Speaker:

Welcome to Hip Hop Movie Club, the show

that harmonizes the rhythm of hip hop with

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the magic of movies.

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Today we're discussing the movie

adaptation of Lin -Manuel Miranda's In the

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Heights.

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We are three old heads who put their old

heads together to vibe on these films for

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you.

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I'm DynoWright Wright, podcaster,

filmmaker, longtime hip hop fan.

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And the last thing I got digging in the

crates this week is a copy of Rappin'

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Rodney, a rap song by Rodney Dangerfield

recorded in 1983.

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I get no respect.

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Nice one.

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I'm JB, 80s and 90s nostalgia junkie, long

time hip hop fan.

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I'm already jonesing right now for a

rematch in NBA Jam versus Boogie, who just

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beat me with his Denver Nuggets squad

against my Seattle Supersonics.

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It was all Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

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I'm Boogie, a DJ, long time hip hop fan,

and I'm feeling pretty energized.

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Coming off of our HHMC retreat this past

weekend.

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Yeah.

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In this episode, we'll answer the

question, which elements of hip hop

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culture are on display in In the Heights?

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And we'll give you five key takeaways to

make you a smarter hip hop movie fan.

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In the Heights is the story of a young

bodega owner, Usnavi Navi, and his

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suenito, little dream, of moving back to

his homeland of the Dominican Republic and

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restoring his late father's business.

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We also see the story of his very tight

-knit community of friends and extended

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family trying to achieve their own

suenitos, such as Kevin Rosario and his

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daughter Nina, Benny, Vanessa, Sonny,

Abuela, and others.

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Washington Heights is alive with the pride

of Latin culture in this film.

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There are five things you need to know

about In the Heights.

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Number one, there are multiple elements of

hip hop culture present in the film and

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the rapping is on point.

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Number two, several Latin cultures are

represented showing the diversity of

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Washington Heights.

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Number three, the vocal talent is top

notch and the dancing and choreography

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sizzle.

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Number four, the film weaves in serious

elements that give the light and bright

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storytelling some drama and weight.

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And number five,

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There are multiple storylines all tied

towards the common theme of realizing

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dreams.

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Right on.

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Boogie, why don't you kick us off and talk

about the multiple elements of hip hop

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culture that were present in In The

Heights.

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Yeah, so In the Heights the predominant

element that we see on display in this

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movie is emceeing.

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There's various songs throughout

the film in which we see Usnavi Sonny, and

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a couple other characters.

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They're just emceeing different things

that are going on throughout the film.

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And it's not just the typical rap that we

see, like something on the radio, they're

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actually rapping through

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what's going on at the moment.

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Kind of very similar to Hamilton as, you

know, this was by the same person who did

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Hamilton, Lin -Manuel Miranda.

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So it's a very similar style to how

Hamilton was as far as each character

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having the ability to pretty much rock a

mic, if you will, throughout the film.

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There's also graffiti is present

throughout the film as well.

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There's a character, Graffiti Pete, he's

introduced

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pretty early in the film, we see him

tagging, Usnavi's bodega, and Usnavi

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chasing him away, because he's trying to

steal something.

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But then you see him throughout the film

tagging murals and things like that.

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And he also ends up in the end of the

movie, having a pretty impactful part of

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the movie.

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I'm not going to give too much away with

that, but just keep in mind that he's a

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very important character in the end of the

movie.

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We also see

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breakdancing, not a whole lot of it, but I

did catch there was a blackout that does

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occur in the movie because it's one of the

hottest times of the year in New York

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City.

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And what happens when it's hot in New York

City?

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We get a blackout.

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And during the blackout, several of the

members of the community gather fireworks

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to light the area up to illuminate and

make it safe and beautiful so that people

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can kind of calm down and focus on the

fireworks instead of the lack of

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electricity.

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And during that montage, we do see several

characters, background characters break

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dancing throughout the film.

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The one element that we were struggling to

find was the DJ, which, you know, I'm used

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to it, so it doesn't bother me much.

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The DJ never gets any play.

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The DJ never gets any play, but I mean,

they were in a club, so I mean, it had to

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be a DJ playing at some point, but we

don't see him.

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That's true.

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Good point.

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so those are the elements that we see

throughout the film.

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I think you nailed it.

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DynoWright, right, anything else that you

picked up on in terms of the hip hop

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elements?

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Boogie really covered it.

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I think at one point the manhole cover, he

sort of scratched, does he scratch it or

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something?

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There's something with it and so

there's...

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stuck in gum and he's telling the story to

the little ones in the beginning and it

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kind of swivels and makes a record scratch

sound.

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That's sort of there.

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Yeah.

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I mean, I just want to expand a little bit

about the genius that Lin -Manuel Miranda

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is.

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I'm a Lin -Manuel Miranda stan.

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I'm an In the Heights stan, so that's

going to kind of spoiler alert for my

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review.

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But these songs were so well crafted.

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As you know, Lin -Manuel Miranda does his

homework as he does with Hamilton.

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He takes elements from other well -known

rappers and he weaves them in.

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A couple of songs I wanted to point out,

which I implore you listeners to go out

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and listen on Spotify or look at the

videos on YouTube, but Benny on the

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Dispatch, you have Corey Hawkins playing

the role of Benny.

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He works at Kevin Rosario's.

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taxi company and he's a dispatch.

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And the way he gives the traffic report

and he's gyrating, dancing, and you can't

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help but smile and get into it.

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It's just a couple of lyrics.

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It's like, okay, we got traffic on the

west side, get off at 79th and take the

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left side, riverside.

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He's talking about Big Papi in town for

the weekend.

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He weaves in something about the Jacob

Javits Center.

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He's giving all these landmarks within the

city and he's making it lively and fun.

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And at that point,

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At one point within that, towards the end

of it, Nina comes in and she takes over

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and she bellows out a great hello and gets

on the mic like she used to do when she

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was younger for her father.

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That was awesome.

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I love that so much.

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And then the other song with a lot of hip

hop that I really enjoy was 96 ,000 when

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they're talking about someone had won the

lottery, a lottery ticket, a winning

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ticket was sold at their store.

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And I won't get into, you know, where that

ends up and everything, but

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That song with the back and forth with the

characters, Usnavi and Benny and even

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Graffiti Pete is in that and they're going

back and forth talking about braggadocio

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and other pop culture references.

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I absolutely love the way they did that.

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Other than that, I think you covered all

the elements there very nicely, Boogie, so

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thank you for that.

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Benny was like the Weather Adam atom of

cab dispatchers.

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You know who Weather Adam is on Instagram.

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That's right.

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Weather Adam.

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That's good.

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The second takeaway is that, and it's

obvious throughout that Lin -Manuel

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Miranda had this as a mission to represent

multiple Latin cultures.

