Fear of a Black Hat

Ever since Chris Rock exhorted us to feel the sweat from his balls in CB4, gangsta rappers have been an easy target for comedians. Fear of a Black Hat follows the blueprint drafted by Rock and achieves some moderate success. The film follows N.W.H. (Niggaz With Hats) members Tone Def (Mark Christopher Lawrence), Tasty Taste (Larry B. Scott), and Ice Cold (director Rusty Cundieff) through a series of embarrassing misadventures all caught on tape, and we laugh…sometimes. Same goes for the extras. The cast interviews—mostly in character—elicit valuable information about the snack trays provided on set and reveals just how many hos constitute a lot of hos (answer: “a lot”). There’s also a hosted version of the film in which N.W.H. open the movie by warning any viewers not watching a store-bought copy of the DVD (“anyone who borrowed it, taped it, Napstered it…”) that they will have their credit card and automobile stolen in return. But the real gangsta shit comes from the 12 music videos for songs included in the film, like “My Peanuts,” “Fuck the Security Guard,” and “Booty Juice” Not only great song titles, but great video titles too.