Hip-Hop and The White House, the first documentary in Andscape's &360 series will air on Hulu on April 22. The project is directed by Jesse Washington and narrated by Jeezy. It looks at how legislation passed in the 1970s and 1980s directly influenced the creation of the hip-hop genre. Furthermore, the project includes interviews with the likes of Common, YG, KRS-One, Roxanne Shante, Bun B, Curren$y, Waka Flocka Flame, and Chika. Andscape, which falls under the ESPN umbrella, is a Black-focused publication. Andscape's aim is to be a voice in a world where the stories the community often get overlooked.
“We feel this is the perfect time to discuss how Hip-Hop has influenced presidential politics, and to ask what we can expect from the culture in this upcoming election season. &360 provides an incredible opportunity to explore and illuminate important stories that have never been fully told. I’m looking forward to passing the &360 baton to the next storyteller and seeing new visions come to life," Washington said of the project.
Busta Rhymes-narrated hip-hop documentary comes to ESPN
However, the project is not the first hip-hop documentary to drop within the ESPN family. Last year, the outlet released The Crossover. "Sports and Hip Hop are two pillars of Black culture that empowered a community to be heard and celebrated against the backdrop of cultural oppression and political persecution. As the 50th anniversary of the founding of Hip Hop is celebrated, a new ESPN special presentation examines the evolution of this defining culture and its relationship with sports. Soon, athletes and entertainers would step to the microphone and boldly become the sound of a new generation and an inspiration to their people. When the world looked to silence them, the culture found a way to speak louder than ever before. Muhammad Ali to Public Enemy, Jay-Z to Lebron James and beyond, the impact on sports has been indelible," a press release from ESPN read.
Furthermore, the documentary was narrated by Busta Rhymes. Rhymes is one of the most influential pillars of the hip-hop scene. This makes him the perfect voice for such a complex and nuanced documentary. “I knew I wanted to do something on it. But obviously, working for a sports platform, I thought, What angle can I approach to tell the story? And I thought I hadn’t seen anything on the connection of sports and hip hop. So that’s where the gist of it came from,” he said. “From there, I just started thinking about those connections. Then I started developing an idea and pitching it to the team," director Julian Gooden said of The Crossover.
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