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So there were several Latin cultures that

were represented and it shows the

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diversity of Washington Heights.

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DynoWright, you wanna talk a little bit

about a couple of the cultures

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represented?

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Sure.

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We have at least Puerto Rico and the

Dominican and Cuba represented here.

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Most of the characters.

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Usnavi is Dominican and Abuela is Cuban.

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And I think the Rosarios are from Puerto

Rico.

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Is that?

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Yeah, right.

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So I'm sure I'm missing other ones, but

there's other in there.

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Vanessa is a mix, I think, of a few

different cultures.

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Yeah, those were all represented.

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And when they have the song about raising

the flag, I think it's in the Barrio,

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Carnival de Barrio, and they're talking

about raise the flag of Puerto Rico, in

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Spanish, they're saying raise the flag of

Cuba, raise the flag of Dominican.

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It's pretty powerful the way they do that.

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Yeah, they're all living together in this

town and weave together and they get

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together for festive meals and you can see

again, LMM as I call him, he does his

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homework.

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And he has

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Beautiful.

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There's stitching that you see.

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They came from Cuba.

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There's the food and all the elements of

the various cultures.

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There's the food and all the elements of

the various cultures.

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Boogie, anything to expand upon the Latin

cultures as they're represented here?

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I mean, there definitely are other

cultures in there blended in because some

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Washington Heights in the movie has become

a melting pot.

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So even though there's certain, there's

others that probably weren't mentioned,

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the influence is definitely there.

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I mean, you can see it in the food, in the

music, the song selection, the way they

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carry themselves, even the family

orientedness of them.

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gathering together, even though they

weren't all related by blood.

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That's a deep, a deep rooted Latin thing

I've noticed, you know, from several

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friends, they stick together.

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But yeah, I think it was very well done in

that aspect of showing just how all of the

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cultures, even with the differences, you

see the similarities, because they're all

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blending together really well.

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Yeah, I will add that LMM did get some

criticism for not having enough or any

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darker skinned Afro -Latino actors, which

he owned up to actually and took

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responsibility and promised to do better

next time.

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Yeah.

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LMM himself is Puerto Rican in case folks

didn't know, but he also has some traces

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of Mexican and African American ancestry

as well.

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So his background is primarily Puerto

Rican, just as a background for listeners

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here.

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Okay.

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Yeah, I can see why he took a little bit

of heat on that.

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I think there was one part that I

remember, I can't remember the name of the

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song, but they were talking about, they

mentioned the Tainos.

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For our listeners, the Tainos are the

Native Americans that were in that area of

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the Caribbean when the explorers were

coming over to the new world.

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There were Taino.

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Native Americans there.

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And also to expand a little further,

slavery didn't just exist in the United

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States.

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It also existed throughout the Caribbean.

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So they were influxing large numbers of

Africans to that area as well.

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And then you have the Spanish speaking

Europeans who were in that area.

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So you get a mix.

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You get a mix of the cultures together and

that's

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what gives Puerto Rico its flavor and also

Cuba and the Dominican Republic, which

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actually is split between on one island is

Haiti is on the other side of the island.

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So they're very similar in how they carry

themselves in appearance as well from, you

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know, the lightest light to the darkest

dark and everything in between.

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Right.

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The third takeaway we had is about the

vocal talent and the dance and

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choreography.

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So the vocal talent is top -notch.

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The dancing and choreography sizzle on the

screen here.

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Boogie, you want to talk a little bit

about that as well?

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Well, yeah, the songs were amazing.

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First of all, I didn't realize that

Melissa Barrera could sing.

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I mean, I love her.

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I mean, I've seen her in a bunch of stuff.

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And I was like, she can sing?

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But it was good, though.

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And I think the songs were amazing.

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I mean, the vocal talent was definitely

top notch.

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And it was good to see that

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there was a nice compliment to the MCing.

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So you see there's rapping going on.

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And it's good to have that counterbalance

of

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the good, strong vocal talent.

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So, but yeah, it was good.

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I enjoyed it.

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And also the dancing and choreography, you

know, I enjoyed that club scene, that

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Latin club scene.

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It took me back to the 90s and the early

2000s when I used to be over in New York

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and it was just amazing.

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And I was like kind of like moving along

with it as they were dancing because I

233

00:13:16,458 --> 00:13:19,541

really love to dance to those.

234

00:13:19,541 --> 00:13:20,541

to that music.

235

00:13:20,541 --> 00:13:23,083

So it was good that they had that in there

as well.

236

00:13:23,083 --> 00:13:27,541

And we mentioned the break dancing as

well, you know, briefly, but yeah, I think

237

00:13:27,541 --> 00:13:33,208

even this ensemble as the characters were

singing the songs and as you know, the

238

00:13:33,208 --> 00:13:37,166

ensemble cast in the background, the

choreography was very tight.

239

00:13:37,166 --> 00:13:40,625

I mean, it was almost like...

240

00:13:40,625 --> 00:13:43,750

granted, it was based off of the Broadway

play, but it was almost like watching a

241

00:13:43,750 --> 00:13:47,250

Broadway play in the live action realm,

because you could see the tight Broadway

242

00:13:47,250 --> 00:13:48,875

style choreography throughout the film.

243

00:13:48,875 --> 00:13:51,583

Yeah, Melissa Barrera's song, she played

the role of Vanessa.

244

00:13:51,583 --> 00:13:55,458

The song, It Won't Be Long Now, that

really struck a chord with me.

245

00:13:55,458 --> 00:13:59,791

She's talking about the elevator train and

her apartment and the guys in the street

246

00:13:59,791 --> 00:14:01,458

whistling at her.

247

00:14:01,583 --> 00:14:07,416

And what I really love about this play is,

well, right from the beginning, it drew me

248

00:14:07,416 --> 00:14:08,750

in with the hip hop and the rap.

249

00:14:08,750 --> 00:14:12,166

And there's a lot of character development

that occurs right away through that.

250

00:14:12,166 --> 00:14:15,750

You know, this is Abuela, it's not really

their Abuela, you know, the block is her

251

00:14:15,750 --> 00:14:16,333

Escuela.

252

00:14:16,333 --> 00:14:20,416

And this is Sonny, my cousin, and I was

like, man, I'm drawn right in.

253

00:14:20,416 --> 00:14:21,458

I'm like, this is awesome.

254

00:14:21,458 --> 00:14:22,583

I'm enjoying the music.

255

00:14:22,583 --> 00:14:23,875

I'm learning about the characters.

256

00:14:23,875 --> 00:14:24,625

Let's go.

