Review: CB4 (1993)

For those of us that remember where rap came from, the 40ish crowd that walked through the isles of our local music store and observed the coming of the “Explicit Lyrics” badge and the controversy surrounding the rise of this primarily black-urban musical style, there is a movie that throws the whole experience into less than two hours and spells things out how they were.  CB4, a silly romp through the rise of rap music, offers a goofy story, some laid-back comedy and, perhaps most importantly, an insightful look at the way people saw (and sometimes continue to see) the world of rap and hip-hop.

The basic premise is pretty generic.  There’s a black kid named Albert.  He has a couple of friends and they make music.  They also all happen to be middle-class, which doesn’t lend much weight to their music in a world where you either have to be a gun-totting gangsta or a flashy dance machine to get noticed.  So, after multiple failures and a lucky break, they decide to remake their image.  The new group they form, CB4 (or Cell Block 4), instantly becomes a major gangsta-rap monster.

Of course, with fame comes all the problems associated with it.  In great parody fashion, CB4 turns each of our protagonists into one or another of the black rap-star stereotypes.  One turns to women, another to an extreme (and extremely corrupted) version of black empowerment, and Albert himself tries to act the part of the hardcore killer that he claims to be.  Each, naturally, ends up damaging their real world in order to preserve their image.

But even bad times can’t last forever.  Albert has taken on the name of MC Gusto for his stint with CB4.  Unfortunately, that’s the name of a real gangsta that they knew from back in the day.  He gets upset over their fame, breaks out of prison and sets out to destroy them or, failing that, put a bullet in their heads.  Eventually, things turn out for the best (of course) and Albert and his buddies learn that it’s best to just be yourself.

If you’re a fan of NWA, Eazy-E, Ice-T, Ice Cube or any of those old school rappers, you’ll love the treatment that CB4 gives to the rap world.  It’s very insightful in its approach to the many stereotypes that people hold, mocking them even as it acknowledges that those who play the roles are just as responsible as those who blindly believe them.  There are rap-star cameos galore and the music of CB4 is amazing, if a bit ridiculous.  Although there’s not much of a compelling story (nothing beyond, say, a typical Adam Sandler flick), the joy of CB4 lies in its writing and execution.

If you listen to Rotten Tomatoes, they only give the movie a measly 52/58, though I’m guessing that most of those that watched it weren’t listening to rap back in the day, so it’s hard to judge from the numbers.  Myself, I recommend that anyone who fell in love with rap when it first showed up give CB4 a try.

Photo Credits -           

CB4 poster courtesy of sharetv.com