When witnessed out of context, the visual of someone, or indeed several people walking beside, or dancing on the hood of a moving vehicle with no one behind the wheel is likely to leave you scratching your head. Add to that the often unintelligible slang that the Yay's (Bay) indigenous 'hyphy' movement is famous for; where phrases like 'get dumb', 'go stupid' or 'thizzing' are part of everyday life and you may indeed have the feeling there must be something in the water in Northern California and scratch it off of your vacation spot wish list.
Written and directed by DJ Vlad (Hot in Here DVD series, H20 Hip Hop On Demand), produced by Academy/Emmy-nominated Peter Spirer and narrated by none other than Sway Calloway of URSession.com and Bay-originated The Wake-Up Show fame, Ghostride the Whip takes you on a journey through the underbelly of the hyphy movement and it's origins, with the help of Bay area rappers like E-40, Keak Da Sneak, MC Hammer, Messy Marv, Mistah FAB and many others.
Using the life-stories of Bay area rap legend and cult figure, Mac Dre and his infamous Romper Room Gang as a centerpiece, Ghostride the Whip tells the story of the evolution of the hyphy movement; from it's roots in the migration of the South's black population North in search of a better life, to the poverty and police brutality they found instead. From the rise of the Black Panther Party to the life, career and sudden, tragic shooting death of Mac Dre, the mentality behind the hyphy movement and the cultural legacy Mac Dre left behind is explained by those who witnessed it and those who live it - the slang, the clothes, ghostriding, turf dancing, side shows, cannabis clubs, thizzing - the works; all set to the backdrop of the music that spawned it all.
A labor of love for Bay area native and Berkeley graduate DJ Vlad, Ghostride the Whip is the film encyclopedia to a movement whose lifestyle has often garnered the national attention of the media and continues to be embraced, perhaps because of this, by an ever-growing population of young people across the country - both black and white. Bay-influenced slang and dress styles can be witnessed farther and farther afield and love it or hate it, the hyphy movement is definitely not going away any time soon.
Online rap staple BallerStatus.com had this to say about Ghostride the Whip - http://www.ballerstatus.com/article/news/2008/03/4316/
ONLINE PREVIEWS
http://www.myspace.com/ghostridethewhipfilm
http://youtube.com/ghostridethewhipfilm
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ghostride-The-Whip/14263036211
Ghostride the Whip will be available in stores, nationwide June 24th on Image Entertainment!!!
For further information, press screening info or media opportunities, kindly contact Nancy Byron, OGPR (832) 220.6071 or nancyb@ogpr.net