257

00:14:24,625 --> 00:14:30,916

But the vocal talent, Melissa Barrera,

Corey Hawkins, as I mentioned, with the

258

00:14:30,916 --> 00:14:32,750

dispatch, he weaves in both

259

00:14:32,750 --> 00:14:34,250

the rapping

and the singing.

260

00:14:34,250 --> 00:14:35,541

He shows his vocal range.

261

00:14:35,541 --> 00:14:38,958

He has such infectious energy.

262

00:14:39,416 --> 00:14:42,708

As you mentioned, the club scene.

263

00:14:42,708 --> 00:14:47,291

But also what I thought was a feast for

the eyes in terms of the dancing

264

00:14:47,291 --> 00:14:51,250

choreography was the pool sequence when

they're doing the 96 ,000 song.

265

00:14:51,250 --> 00:14:53,708

There are people people and swimming in

unison.

266

00:14:53,708 --> 00:14:55,166

And there's a lot of colors.

267

00:14:55,166 --> 00:14:56,666

Yeah, I really enjoyed that.

268

00:14:56,666 --> 00:15:02,750

And then the carnival, del barrio, when

it's just so hot out.

269

00:15:02,750 --> 00:15:06,041

And I think it's Daniela who had owned the

salon, was like, what's wrong with you

270

00:15:06,041 --> 00:15:06,916

people?

271

00:15:07,208 --> 00:15:09,708

When does the heat bother Latins?

272

00:15:09,708 --> 00:15:13,833

get out there and she drums up everybody,

everybody goes nuts and then they start

273

00:15:13,833 --> 00:15:19,666

representing their different countries and

celebrating despite the brutal heat.

274

00:15:19,708 --> 00:15:22,333

DynoWright, anything else on that.

275

00:15:22,333 --> 00:15:23,958

Vocal talent and choreography and dancing.

276

00:15:23,958 --> 00:15:24,958

Yes

277

00:15:24,958 --> 00:15:28,583

Yes, so the choreography was from

Christopher Scott from So You Think You

278

00:15:28,583 --> 00:15:29,625

Can Dance.

279

00:15:29,958 --> 00:15:32,291

So I think they brought in big guns for

that.

280

00:15:32,291 --> 00:15:35,500

And you talk about the 96 ,000 sequence,

which is very Busby Berkeley.

281

00:15:35,500 --> 00:15:37,416

very Busby Berkeley.

282

00:15:37,416 --> 00:15:41,750

So listeners, viewers who don't know who

that is, look him up.

283

00:15:41,750 --> 00:15:44,833

It's very highly choreographed like a

284

00:15:44,833 --> 00:15:48,750

cast of thousands and it's amazing how

they pulled this off in a pool and reading

285

00:15:48,750 --> 00:15:54,333

some of the interviews about the

production of it and that's a it's already

286

00:15:54,333 --> 00:15:59,791

hard to put together a big dance number

like that but to also do it in a pool

287

00:15:59,791 --> 00:16:04,458

where there's also like safety issues like

don't be drowning you know when there's a

288

00:16:04,458 --> 00:16:09,625

thousand people in a pool so very

impressive that they pulled this off and

289

00:16:09,625 --> 00:16:13,166

They weren't allowed to use drones because

of New York City regulations, so you had

290

00:16:13,166 --> 00:16:18,333

to do this kind of old school and it would

be so easy to have a drone shot or even

291

00:16:18,333 --> 00:16:20,750

just a crane shot to get above.

292

00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:26,416

But yeah, they had to improvise that at

least and it looks fantastic.

293

00:16:26,875 --> 00:16:28,416

yeah, I love that scene.

294

00:16:29,208 --> 00:16:35,375

Okay, one thing that made me laugh at the

96 ,000 scene was when Vanessa's turn to

295

00:16:35,375 --> 00:16:42,166

sing and she sings with her lovely voice,

if I won the lottery, you'll never see me

296

00:16:42,166 --> 00:16:42,541

again.

297

00:16:42,541 --> 00:16:45,083

And she's like, I'm not gonna try to sing

it.

298

00:16:45,083 --> 00:16:49,083

And then Usnavi's like, I was joking, stay

broke then.

299

00:16:49,083 --> 00:16:52,750

I just call it, it just tickled my funny

bone there.

300

00:16:52,750 --> 00:16:54,208

Yeah, just awesome.

301

00:16:54,208 --> 00:16:55,250

A feast for the eyes.

302

00:16:55,250 --> 00:17:00,083

And a fourth takeaway was the film also

weaved in serious elements that give the

303

00:17:00,083 --> 00:17:03,750

light and bright storytelling some drama

and weight.

304

00:17:03,958 --> 00:17:07,583

And I know DynoWright, you did a bit of a

deeper dive

305

00:17:07,583 --> 00:17:09,333

some of those types of

306

00:17:09,333 --> 00:17:10,208

heavy issues.

307

00:17:10,208 --> 00:17:13,041

Do you want to give us a little rundown of

some of those?

308

00:17:14,291 --> 00:17:14,500

sure.

309

00:17:14,500 --> 00:17:19,708

First of all, there's some racism and

discrimination that Nina experiences off

310

00:17:19,708 --> 00:17:22,875

camera, you know, as part of the

backstory.

311

00:17:22,875 --> 00:17:29,375

She goes off to Stanford, which is

portrayed as white dominant and her Latin

312

00:17:29,875 --> 00:17:35,458

background does not mesh with this

supposed white dominant.

313

00:17:35,458 --> 00:17:41,375

situation at Stanford in California and

Abuela experiences some discrimination in

314

00:17:41,375 --> 00:17:44,166

her backstory as well coming from Cuba.

315

00:17:44,291 --> 00:17:46,291

We have the element of DACA.

316

00:17:46,291 --> 00:17:50,958

So DACA is the Deferred Action for

Childhood Arrivals legislation that

317

00:17:50,958 --> 00:17:56,875

provides some backstory to Sonny He turns

out to be undocumented and realizes that

318

00:17:56,875 --> 00:17:59,250

he can't go to college if he's

undocumented.

319

00:17:59,250 --> 00:18:03,500

And so the support for DACA is put in the

320

00:18:03,500 --> 00:18:05,833

as part of the themes that's weaved in.

321

00:18:05,833 --> 00:18:07,625

It's also economic hardship.

322

00:18:07,666 --> 00:18:13,375

Daniela has to move her salon further

uptown to the Bronx from where they are in

323

00:18:13,375 --> 00:18:14,375

Washington Heights.

324

00:18:14,375 --> 00:18:19,416

And Vanessa's issues renting an apartment

downtown.

325

00:18:19,541 --> 00:18:24,916

She can't, she's not rented to, she has to

get a co -signer for the lease.

326

00:18:25,708 --> 00:18:29,375

And so all of that's weaved in.

