Capturing the joy of music on screen has befuddled some of our greatest minds.
Hollywood has spent millions trying to depict the stories of rap icons over the years with zero consistency in the outcome. Documentarians often get things more accurate but lack the reach of glitzy biopics.
To tell his story, music mogul and multi-hyphenate creative Pharrell Williams turned to LEGO animation with the hopes it can truly represent his love for music, enlisting Oscar-winning documentarian Morgan Neville to create a biopic-documentary hybrid that indulges in flights of fantasy as much as it spends time in reality.
Piece By Piece is one of the most unique films of this decade and is even more unique within the storied past of feature-length tellings of hip-hop history. So, with Pharrell's biopic hitting theaters on October 11, here's a ranking of seven movies about rappers.
7.All Eyez On Me
Director: Benny Boom
Rating: R
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
Theatrical Release: June 16, 2017
Runtime: 2h 20m
Rotten Tomatoes: 18% (Critics), 54% (Audience)
Cradle to grave biopics like this have their limits, but they can be elevated by great performances and economic storytelling. Other than Danai Gurira’s great showing, All Eyez On Me lacks both of those elements. Tupac’s story is definitely deserving of the big screen—he’s one of the most fascinating musicians to ever exist—but clocking in at almost two-and-a-half hours, All Eyez On Me takes the energy out of a famous tale.
6.Notorious
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Rating: R
Genre: Biography, Drama
Theatrical Release: January 16, 2009
Runtime: 2h 2m
Rotten Tomatoes: 52% (Critics), 65% (Audience)
Notorious is a film undeserving of Biggie’s greatness. The tropes that this biopic labors through were played out back in 2009, making a rewatch today extremely rough. There’s always joy in recreating iconic moments in hip-hop history, but Notorious, more than most musical biopics, has an out of control corny factor that feels the most like cosplay out of anything on this list. But I’ll never hear a bad word about Anthony Mackie’s performance—he’s Tupac!
5.Roxanne Roxanne
Director: Michael Larnell
Rating: R
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
Theatrical Release: March 23, 2018
Runtime: 1h 38m
Rotten Tomatoes: 69% (Critics), 63% (Audience)
On the surface, Roxanne Roxanne does most things right. Instead of trying to capture an artist’s entire life, it concentrates on a pivotal period, letting us spend every day with Roxanne Shanté so we can really get under the skin of the character. However, despite some really great performances and the tackling of some absolutely brutal subject matter, there’s some filmmaking flare missing from Roxanne Roxanne that keeps it from differentiating itself.
4.Get Rich Or Die Tryin’
Director: Jim Sheridan
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Theatrical Release: November 9, 2005
Runtime: 1h 57m
Rotten Tomatoes: 17% (Critics), 70% (Audience)
By now, it’s clear that the run-of-the-mill biopic doesn’t work for me. Making a story like this is an uphill battle, and it requires top notch performances and writing to make it work, things Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ doesn’t really have. 50 Cent’s story at least aims to say something profound about its main character and looks to immerse you in his life, two very important goals any biopic should set out to achieve.
3.Straight Outta Compton
Director: F. Gary Gray
Rating: R
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
Theatrical Release: August 14, 2015
Runtime: 2h 27m
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% (Critics), 91% (Audience)
Straight Outta Compton suffers from the typical biopic problems. There’s too much story to tell, characters get discarded halfway through, and history is distorted by the subjects of the film who are still around. Despite those issues, Straight Outta Compton cobbles together enough charismatic actors, stylish shots, and competent writing to make the movie work.
2.Piece By Piece
Director: Morgan Neville
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Biography, Comedy, Animation
Theatrical Release: October 11, 2024
Runtime: 1h 33m
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% (Critics), N/A (Audience)
Pharrell’s LEGO-animated docu-movie is an interesting beast. On the one hand, it stands out completely from anything else on this list through its animation. LEGO is not used as a gimmick in Piece By Piece. It completely elevates the film, enabling it to achieve imagery and imagination beyond what it would’ve been if it were a straight documentary. Pharrell is an undoubted musical genius, but his story lacks the inherent drama to make for a great movie on its own. Still, this movie will likely go on to be successful for the talented artist, and Piece By Piece will owe that success to its stellar animation.
1.8 Mile
Director: Curtis Hanson
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Music
Theatrical Release: November 8, 2002
Runtime: 1h 50m
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% (Critics), 54% (Audience)
As someone with next to no love for Eminem’s music, it pains me to say that this film does everything right. 8 Mile is a week in the life of Eminem’s fictional counterpart, Jimmy, that depicts poverty as the vicious cycle it is while being an endearing tale of someone trying to make art as they trudge through the messiness of everyday life. The film has the most to say out of any other biopic on this list. Good stuff.