Race Discussions Blow Up at SXSW Premiere of LA Riots Documentary

Mar 15, 2012

"Uprising: Hip Hop and The L.A. Riots" premiered at SXSW on Wednesday night. The VH1 documentary examines the relationship between what was happening on the streets before the 1992 uprising and the rage expressed in hip-hop music.

The film, directed by Mark Ford, includes a well researched and compelling mix of archival footage from both local television news camera and video shot by community members on the ground–a lot of which has has never been broadcasted before. Interweaved throughout the film are interviews with well known figures and hip hop artists including: Rodney King, Arsenio Hall, John Singleton, Too Short, KRS-One, Nas and Sir Jinx. Current LAPD Chief Charlie Beck was also interviewed along with former chiefs Bernard Parks and William Bratton. (There were not very many women included in the film.)