327

00:18:29,791 --> 00:18:36,208

It was good of Miranda to do this to give

it a little bit of heft to the story.

328

00:18:36,208 --> 00:18:40,416

There's no, there's got to be some

conflict in any good story, so that was

329

00:18:40,416 --> 00:18:41,333

really good.

330

00:18:41,333 --> 00:18:47,125

And one thing to take away from this part

of it is, Abuela, her advice is to assert

331

00:18:47,125 --> 00:18:53,625

your dignity in small ways, and so that's

good advice for anyone, because we all

332

00:18:53,625 --> 00:18:55,375

experience some kind of

333

00:18:55,875 --> 00:19:01,833

some kind of hardship in the workplace or

wherever and bring your full selves to it

334

00:19:01,833 --> 00:19:05,583

and asserting your dignity in small ways

is certainly something to take away from

335

00:19:05,583 --> 00:19:06,458

the film.

336

00:19:06,625 --> 00:19:09,083

Nice rundown.

337

00:19:09,125 --> 00:19:12,416

Boogie anything about the issues there?

338

00:19:12,833 --> 00:19:14,083

actually.

339

00:19:14,083 --> 00:19:20,916

I don't know if I have much to add to it.

340

00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:22,750

But yeah it was

341

00:19:22,916 --> 00:19:25,541

I do think it was good

342

00:19:25,541 --> 00:19:31,875

to not glamorize everything and make it sound like everything is happy and

343

00:19:31,875 --> 00:19:34,875

You know, he got real with it and

344

00:19:35,458 --> 00:19:41,208

showed various issues that occur throughout the Latin American community

345

00:19:41,916 --> 00:19:45,833

especially, you know, not necessarily at

Stanford.

346

00:19:45,833 --> 00:19:49,625

I mean, that was just the school she

happened to go to, but, you know, being a

347

00:19:49,625 --> 00:19:58,125

first generation college student and the

awkwardness of trying everyone, everyone

348

00:19:58,125 --> 00:20:02,000

relying on you being the one, you're the

one who made it and the pressure that

349

00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:03,208

comes with it.

350

00:20:03,208 --> 00:20:07,791

And then getting to school and getting to

school and realizing that, you know, maybe

351

00:20:07,791 --> 00:20:10,125

this isn't for me because of, you know,

352

00:20:10,291 --> 00:20:12,875

because of other people’s perceptions of her

353

00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,000

and having to deal with that and the conflict of

354

00:20:16,041 --> 00:20:21,833

wanting to be successful and how to tell your family that’s not what you want to do or where you want to be at

355

00:20:22,583 --> 00:20:24,583

I think that was very, very well done.

356

00:20:24,583 --> 00:20:30,875

And even we didn't realize that Sonny was

a DACA kid until the end.

357

00:20:30,875 --> 00:20:35,916

But even how that tied in, you know,

that's very real.

358

00:20:35,916 --> 00:20:39,583

That's very, you know, something that's

being dealt with now.

359

00:20:40,625 --> 00:20:41,916

It's media.

360

00:20:41,916 --> 00:20:43,291

It's in the media right now.

361

00:20:43,291 --> 00:20:48,250

You know, you can click Google it and you

can find any kind of article, fairly

362

00:20:48,250 --> 00:20:48,916

recent.

363

00:20:48,916 --> 00:20:50,375

But yeah, I think that,

364

00:20:50,458 --> 00:20:52,125

you know, the

common thing, the theme was like

365

00:20:52,125 --> 00:20:54,166

everybody's really had a dream and

366

00:20:54,166 --> 00:20:58,791

they all thought that their dreams were little, but

none of their little dreams were little.

367

00:20:58,791 --> 00:21:03,666

They were all big dreams and they all

deserve to see those dreams.

368

00:21:04,375 --> 00:21:05,666

through to fruition.

369

00:21:05,666 --> 00:21:06,666

Mm -hmm.

370

00:21:08,041 --> 00:21:17,583

One other thing that I read about was that Miranda was

asked about, there's not really gang

371

00:21:17,583 --> 00:21:21,291

elements in this film, even though New

York is famous for having sort of gang

372

00:21:21,291 --> 00:21:24,750

activity here, there, and everywhere.

373

00:21:24,791 --> 00:21:26,916

And he on purpose didn't have that kind of

stuff.

374

00:21:26,916 --> 00:21:29,916

Like you didn't want to do a West Side

story where, of course, the Hispanic

375

00:21:29,916 --> 00:21:35,500

people all have knives and they're like,

you know ready to rumble in the streets.

376

00:21:35,958 --> 00:21:37,333

That's a choice.

377

00:21:37,625 --> 00:21:40,625

And he finds other ways to kind of have

that in there.

378

00:21:40,625 --> 00:21:45,958

Like Graffiti Pete in the beginning is

like a villain, but then he gets this

379

00:21:45,958 --> 00:21:47,375

redemption story.

380

00:21:47,708 --> 00:21:52,666

But it was interesting to think like,

yeah, this isn't just like Spanish Harlem

381

00:21:52,666 --> 00:21:55,583

kind of thing where like, of course,

sharks and jets.

382

00:21:55,875 --> 00:21:56,500

Right.

383

00:21:57,291 --> 00:22:02,416

Now I think Boogie you led us into our

final takeaway, takeaway number five with

384

00:22:02,416 --> 00:22:04,125

what you're talking about, the dreams.

385

00:22:04,166 --> 00:22:08,958

So takeaway number five was there are

multiple storylines all tied towards a

386

00:22:08,958 --> 00:22:12,666

common theme of realizing dreams.

387

00:22:12,666 --> 00:22:14,666

I guess I'll kick that one off.

388

00:22:14,833 --> 00:22:19,333

I mean, there are many dreams or suenitos,

which means little dreams in Spanish, as

389

00:22:19,333 --> 00:22:20,875

Usnavi mentions in the beginning.

390

00:22:20,875 --> 00:22:23,958

As I mentioned earlier, it was Usnavi

wanted to get back to the Dominican

391

00:22:23,958 --> 00:22:25,125

Republic, his homeland.

392

00:22:25,125 --> 00:22:25,750

That was his dream.

393

00:22:25,750 --> 00:22:29,166

He wanted to rebuild his late father's

business, return to where he grew up,

394

00:22:29,166 --> 00:22:31,333

where he had the best days of his life.

395

00:22:31,458 --> 00:22:33,791

Vanessa has aspirations to be a fashion

designer.

396

00:22:33,791 --> 00:22:39,291

She's stuck in her job at the salon,

doesn't pay her what she expects, and she

397

00:22:39,291 --> 00:22:41,041

has bigger goals.

