FilmMuse: Justin Tipping's "Kicks"
With Straight Outta Compton being released in 2015 to blockbuster box office numbers and critical acclaim, perhaps there is a renewed interest in the "hood drama" genre that saw such sustained popularity in the 90s as films such as Menace II Society , Boyz n the Hood and Juice reached classic status amid cable and home video ubiquity. With a clever new west coast tale, Justin Tipping's directorial debut Kicks offers a few nuggets to instantly hook hip-hop die hards: a plot revolving around a stolen pair of Air Jordan I sneakers and a strong supporting role from the son of the Notorious BIG (Christopher Jordan Wallace). Tipping screens quotes from a vintage rap verse as Kicks moves on from each chapter, as the Napoleon-complex suffering Brandon from "Eastbay" Richmond, California (Jahking Guillory) embarks on a journey to first obtain the coveted black and red Jordans, before being jumped by bullies and then having them stolen, and finally his reckless que