Belly (film)

Belly
Nas (left) and DMX on the Belly DVD cover.
Directed by	Hype Williams
Produced by	Larry Meistrich Ron Rotholz Robert Salerno Hype Williams
Written by	Anthony Bodden Nas Hype Williams
Starring	Nas DMX Taral Hicks Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins Method Man Hassan Johnson Louie Rankin
Music by	Stephen Cullo
Distributed by	Artisan Entertainment
Release date(s)	November 4, 1998 (USA)
Running time	96 min.
Language	English
Budget	$10,000,000
IMDb profile

Belly is a 1998 motion picture, the feature film debut of music video director Hype Williams. An urban drama, the film stars rappers DMX and Nas as Tommy and Sincere, former partners in crime who become estranged after Sincere decides to go straight and Tommy takes on a major drug deal from a Jamaican drug lord. The film also stars Taral Hicks, rappers Method Man and Vita, dancehall artist Louie Rankin and R&B singer T-Boz from TLC. Besides starring in the film, Nas also narrates and collaborated with Hype Williams on the screenplay. The film was mildly received by critics, generally praised for its highly stylized visual design and cinematography and criticized for what critics saw as a weak plot.^[1] However, it remains much more popular with hip hop audiences, and was released on DVD in 2004 in a "special edition" package. The scene in which the Jamaican drug lord's house is raided is heavily influenced by the 1983 movie, Scarface. Belly 2, a sequel tentatively named "Beast," is in the works with returning rappers/actors DMX and Nas reprising their roles.[2]

Plot

The movie begins when Tommy (DMX) and Sincere (Nas), along with fellow crew members Mark and Black, rob a nightclub. After dropping Black off, the others go to Tommy's house to hide out for a while. Their noise awakens Keisha (Taral Hicks), Tommy's girlfriend, who is trying to sleep. Sincere says that he too is tired, and he and Mark leave soonafter. Sincere returns to his house, where his wife T/Tionne (Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins) and baby Kenya wait. Back at Tommy's house, Tommy learns of a new, potent drug that is making it's way to America. After a passionate night with their women, Tommy and Sincere meet early in the morning and Tommy tells Sincere about the new drug, and also how much money they could make if they got involved with Tommy's friend Ox, a druglord who is receiving shipments. Reluctantly, Sincere agrees.

Filmtrack

The film contains many memorable dancehall reggae songs that are not included on the soundtrack.[3]

1. "Back to Life (A Cappella Version)" - Soul II Soul
2. "House in Motion" - Olu Dara
3. "Blue Agony" - Olu Dara
4. "Sincere" - Olu Dara
5. "Windpipe" - Wu-Tang Clan
6. "Pregame" - Sauce Money featuring Jay-Z
7. "Sucky Ducky" - Mr. Vegas
8. "I Wanna Live" - The Bravehearts
9. "Blood Sweat and Tears" - M.O.P.
10. "Swell Up" - Crucial Conflict
11. "No Way In, No Way Out" - Lady
12. "Grand Finale" - DMX, Method Man, Nas & Ja Rule
13. "Two Sides" - Hot Totti (aka Vita)
14. "Story to Tell" - Ja Rule
15. "Devil's Pie" - D'Angelo
16. "Bashment Time" - Mr. Easy and Frisco Kid
17. "Top Shotter" - DMX, Sean Paul & Mr. Vegas
18. "Deep Cut" - David Banner
19. "What About" - Sparkle
20. "The Right Man" - Frisco Kid
21. "Technology" - Temple of Soul
22. "Bam Bam" - Sister Nancy
23. "Silly" - Taral Hicks

Soundtrack

1. "No Way In, No Way Out" - Lady
2. "Devil's Pie" - D'Angelo
3. "Grand Finale" - DMX, Method Man, Nas & Ja Rule
4. "Never Dreamed You Leave In Summer" - Jerome
5. "What About" - Sparkle
6. "Two Sides" - Hot Totti
7. "Movin' Out" - Mýa, Raekwon & Noreaga
8. "Top Shotter" - DMX, Sean Paul & Mr. Vegas
9. "Story To Tell" - Ja Rule
10. "Crew Love" - Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek & Beanie Sigel
11. "Sometimes" - Noreaga and Maze
12. "We All Can Get It On" - Drag-On
13. "Militia Remix" - Gang Starr, WC & Rakim
14. "Windpipe" - Wu-Tang Clan
15. "Pre-Game" - Sauce Money & Jay-Z
16. "Tommy's Theme" - Made Men & The L.O.X.
17. "Some Niggaz" - Half-A-Mil
18. "I Wanna Live" - The Bravehearts, Nature & Nas

Trivia

The dancehall scene contains a performance by a then-relatively new and unknown reggae artist, Sean Paul. The song performed was a remix of DMX's song "Here Comes the Boom (Top Shotter)",which featured Sean Paul and Mr. Vegas. The scene in which Sincere (Nas) goes back to his old neighborhood and talks to the 12 year-old drug dealer Shorty bears similarities and parallels to the last verse of his song "One Love" off of his 1994 album Illmatic. Three members of the Wu-Tang Clan in total appear in the film. Method Man, Ghostface Killah (the driver of the car Method Man hops into after the club shootout), and Oliver "Power" Grant of Wu-Tang Management. The movie Gummo is seen playing in the background in the scene in Tommy's house near the beginning of the film

Notes

1. ^  LaSalle, Mick (Nov. 4, 1998). "A Clumsy Film Debut, Williams' `Belly' Flops". San Francisco Chronicle.
2. ^  Richberg, Chris and Williams, Houston (Jun. 12, 2006). "DMX Talks 'Beast' Sequel to 'Belly'. AllHipHop.com: Daily Hip-Hop News.

External links

• Belly (film) at the Internet Movie Database