It's obvious that the makers of "Fear Of The Black Hat" had a HipHop-version of "This Is Spinal Tap!" in mind. The only difference is, Rob Reiner & Christopher Guest invented not only the mockumentary-genre, but also pointed out metal's silliness when it hadn't been that obvious, yet. In 1982 metal was relatively new, and the makers of "Spinal Tap" had already recognized its stupid side. They practically predicted every metal cliché that was about to come.Now, by 1994 the type of HipHop that's parodied in this movie was already on its way out again. All the jokes here about guns, censorship, racial slurs, Spike Lee etc. are amusing, but nothing out of left field. Just not very original or unexpected. What's worse is that a lot of jokes are directly lifted from "Spinal Tap". (One example: Spinal Tap have problems with their drummers always dying in freak accidents. In "Fear Of A Black Hat" the main group's managers tend to get killed "by accident".)So, "Fear Of A Black Hat" is to "This Is Spinal Tap!" what "Hot Shots" is to "Airplane!". It's got its moments, but it's nowhere near as funny or inventive as the original.

I have zero interest rap and in ghetto culture, i'm white and like classic rock, however, that did not stop me from appreciating this fantastic comedy. Its pretty much a sequel of This Is Spinal Tap in the sense that it is the same movie, just about rap instead or rock. Yet it's hilarious. There are many funny jokes but not without a few jokes that just fall flat. The characters are all very funny and believable. I watched just because it made me laugh at 3 a.m., and any movie that can do that warrants at least a test screening. One of the reasons why this movies was so funny was that it makes fun of rap from a different. Rap today is concerned with the wrong things and get by with studio noise and little talent. This movie comes from a time where rappers deserved more credit. Overall, it's a funny movie with many jokes about racism, sex and music culture among the more obvious themes of humor. This is highly recommend for any fan of This is Spinal Tap. They are essentially the same movie, just about different worlds, and yes, the same jokes work in both movies.

FEAR OF A BLACK HAT (3 outta 5 stars)Nice try at making a spoof documentary (a la Spinal Tap) but directed at the world of "gangsta rap". The film tells the story of N.W.H. (N*gg*s With Hats) and of their rise from obscurity to... even more obscurity. The movie is really fun to watch... the characters are well thought out and the music is great. The only trouble is... it isn't really all that funny. Sure, they are tons of jokes (mostly in-jokes about the rap world that are going to be pretty hard for future viewers to figure out)... but they tend to be more funny-clever than funny-hahaha, y'know? Of course, I laughed at "Jike Spingleton" but you almost need to be a hardcore movie buff to get the joke.Plus, the thing about the song parodies is... most of the so-called "joke" lyrics aren't all that different from what rappers are singing *for real*. Ditto for the videos... if you showed the "funny" videos side by side with some actual rap videos... well, you'd have a hard time telling which was the joke. Still, you have to admire the energy and style that writer/director/star Rusty Cundieff put intro this movie. I like it a lot... I just don't think that it's quite up there with "Spinal Tap" or "The Rutles".

This picture apparently was largely the work of the lead character: Rusty Cundieff. Mr. Cundieff wrote, directed, developed most of the "MTV"-like song and dance scenes, and, of course, starred in this film. This was a very good effort and one of my favorite all time films. This is a parody "mocumentary" of the life and times of an up and coming rap group. This film shows the rise, fall, disintegration, and reuniting of this group. Note - Mr. Cundieff has also worked with Michael Moore in the past on "TV Nation."