Following three hip-hoppers, Eli Efi, an old-school MC from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Guerrillero Okulto from Santiago Chile, and Magia, a tragically cute couple from Havana Cuba, filmmakers Vee Bravo and Loira Limbal get to the heart of Hip Hop con sabor. From origins stateside, when Hip Hop mattered in the U.S., the inspiration given to our subjects practicing the art now is undeniable. While Hip Hop was filled with fun in those early years, it posited the need for change from the inside for a group of people marginalized and disenfranchised by homogenous white culture. Now few American rappers still carry the torch of justice, and plenty merely perpetuate bling-bling, shoot-shoot stereotypes.

Facile grandstanding like this is not the realm for our three subjects, all of whom have bigger subjects to tackle, both in their rhymes and in their personal lives. And while similar problems launched rap and hip hop in the US, poverty and powerlessness for people of color in South America and Cuba is far more pernicious. This is where filmmakers Bravo and Limbal wisely direct their focus, while letting their outspoken, honest subjects provide the bulk of exposition during interviews. While I would have preferred to see even more performances, (if not nothing but performances - I can't get enough of Hispanic Hip Hop) clearly much time is needed for shedding light on these performers' motivations, goals, and individual challenges.

While 'real life' intrudes and redirects Eli Efi, Guerrillero and Magia(s), they never let such things dissuade them from their missions, basically to empower and educate the youth of their respective countries, all while maintaining a truly positive attitude. Bravo and Limbal mine similar territory with this documentary, aiming to educate anyone who cares to watch about the continuing power of Hip Hop, and how it can change people's lives for the better, from the inside out.

The DVD

Video:
This 1.78:1 ratio presentation isn't state-of-the-art for DVD, (which admittedly isn't saying much anymore in the world of HD) but is quite adequate. Colors are naturalistic though not very vibrant - sort of poetic in relation to the subject matter - and the image is acceptably sharp, though details and clarity decrease in nighttime and club scenes. Overall, this is a fine but slightly below-average visual product.

Sound:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Audio in Spanish and Portuguese (with English, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles) is perfectly workable, but not showy. Interview sequences are filled with environmental sounds creeping in, but native speakers shouldn't have any troubles catching everything, including during performances, which are all recorded quite nicely.

Extras:
The DVD case states that there are over two hours of extras, but I contend that you get an hour of extras to go with the feature, making for two hours total. At any rate, menu navigation makes accessing these features problematic. First off are those English, Spanish and Portuguese Subtitles which my remote couldn't find on its own. (Ultimately I figured it out.) Spread out over three menu pages, there are plenty of supplemental extras, but on pages two and three I wasn't able to discern any highlighting, so I was never sure, when pressing 'enter', just what extra I was about to see. At any rate, you get about 20-minutes on The Origins of Hip Hop from Mexico, including Graffiti Activism with artists Humo and Mibe, Peste and Real and B-Boy Wonder Jose - four-years-old and quite a dancer. About 20-minutes of People & Places focuses on Hip Hop scenes in Brasil, Chile and Cuba. About ten-minutes of Getting Up: Bombing the System enlightens us on serious street art in Chile and Brasil, while about 20-minutes of Shows and Cyphers gets into the performance nitty-gritty with The Global Street Cypher and shows from Brasil, Chile and Cuba. If you, like me, didn't get quite enough Hip Hop in the main feature, these extras go a good way towards scratching your itch.

Final Thoughts:
Estilo Hip Hop isn't all about satisfying the urges of those of us who know international Hip Hop goes beyond Mellow Man Ace. It's about teaching the world that Hip Hop is still a vital force for change, any place where class inequality and oppression makes life fine and wrong for a rich few, and punishing for those whose backs form stepping stones for the wealthy. Bravo and Limbal's highly entertaining and educational documentary should be gobbled up by those who think Hip Hop is dead, and used as a teaching too for those just coming up. Recommended.

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