398

00:22:41,125 --> 00:22:44,791

Kevin Rosario wants to support his

daughter's education at Stanford, and he's

399

00:22:44,791 --> 00:22:47,708

using his taxi business to help finance

it.

400

00:22:47,708 --> 00:22:50,166

And Nina wants to be the first one to make

it out.

401

00:22:50,166 --> 00:22:52,041

and graduate college.

402

00:22:52,041 --> 00:22:57,916

Sonny is kind of just finding his way and

he's dealing with his immigration status.

403

00:22:59,291 --> 00:23:01,125

And Benny has a longing for Nina.

404

00:23:01,125 --> 00:23:04,583

He's obviously working with his career

path and what happens there with the

405

00:23:04,583 --> 00:23:05,125

dispatch.

406

00:23:05,125 --> 00:23:10,250

And then Abuela's reminiscing about her

upbringing in Cuba as well.

407

00:23:10,250 --> 00:23:12,000

So all these storylines tie together.

408

00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,583

Everybody has a dream.

409

00:23:14,750 --> 00:23:16,083

They're all supportive of each other.

410

00:23:16,083 --> 00:23:20,250

It's a village there, which is nice to

see.

411

00:23:20,875 --> 00:23:22,625

DynoWright, do you want to add into the...

412

00:23:22,958 --> 00:23:28,500

commonality of these characters having

their dreams, how they came together, etc.

413

00:23:28,708 --> 00:23:31,375

Yeah, you covered it really well.

414

00:23:31,375 --> 00:23:31,750

A .O.

415

00:23:31,750 --> 00:23:33,666

Scott in the New York Times wrote about

how In the Heights is kind of like a

416

00:23:33,666 --> 00:23:35,208

In the Heights is kind of like a

417

00:23:35,208 --> 00:23:37,875

thematic sequel to Hamilton.

418

00:23:37,875 --> 00:23:41,541

You know, it happens much later, of

course, but it's got the same kind of

419

00:23:41,541 --> 00:23:46,625

thing like American Dreams, making

something bigger than yourself.

420

00:23:47,750 --> 00:23:51,750

And so this is sort of like the modern day

sort of extrapolation or like the result

421

00:23:51,750 --> 00:23:56,500

of what Alexander Hamilton was doing

during the birth of the Republic.

422

00:23:56,500 --> 00:23:59,125

And so it's interesting to think about

that.

423

00:23:59,125 --> 00:24:03,416

Like, this is kind of what Alexander

Hamilton was thinking of, like people

424

00:24:03,416 --> 00:24:08,125

being able to achieve America as a place

of opportunity.

425

00:24:08,125 --> 00:24:16,375

And so that was a cool kind of thing, you

know, to think about as like not Hamilton

426

00:24:16,375 --> 00:24:17,541

2 but like.

427

00:24:17,541 --> 00:24:22,750

I don't know, maybe Hamilton 2: Latino

Boogaloo or something.

428

00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,500

alternate title

429

00:24:28,375 --> 00:24:29,291

Nicely put.

430

00:24:29,291 --> 00:24:34,541

Boogie, anything to add on the dreams of

the characters and those themes?

431

00:24:35,625 --> 00:24:42,125

Yeah, I mean, the common theme with, you

know, why people immigrate to the United

432

00:24:42,125 --> 00:24:45,458

States in the first place is because they

have a dream.

433

00:24:45,458 --> 00:24:47,041

They dreaming of something better.

434

00:24:47,041 --> 00:24:51,416

They want something better, not

necessarily just for them, but for their,

435

00:24:51,416 --> 00:24:53,791

you know, for their children, their family

members.

436

00:24:53,791 --> 00:25:00,166

So, I mean, that theme, like you

said, they even tie back to how Hamilton

437

00:25:00,166 --> 00:25:03,708

was, was the American dream and starting a

new country, et cetera.

438

00:25:03,708 --> 00:25:07,791

and being, you know, starting this amazing

country.

439

00:25:07,791 --> 00:25:14,583

And now we see, you know, years later, you

know, centuries later, we have people

440

00:25:14,583 --> 00:25:18,666

immigrating here to want to achieve the

dream as well.

441

00:25:18,666 --> 00:25:23,041

So yeah, I do see how, I mean, it

definitely ties into that.

442

00:25:23,041 --> 00:25:25,625

I definitely see the correlation between

that tie -in and to Hamilton.

443

00:25:25,625 --> 00:25:26,833

And I think that...

444

00:25:26,833 --> 00:25:32,250

films like this are necessary because I

mean, like I do like the fact that he

445

00:25:32,250 --> 00:25:37,375

purposefully left out, you know, gang

elements and kind of put a more positive

446

00:25:37,375 --> 00:25:44,708

spin on the neighborhood and you know, the

people, I mean, this is necessary.

447

00:25:44,708 --> 00:25:50,625

People need to see, you know, films like

this and this is inspirational, you know.

448

00:25:50,916 --> 00:25:57,250

I also like the kind of dichotomy of go

for your dream, you know, work hard, but

449

00:25:57,250 --> 00:25:59,916

also Abuela has that wisdom.

450

00:25:59,916 --> 00:26:05,958

She had an expression she used throughout

the film of paciencia y fe, like patience

451

00:26:05,958 --> 00:26:06,958

and faith.

452

00:26:06,958 --> 00:26:13,416

And it's like, go for your dream, but have

that, have that patience and faith in

453

00:26:13,416 --> 00:26:16,791

yourself and maybe of a higher being as

well.

454

00:26:16,791 --> 00:26:18,166

Yeah, nicely done.

455

00:26:18,791 --> 00:26:20,833

I have a question for you guys off the

cuff.

456

00:26:20,833 --> 00:26:23,958

Did either of you take AP English in high

school?

457

00:26:23,958 --> 00:26:27,750

And I ask because you're both very well

spoken and you did.

458

00:26:27,750 --> 00:26:28,708

Did you?

459

00:26:28,708 --> 00:26:29,375

AP English.

460

00:26:29,375 --> 00:26:32,750

I actually slummed it in honors English.

461

00:26:33,666 --> 00:26:35,208

Honors is no slum.

462

00:26:35,208 --> 00:26:37,708

Boogie, did you take AP English?

463

00:26:38,250 --> 00:26:40,708

I had honors English as well.

464

00:26:40,708 --> 00:26:41,791

Okay.

465

00:26:42,041 --> 00:26:45,791

So the reason I asked too I took two years

of AP English.

466

00:26:45,791 --> 00:26:47,625

I think it was like 10th grade and 12th

grade.

467

00:26:47,625 --> 00:26:55,541

And the reason I say this is I really got

into analyzing some classic literature and

468

00:26:55,541 --> 00:26:57,333

really looking for metaphors and similes.

