Belly (1998)

Featuring an all-star cast of multiplatinum rap artists and the visual wizardry of one of the most innovative directors of our generation, "Belly" is a dark, poignant urban thriller starring Earl Simmons, aka DMX, as Tommy Brown, an ambitious upstart street hustler on a desperate quest for money, power and respect. Nasir Jones, aka Nas, is Sincere, his best friend who is equally determined to turn his criminal life around. Technically dazzling, brutally realistic, yet always mesmerizing, "Belly" vividly captures the desperate forces driving today's urban youth culture.