inspirational vision.
The film used clips from different venues such as Endo Exo, Jack Rabbits, Thee Imperial, Murray Hill Theatre, CoCo’s Lounge, and Kartouche. As great as it was to see our city’s venues featured, it was apparent that there was no single place where the hip hop scene could thrive.
The artists featured in the film were all quite diverse, from the inspirational and spiritual group GRITS, to the drug hustling influenced music by Swordz, to a fourteen year old rapper Lil Dew, to the punk inspired Whole Wheat Bread, and the electronic fusion of hip hop by Rob Roy. By keeping it well divided amongst the hip hop community, it kept the film from getting too dragged down in the same “crunk” style of hip hop that’s become popular.
The movie tried to promote “talent over violence”, and tried to discourage the dangerous nature that comes with the hip hop community. Many of the rappers have dealt with murder and death, as seen in the funeral of rapper “Too Sweet” shown. Many of the rappers also told their personal stories of getting shot and stabbed, and use these experiences as heavy influences in their music.
The Hip Hop Eco Network was also featured in its efforts in trying to develop a base for hip hop artist to get recognition from national recording companies such as Def Jam Records etc. It’s trying to give opportunities to many of the struggling artist who are getting little to no recognition from record companies. Many of these forces came together in the Hip Hop Symposium, a forum about the direction of the Jacksonville rap scene.
The movie could have used some editing and tweaking, but just as our local hip hop scene, it’s growing. Our city was in need of a movie featuring our local talent, and for the makers of the movie to take the time and intensive research it must have needed is remarkable. With such a young industry, finding a focus is nearly impossible. A soundtrack to go with the movie for sale would have been great, but no such soundtrack was able to be found. If you go to the movie’s myspace (www.myspace.com/grind2shine) you can listen to tracks from many of the featured artist on a music player on the site. The movie is really only for those interested in the Jacksonville rap scene and who probably have some knowledge of the scene already.
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