469

00:26:57,333 --> 00:27:02,458

It seems like we're always looking for a

lot of metaphors and motifs and themes.

470

00:27:02,458 --> 00:27:06,791

And this one like naturally drew me to

that.

471

00:27:06,791 --> 00:27:09,958

I was picking up metaphors and I wanted to

kind of explain a few and

472

00:27:09,958 --> 00:27:13,750

that I picked up, which I thought were

incredibly done.

473

00:27:13,750 --> 00:27:19,125

And I bet you LMM was a AP student to be

able to write these plays like Hamilton

474

00:27:19,125 --> 00:27:22,208

and In The Heights and Moana and whatnot.

475

00:27:22,208 --> 00:27:29,583

But you see Lin -Manuel Miranda himself

plays the piragua cart guy, piragua

476

00:27:29,583 --> 00:27:31,416

meaning the shaved ice.

477

00:27:31,416 --> 00:27:35,375

And he's singing one of his songs is Keep

Scraping By, Keep Scraping By.

478

00:27:35,375 --> 00:27:37,250

So that is.

479

00:27:37,291 --> 00:27:41,791

Obviously a metaphor for everybody just

kind of just getting by, you know, doing

480

00:27:41,791 --> 00:27:48,083

what they need to get by economically,

socially, sometimes by the skin of their

481

00:27:48,083 --> 00:27:48,583

teeth.

482

00:27:48,583 --> 00:27:52,500

But like every day, you know, they might

be broke or they might be making minimum

483

00:27:52,500 --> 00:27:54,916

wage or whatever, but it's like, Hey, keep

following that dream.

484

00:27:54,916 --> 00:27:59,375

But he uses the term keep scraping by and

it's scraping the ice as well.

485

00:27:59,375 --> 00:28:01,458

Usnavi now he has the one song.

486

00:28:01,541 --> 00:28:06,208

And I think it's towards the beginning

because he's like, I'm a spotlight choking

487

00:28:06,208 --> 00:28:07,250

in the heat.

488

00:28:07,250 --> 00:28:11,458

And I love that metaphor where the

spotlight or the street, I'm sorry,

489

00:28:11,458 --> 00:28:12,708

streetlight, not spotlight.

490

00:28:12,708 --> 00:28:14,750

I'm a streetlight choking in the heat.

491

00:28:14,750 --> 00:28:18,416

Streetlights just out there standing and

it's just taking all the heat.

492

00:28:18,416 --> 00:28:20,375

And he feels the same way where he's

stuck.

493

00:28:20,375 --> 00:28:25,916

He's, he's getting all the elements pushed

at him, but he's just stuck there like

494

00:28:25,916 --> 00:28:27,750

cemented in place.

495

00:28:27,750 --> 00:28:32,625

He's got the bodega, you know, that he

runs with his cousin.

496

00:28:32,625 --> 00:28:38,083

And he needs to do that to survive, but he

has the aspirations to go on to the D.R.

497

00:28:38,083 --> 00:28:42,375

At what point can he get to that level

where he makes enough to move on and how

498

00:28:42,375 --> 00:28:42,833

can he leave?

499

00:28:42,833 --> 00:28:47,208

So he's feeling that strain.

500

00:28:47,583 --> 00:28:54,083

And then in the blackout, they're singing

the song, We Are Powerless.

501

00:28:54,416 --> 00:28:57,750

We are powerless, we are powerless.

502

00:28:57,750 --> 00:29:00,541

And again, to the same theme of.

503

00:29:00,833 --> 00:29:07,458

Yes, they're powerless in terms of they're

without electricity, but they're also, a

504

00:29:07,458 --> 00:29:14,583

lot of them are feeling, you know, they're

without any type of freedom or strength

505

00:29:14,583 --> 00:29:16,333

because everything's so oppressive.

506

00:29:16,333 --> 00:29:17,458

The heat is oppressive.

507

00:29:17,458 --> 00:29:19,041

Maybe the system is oppressive.

508

00:29:19,041 --> 00:29:21,041

They're not able to advance as much as

they want.

509

00:29:21,041 --> 00:29:24,375

So I picked up on those things and I

thought, wow, that was really well done.

510

00:29:24,375 --> 00:29:28,416

If you watch these again, maybe you'll

pick up on some of these metaphors.

511

00:29:28,541 --> 00:29:30,916

It is well -crafted.

512

00:29:30,916 --> 00:29:32,541

Thematically it is, yeah.

513

00:29:32,541 --> 00:29:33,708

Yeah.

514

00:29:34,625 --> 00:29:37,625

And I'm sure again, it was intentional by

Lin -Manuel Miranda.

515

00:29:37,625 --> 00:29:38,500

There's a lot of emotion.

516

00:29:38,500 --> 00:29:43,083

I mean, what I like is that this film

gives you all the emotions.

517

00:29:43,083 --> 00:29:45,583

You feel joy, you laugh.

518

00:29:45,583 --> 00:29:48,791

There's some funny lines, there's some

jokes, you're dancing.

519

00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,291

I'm almost brought to tears.

520

00:29:51,291 --> 00:29:55,125

Sometimes when I do watch it, I'm crying

because I feel so emotional for Nina.

521

00:29:55,416 --> 00:29:56,750

so much pressure on her.

522

00:29:56,750 --> 00:30:01,000

She's like you said, Boogie, everybody is

invested in her being the one to make it

523

00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:01,291

out.

524

00:30:01,291 --> 00:30:05,000

And she's having a hard time.

525

00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:06,791

She's being discriminated against.

526

00:30:06,791 --> 00:30:10,166

People are talking, you know, in the

salon, they're talking about rumors about

527

00:30:10,166 --> 00:30:11,583

rumors out about her.

528

00:30:11,583 --> 00:30:18,541

And it's just tough to see someone have to

deal with all that at such a young age.

529

00:30:18,541 --> 00:30:21,375

And, you know, you feel for Abuela.

530

00:30:22,583 --> 00:30:26,875

and the families, et cetera, and Kevin

struggles financially.

531

00:30:28,041 --> 00:30:32,333

In fact, if you guys didn't know, the

musical is different.

532

00:30:32,333 --> 00:30:33,791

There's certain different elements.

533

00:30:33,791 --> 00:30:37,750

I saw an off -Broadway performance of it

last summer, which was excellent.

534

00:30:38,625 --> 00:30:43,041

And actually Nina's mother, Kevin

Rosario's wife is actually in it.

535

00:30:43,041 --> 00:30:45,583

She plays a pretty prominent role in it.

536

00:30:45,583 --> 00:30:48,333

And there's a lot of bickering back and

forth about.

537

00:30:48,708 --> 00:30:51,250

the situation with the college and

everything.

