Movies

The Coolidge brings hip hop to the big screen with summer movie series

Catch “Hip Hop at 50” films like Straight Outta Compton, Friday, and more all throughout August.

The Coolidge cinema hosts Hip Hop at 50, a film series celebrating the genre and its influence. Photo provided

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Comparing your life to a movie is kind of a trope in rap, but it’s true that hip hop has inspired countless films. This August, the Coolidge Corner Theatre is honoring the cultural movement that is hip hop with 20 movie screenings and special events.

Beginning with Wild Style, which documents the earliest days of hip hop in New York and connects the culture to graffiti, break dancing, DJing, and freestyle MCing, the series celebrates Hip Hop at 50. The Wild Style screening will be followed by a live discussion with film director Charlie Ahearn and artist Rob Stull, moderated by Pacey Foster, professor and founder of the Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archive at UMASS Boston. It will be preceded by two short films about hip hop by Ahearn.

Throughout the month, get tickets to documentaries, concert films, biopics, comedies and dramas like 8 Mile (Tuesday, August 8), Friday (Friday, August 11), and Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (Tuesday, August 15). Stay tuned for special events such as discussions with filmmakers, plus a showcase of Boston hip hop with performances by local legends DJ 7L, Akrobatik, and STL GLD (Friday, August 18). Check out the full lineup of screenings and events at coolidge.org.