New Jack City is a 1989 American crime film directed by Mario Van Peebles. It tells the story of Nino Brown, an ex-con and gang leader who takes over as drug kingpin in New York’s Harlem section following his release from prison.,
The “movies in theaters march 2021” is a film that was released on March 31, 1991. It premiered in theaters 31 years ago.
New Jack City, a cult classic criminal thriller, was released in cinemas throughout America on this day 31 years ago. For almost a quarter-century, the narrative of Nino Brown and the Cash Money Brothers has inspired Hip Hop culture and continues to pervade the culture that made it a success.
New Jack City was founded at a critical juncture in history. Hip Hop was still a fledgling music form and culture in 1991, striving to gain official legitimacy in the eyes of mainstream America. Furthermore, the blaxploitation cinema genre had been extinct for nearly a decade, creating a void in “Black Hollywood.” New Jack City foreshadowed the return of Black performers, writers, and filmmakers in Hollywood, as well as the maturation of Hip Hop’s synergistic powers.
Wesley Snipes, who portrayed the morally bankrupt kingpin Nino Brown, and Chris Rock’s stick-up-kid-turned-crackhead-informant “Pookie,” both rose to fame as a result of the film. Director Mario Van Peebles made his directorial debut with the picture, in which he also appeared. Ice T, who portrayed NYPD officer “Scotty Appleton” in New Jack City, chatted with Rock on his “Final Level” podcast about some of the film’s behind-the-scenes details.
Chris Rock: You and I were the most popular members of the group at the time, simply because we’d done s**t.
Ice-T: We’d accomplished our goals.
Chris Rock: Mario [Van Peebles] was unknown. Nobody has heard of Wesley [Snipes].
Ice-T: Wesley had played Major League baseball.
Chris Rock: Allen Payne, no one knew who “G-Money” was.
Ice-T: That’s what gave me the courage to act.
Chris Rock: And you were earning money, too. [Laughs] I couldn’t afford anything.
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Ice-T:… It was an odd experience, to say the least. New Jack City was a brand-new film. The director was a relative newcomer.
Chris Rock: We had new-jack producers, new-jack actors, and a new-jack music. Do you recall how we kept running out of cash? Several times while shooting, we thought to ourselves, “This s**t is being shut down.” The bike pursuit, for example, was supposed to be a vehicle chase. But it escalated into a bike pursuit since we didn’t have any money! [Laughs] Someone had to think quickly.
The film was made on a $8 million budget and debuted on January 17, 1991 at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was released nationwide on March 8, 1991, and grossed $7,039,622 in its first weekend, making it the highest-earning independent film of 1991, totaling $47,624,253 domestically.
The film had a long-lasting impact on the music business as well. Brother Bryan “Birdman” and Ronald “Slim” Williams’ Cash Money Records company, a clear reworking of Nino Brown’s “Cash Money Brothers” gang in the film, is perhaps the most noteworthy example. In addition, Lil Wayne’s solo album series Tha Carter is not just his last name but also a nod to “The Carter,” Nino’s crack home castle in the film, and his 2010 track “I’m Single” mentions Nino.
Nino Brown has been a frequently cited movie character in rap songs for decades. On RapGenius, a simple search of “Nino Brown” yields nearly 4000 allusions to the surface from artists all across the globe. Nino and New Jack City will undoubtedly continue to inspire future generations, and if you disagree…