538

00:30:51,250 --> 00:30:53,541

Yeah, there's some slight differences

there.

539

00:30:53,541 --> 00:30:58,625

If you can believe it, this movie is like

145 minutes and they cut out a lot from

540

00:30:58,625 --> 00:31:00,000

the musical.

541

00:31:00,208 --> 00:31:01,416

Yeah.

542

00:31:02,208 --> 00:31:03,291

And it's wild.

543

00:31:03,541 --> 00:31:04,041

Wow.

544

00:31:04,041 --> 00:31:08,125

all have any other tidbits about the movie

that you picked up upon that you wanted to

545

00:31:08,125 --> 00:31:09,333

share with the audience?

546

00:31:09,375 --> 00:31:15,041

There's a lot of familiar faces in it, in

this film, which was good.

547

00:31:15,041 --> 00:31:19,583

I mean, I didn't know that some of these

actors and actresses were in the movie,

548

00:31:19,583 --> 00:31:22,541

but there's a lot of familiar faces.

549

00:31:22,541 --> 00:31:24,750

I'm not gonna go through them like I

normally would.

550

00:31:24,750 --> 00:31:29,916

I'm gonna just kind of let the viewers get

the surprise that I did.

551

00:31:29,916 --> 00:31:31,375

Hahaha!

552

00:31:33,125 --> 00:31:35,458

I mean, mean, couple of the bigger, go

ahead.

553

00:31:35,458 --> 00:31:36,500

Go ahead, Boogie.

554

00:31:37,041 --> 00:31:39,541

Christopher Jackson, the Mr.

555

00:31:39,541 --> 00:31:41,125

Softee truck driver.

556

00:31:41,458 --> 00:31:45,125

That was one of the biggest ones, but I

had a feeling that one of the guys from

557

00:31:45,125 --> 00:31:47,958

Hamilton would make their way over to this

one.

558

00:31:48,166 --> 00:31:52,583

And Christopher Jackson played George

Washington in Hamilton.

559

00:31:52,958 --> 00:31:57,291

So yeah, shout out to him in his role in

this movie as well.

560

00:31:58,666 --> 00:31:59,916

Oh and also Marc Anthony.

561

00:31:59,916 --> 00:32:01,500

I was like, wow, Marc Anthony?

562

00:32:01,500 --> 00:32:04,250

He didn't sing, but he was in the movie.

563

00:32:04,375 --> 00:32:06,250

They could have used his voice.

564

00:32:06,750 --> 00:32:12,291

played Sonny's father and Jimmy Smits in

it.

565

00:32:13,125 --> 00:32:19,208

Yea, Smits has been a ton of things and

the Star Wars franchise as well.

566

00:32:20,833 --> 00:32:23,750

Yeah, great cast, great ensemble.

567

00:32:23,750 --> 00:32:24,708

Yeah.

568

00:32:26,666 --> 00:32:32,625

There's one funny tidbit I liked as well

was the way that Usnavi, which is a unique

569

00:32:32,625 --> 00:32:37,958

name, how he got his name based on a ship

that was seen by his father when he came

570

00:32:37,958 --> 00:32:39,750

over to the US.

571

00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:41,708

I won't totally give it away.

572

00:32:41,708 --> 00:32:43,166

You could probably figure it out.

573

00:32:43,791 --> 00:32:44,458

Hahaha

574

00:32:45,750 --> 00:32:46,875

That was funny.

575

00:32:46,875 --> 00:32:47,875

Yeah.

576

00:32:47,916 --> 00:32:54,125

Yeah, this film adaptation had a lot of

the elements that I like, you know,

577

00:32:54,125 --> 00:32:58,041

comedy, drama, hip hop, music.

578

00:32:58,083 --> 00:32:59,125

Especially the hip hop.

579

00:33:00,416 --> 00:33:06,208

For me, this is a feel good movie, even

though there's some sadness as well.

580

00:33:06,208 --> 00:33:07,041

But it's a feel good movie.

581

00:33:07,041 --> 00:33:10,041

Like when summer comes around, I put this

on now.

582

00:33:10,041 --> 00:33:13,250

It's only a few years old, but like I put

this on the background because one of

583

00:33:13,250 --> 00:33:15,416

those with the music is so excellent.

584

00:33:15,416 --> 00:33:18,291

that I'm just happy hearing a lot of the

songs.

585

00:33:18,333 --> 00:33:23,666

And I have a Spotify playlist and I have

pretty much the whole soundtrack as part

586

00:33:23,666 --> 00:33:24,541

of a big playlist.

587

00:33:24,541 --> 00:33:26,791

So when it comes on, it makes me smile.

588

00:33:28,458 --> 00:33:34,291

This film made me want to get in the car

and drive through the Heights, which I

589

00:33:34,291 --> 00:33:35,083

haven't done.

590

00:33:35,083 --> 00:33:40,333

I haven't done that in probably about 15

years or so.

591

00:33:40,833 --> 00:33:45,666

But I used to go to the Heights every so

often, at least a few times a year.

592

00:33:45,666 --> 00:33:48,625

But yeah, this movie made me want to drive

over there and ride through the

593

00:33:48,625 --> 00:33:49,666

neighborhood.

594

00:33:51,583 --> 00:33:58,083

One thing that amused me was that when

they're in the club and Usnavi is dropping

595

00:33:58,083 --> 00:34:05,041

the ball and not dancing with Vanessa, but

then he dances with the other girl to make

596

00:34:05,041 --> 00:34:07,458

try to make Vanessa jealous.

597

00:34:07,500 --> 00:34:13,791

And it's like, you remember Grease where

Danny Zuko dances with Cha-Cha DiGregorio

598

00:34:13,791 --> 00:34:15,208

instead of Sandy.

599

00:34:15,208 --> 00:34:17,458

This made me laugh so much.

600

00:34:17,750 --> 00:34:18,833

Yes.

601

00:34:19,125 --> 00:34:20,291

Ha ha ha.

602

00:34:21,208 --> 00:34:22,166

Yeah.

603

00:34:22,416 --> 00:34:26,083

In that club scene, we also get the

classic, you know, split down the middle,

604

00:34:26,083 --> 00:34:28,625

guys on one side, the girls on the other

side.

605

00:34:28,625 --> 00:34:30,291

It's show us what you got.

606

00:34:30,750 --> 00:34:33,958

Yeah, I mean, I have an affinity also for

Latin culture.

607

00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:38,166

I was a Spanish minor in college when we

all went to Rider and, you know, I learned

608

00:34:38,166 --> 00:34:43,458

a lot about different Latin cultures, but

hadn't really visited some of those

609

00:34:43,458 --> 00:34:46,458

countries or really had some of these

experiences.

610

00:34:46,458 --> 00:34:50,791

And to see it on the screen, it was nice.

