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For those of you who might have missed the #UNDERCARD , here's my name in the end credits ! Catch the episode again tomorrow at 12:00 noon #CW33 . ..Doing #REALMUSICBUSINESS WIT #KINGHOLLIS And #TEDDYCOOL!!!!!!

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"We From Dallas" Premier at Angelika Theater (Dallas International Film Festival)

Back in September of last year, I went to my first Too Fresh Productions event at the Crown and Harp, Fresh Cuts. This was also the first night I met Teddy Cool and Joel Salazaar and learned about this documentary that they had been working on. You know, being a fan of the culture of hip hop, I thought it was bad ass that someone would be documenting the culture right here in our own backyard. The next day, Teddy sent me a link to the trailer, and I was blown away. Whoa. This was going to be HUGE. I could just FEEL it. So I started paying attention...

And I wasn't the only one. Here are just a handful of the write ups and interviews about the film:

D Magazine

Trailer

DIFF

knowshi.com

Dallas Observer

Interview with Teddy Cool

Grass Root Salute Interview

The more I got to know these guys, the more respect I had for them. In these interviews, it is completely transparent that this team made this film for Dallas. Not for themselves, not to get rich, but to give Dallas something to be proud of. To show people WHY they SHOULD be proud of the Hip Hop scene here in Dallas.

Weeks before the screening, it was all a buzz. Everything in my news feed was "We From Dallas" with people giving accolades and being excited to see 3+ years of hard work and research FINALLY!!! It was highly anticipated. The show sold out online almost a week out. I'm not one of these that "sleeps" too much in any sense, so I had my ticket first day and even scored a press pass (Thanks again, Jerad!). I wasn't missing this film.

It's not too often you get a red carpet event that revolves somewhat around the Dallas Hip Hop scene, so day of, my butt was at the salon. My bestie gave me the perfect do, a faux side shave with curls. Between my hair, my awesome shoes and new blazer, I was ready to rock the red carpet with my lovely date, Danielticia. We weren't the only ones dressed up either, I've never seen Hip Hop look so good!!! Even Islam wore a button down shirt.

Around 5:30p, DJ Priest started up the tune while Bboys took turns on the laminate floor that was set up in front of the cinema. The who's who of Dallas Hip Hop were definitely in attendance. Doors opened at around 6:30p and the seats started filling up. Some late couples wondered aimlessly, trying to snag 2 seats together with no luck.

King Hollis, Tech and Teddy did an introduction followed by applause. One quote Teddy said stuck with me. "Hip Hop changed my life." I'm sure a lot of us in that room could agree with that.

Then the movie:

Wow. The editing, the titles and subtitles, even the FONT of the titles and subtitles, the interviews, the music that went with it...it was all perfect. Each story flowed into the next. The interviews were edited with precision that it felt like the people were all in the same room just rapping about the past. Teddy did an excellent job of capturing the essence of each person's character, building the back story to go with the story that leads into the next story... I sat there the entire length of the film mesmerized. My favorite part of the film, which I'm sure many people will agree with, is the dedication to Minus Won. I didn't know him, but I had definitely heard about him. The way Teddy wove Minus' story throughout the film was beautiful. Capturing mostly his hands, videoing him from behind while he works on a piece, hearing his voice over shots of him drawing gave Minus a larger than life persona that fits with the legacy he left. The movie ended with a standing ovation, and rightly so.

After the movie, we headed to Strangeways for the after party. DJ Jay Clipp and my favorite, DJ Love, were setting the mood on the decks. Everyone was in good spirits, as they should be. We were all just part of something historic in Dallas. The movie itself broke box office records for the Dallas International Film Festival.

I did what I do best and went around asking questions. I asked Joe Skillz, who was one of the Bboys filmed, what it felt like to be a movie star. "Nah man, it's not like that," he tells me. "It was a movie about the homies and I just helped out." I asked DJ EZ Eddie D what he thought of the movie, "Wonderful! I'm glad it was so widely accepted! It was a beautiful thing." I heard people say they learned a lot, they knew some of that history but came away with more knowledge. A whole lot of "I had no idea!!!"

I had to ask those directly involved how it felt to see their movie on the big screen.

Jon Huffman aka "Tech" said, "I loved the reaction. It was long overdue." He talks about how, in his line of business, people come to him with ideas. "I love being able to help talented people with great ideas. This was one of them."

King Hollis tells me, "I've been waiting my whole life to tell this story. I feel like I've come full circle. I used to be one of those guys pulling the crates, and now I get to give back to our culture." Even though he travels all over the world, Dallas will always be his home, and it was important for people to know the history of Dallas Hip Hop.

Joel tells me, "I was amazed at how people accepted this movie and hyped it up beforehand." I could tell he was still a little mind blown because that's about all he could say about it!

Teddy of course, being the artist painting his story, had a more technical answer. "The colors were good, the picture was clear on even the stuff we pulled from the internet. I was satisfied with that. There's a few things I'd tweak, and before distribution I'll probably edit some things, shave a few minutes off." I asked him if this was one of those projects where he finally came to a point and said, "Ok, I can't edit this any more to make it perfect." or was It more of a "Times Up" type thing. "Definitely ran out of time." An artist's painting is never perfect to the artist. He also talked about different features they might do after the movie, expanding on some things they weren't able to.

The best quote had to be from Islam. I caught him toward the end of the night, I'm sure he had a few drinks in him, so excuse the language :) When I asked how he felt to see the movie on the screen, his eyes lit up. "My favorite thing was seeing Minus' parents, and being able to tell his story. His mom started crying at the beginning and didn't stop throughout the whole movie. I was happy that I was able to show them, Your son was a bad ass motherfucker, and he did bad ass shit. And we live in a bad ass fucking city."

On behalf of the DFW Hip Hop scene, I want to say thank you to these guys. Your film couldn't have come at a better time. Since being active in this scene, I've seen 3 separate cities (Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton) unite, sharing shows, and sharing support. And even though the film is called "We from Dallas", each of us in the other respective cities came out to support. I feel like now we're building a tight knit community that involves the whole metroplex with Dallas being its epicenter. Thank you for helping us unite under one love- the love of Hip Hop.

For more pictures check out \/ /\/\ Photography

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