611

00:34:50,791 --> 00:34:52,041

Nice to see.

612

00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:57,458

Yeah, I too have an affinity for Latin

culture as well.

613

00:34:57,458 --> 00:35:01,500

Unfortunately, I haven't been to Cuba yet.

614

00:35:02,208 --> 00:35:06,041

But I've been to Puerto Rico and I've been

to Dominican Republic.

615

00:35:06,958 --> 00:35:09,375

Enjoyed both of them immensely.

616

00:35:09,625 --> 00:35:10,458

Hehehehe.

617

00:35:10,458 --> 00:35:16,208

a lot of the Latin cultures are vibrant

and they have a good time.

618

00:35:16,208 --> 00:35:17,833

Mexico, yeah.

619

00:35:17,958 --> 00:35:20,166

Can't forget Mexico, been there too.

620

00:35:20,166 --> 00:35:21,208

Hehehe

621

00:35:22,166 --> 00:35:25,250

I have have really good friend who's Cuban

and he said that they did an excellent job

622

00:35:25,250 --> 00:35:29,291

with the food that Abuela was cooking

saying, oh my goodness, it took him back.

623

00:35:29,458 --> 00:35:32,833

It took him back to his childhood and what

his family would cook.

624

00:35:33,083 --> 00:35:35,666

Yeah, I wanted to lick the screen when

they showed that food.

625

00:35:35,666 --> 00:35:36,958

my God.

626

00:35:36,958 --> 00:35:39,041

I know exactly what that tastes like.

627

00:35:39,041 --> 00:35:40,583

I want some now.

628

00:35:41,208 --> 00:35:43,166

I want some right now.

629

00:35:46,875 --> 00:35:47,291

For real.

630

00:35:47,291 --> 00:35:48,791

All right, so let's put a bow on this one.

631

00:35:48,791 --> 00:35:53,250

Let's go around the room and give our

ratings for In the Heights.

632

00:35:53,791 --> 00:35:56,125

Ah Boogie, as usual, we'll start with you.

633

00:35:56,125 --> 00:36:02,333

So for the film version of In the Heights,

will you bring that funky flick back or

634

00:36:02,333 --> 00:36:03,000

leave it in the vault?

635

00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:06,833

Yeah, I mean, can't help but to bring this

funky flick back.

636

00:36:06,833 --> 00:36:11,458

I mean, I've already recommended to a few

people to check out already.

637

00:36:11,750 --> 00:36:14,166

So yeah, bring that funky flick back.

638

00:36:14,750 --> 00:36:19,416

All right, now, DynoWright Bring that

funky flick back or leave it in the vault.

639

00:36:19,916 --> 00:36:21,250

I'll bring this funky flick back.

640

00:36:21,250 --> 00:36:22,333

It did have some flaws.

641

00:36:22,333 --> 00:36:23,541

I thought it was a little long.

642

00:36:23,541 --> 00:36:27,333

And it was edited in a way that you almost

don't get to enjoy it.

643

00:36:27,333 --> 00:36:29,750

It's just sort of abrupt in some places.

644

00:36:29,875 --> 00:36:32,250

And big dance numbers are hard to film,

right?

645

00:36:32,250 --> 00:36:33,791

And shout out to Jon M.

646

00:36:33,791 --> 00:36:35,416

Chu, director of this film.

647

00:36:35,416 --> 00:36:39,250

He did really well with a tall task.

648

00:36:39,250 --> 00:36:41,291

But overall, it's really fun.

649

00:36:41,333 --> 00:36:43,791

So I bring this funky flick back.

650

00:36:44,250 --> 00:36:48,541

As for me, I think it goes without saying,

I am bringing this funky flick back.

651

00:36:50,208 --> 00:36:55,333

Sometimes I talk about this film

incessantly to my family.

652

00:36:55,750 --> 00:37:00,666

Yeah, I bring it up and my family starts

shaking their head like again, again, and

653

00:37:00,666 --> 00:37:02,750

like, I'm putting it on in the background.

654

00:37:02,750 --> 00:37:03,750

I love it.

655

00:37:04,875 --> 00:37:07,583

Yeah, this is one of my all time

favorites.

656

00:37:08,416 --> 00:37:11,583

I tell so many, like you said Boogie, I

recommended this to so many people.

657

00:37:11,583 --> 00:37:12,500

I'm like, have you seen In the Heights?

658

00:37:12,500 --> 00:37:13,166

Have you seen The Heights?

659

00:37:13,166 --> 00:37:14,166

No, no.

660

00:37:14,166 --> 00:37:16,000

a lot, check it out.

661

00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:19,250

And it's all the reasons we mentioned, you

know, the dancing, the choreography, the

662

00:37:19,250 --> 00:37:21,166

music, the storylines.

663

00:37:21,166 --> 00:37:25,500

There's some great heavy topics, light

topics.

664

00:37:25,500 --> 00:37:27,958

It's got it all to me and it's packaged

well.

665

00:37:27,958 --> 00:37:32,416

And I'm a huge fan of Lin -Manuel Miranda

in general, whatever he touches turns to

666

00:37:32,416 --> 00:37:32,875

gold.

667

00:37:32,875 --> 00:37:34,000

He does his homework.

668

00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:35,958

He's a hardworking guy.

669

00:37:35,958 --> 00:37:37,375

Loved it.

670

00:37:48,500 --> 00:37:53,916

Hip Hop Movie Club is produced by your

HHMC's JB, Boogie, and DynoWright.

671

00:37:53,916 --> 00:37:55,833

Theme music by Boogie.

672

00:37:56,083 --> 00:37:59,750

Whether you're listening to the podcast or

watching us on YouTube, please give us a

673

00:37:59,750 --> 00:38:00,333

follow.

674

00:38:00,333 --> 00:38:02,291

It's a real power up for us.

675

00:38:02,291 --> 00:38:03,875

Thanks for tuning in.

676

00:38:05,583 --> 00:38:08,625

And Remember, don't hate, radiate.

677

00:38:08,958 --> 00:38:11,166

Hmm, yeah, yeah.

678

00:38:11,166 --> 00:38:11,833

Shine like the sun.

679

00:38:11,833 --> 00:38:13,166

Shine bright like a diamond.

680

00:38:14,916 --> 00:38:15,250

Yes!

681

00:38:15,916 --> 00:38:16,541

There you go!

682

00:38:17,208 --> 00:38:22,333

Yeah, radiate out in the sun, but be

careful with the harmful UV rays.

683

00:38:22,500 --> 00:38:24,291

Yes, get some SPF.

684

00:38:26,250 --> 00:38:27,375

Right on.

685

00:38:28,208 --> 00:38:29,500

Yes, yes.