The story of hood movies begins in the ’80s with a bevy of black-centric comedies that are still popular today. Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America, Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It, and Arsenio Hall’s breakthrough hit, Harlem Nights, put a spotlight on black life and culture that had been ignored for decades by Hollywood.
In the ’90s, director John Singleton ushered in the hood movie genre with his coming-of-age classic, Boyz n the Hood. Often referred to as a wunderkind, he became the first African-American director and the youngest person ever to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar.
The ’90s ushered in an era of black urban crime dramas featuring gangsters and gangs, including Menace II Society, Juice, New Jack City, and Dead Presidents. These movies were often profound explorations of race and class, but there was also a new focus on comedy and action. The hip-hop era led to a new kind of antihero, a gangster, like Ice Cube’s character in Friday or Tupac Shakur in Singleton’s followup, Poetic Justice.
Have you ever wondered what the best hood movies of all time are? Well, we have. That’s why we created this list with the finest hood movies to add to your collection!
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#1 Boyz N The Hood
1991 | 1h 52m | Directed by John Singleton
Starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut and Ice Cube
With 12 wins and 23 nominations, Boyz N The Hood is an unmissable gem among the best black movies. It follows the lives of three young men growing up together in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles and portrays several social issues, like racial discrimination, violence, and uncertain future prospects.
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52points
#2 Menace II Society
1993 | 1h 37m | Directed by Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes
Starring Tyrin Turner, Jada Pinkett and Larenz Tate
MTV Movie Award winner for Best Movie. A young street hustler attempts to escape the temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life. Legendary rapper Tupac Shakur was initially cast to play Sharif but was then fired, which led to a physical fight with co-director Allen Hughes. For this, he was sentenced to fifteen days in jail.
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51points
#3 Juice
1992 | 1h 35m | Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson
Starring Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur, Jermaine Hopkins and Khalil Kain
The lives of four Harlem teenagers take an unexpected turn after robbing a corner grocery store. Follow their story as they struggle with police harassment, rival gangs, their families, and the pursuit of happiness, which they refer to as “the juice”. Did you know Omar Epps learned how to spin as a DJ even before production began? A lot of what he does in the movie is authentic.
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49points
#4 Friday
1995 | 1h 31m | Directed by F. Gary Gray
Starring Ice Cube, Chris Tucker and Nia Long
If you’re a young netizen, you certainly know this movie from the memes Daaaamn! and Bye, Felicia! Winner of a Def Movie Award, it’s a true gem among black comedy movies and shows the misadventures of Craig and Smokey having to deal with a local bully that wants his money back. Director Quentin Tarantino included Friday as one of his 20 favorite movies from 1992 to 2009. That says a lot!
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49points
#5 South Central
1992 | 1h 39m | Directed by Stephen Milburn Anderson
Starring Glenn Plummer, Byron Keith Minns and Lexie Bigham
A former gangster fresh out of prison wants to change his life for the better, but things don’t go as planned when he finds out his 10-year-old son has gotten involved with street gangs. Glenn Plummer, during an interview, said that men have approached him and thanked him for his speech at the end of the movie since it pushed them to get back into their own children’s lives.
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46points
#6 Paid In Full
2002 | 1h 31m | Directed by Charles Stone
Starring Wood Harris, Mekhi Phifer and Kevin Carroll
Based on the true story of Azie Faison Jr., Alberto Martinez, and Richard Porter. A young man from Harlem, forced to cope with the 1980s drug scene, ends up building a criminal empire. In interviews, the real Azie Faison Jr. accused producer Damon Dash of massively altering and watering down the script.
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45points
#7 Training Day
2001 | 2h 2m | Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Starring Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke and Scott Glenn
A rookie cop, on his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer, partners with a rogue detective who is not what he first appears to be. Acting legend Denzel Washington still considers Detective Alonzo Harris, the corrupt cop he played in the movie, his all-time favorite role. Ethan Hawke was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role despite having more screentime than his co-star Denzel Washington, who was nominated for (and won) the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
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45points
#8 Straight Outta Compton
2015 | 2h 27m | Directed by F. Gary Gray
Starring O’Shea Jackson, Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell
The story of rap group NWA, who emerged from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles and revolutionized hip-hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood. The film reminded Dr. Dre of the glory days, inspiring him to secretly record his first album in 16 years, released on August 7th, 2015. The album’s name is Compton: A Soundtrack, and he stated it was his “grand finale”.
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44points
#9 Next Friday
2000 | 1h 38m | Directed by Steve Carr
Starring Ice Cube, Mike Epps and Justin Pierce
Sequel to 1995’s stoner comedy Friday. Craig flees Los Angeles, heading to the suburbs to avoid Debo, a neighborhood thug with a grudge who has escaped from prison. As a born-again Christian, Chris Tucker refused to reprise his role as Smokey because of the film’s references to smoking weed and cussing. Instead, he accepted the role for Rush Hour with Jackie Chan. His absence from the sequel is cleverly explained by having his character referenced throughout the movie.
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44points
#10 Poetic Justice
1993 | 1h 49m | Directed by John Singleton
Starring Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur and Regina King
After witnessing her boyfriend’s murder, Justice tries to cope with it through poetry. On her way to a convention, she meets an old face she would have preferred stayed in the past. But this meeting could have been decided by fate, as she now feels she’s not as lonely as before.
Some random fact? When Justice is driving in her car in the beginning, she passes Crenshaw Boulevard near the shopping center, damaged during the Los Angeles riots in 1992, which Tupac Shakur also joined.
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42points
#11 American Gangster
2007 | 2h 37m | Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe and Chiwetel Ejiofor
Inspired by the life of drug lord Frank Lucas, American Gangster follows cop Richie Roberts who’s charged with bringing down Lucas’ drug empire in Harlem. While filming on location in Thailand’s Chiang Mai province, director Ridley Scott hired many extras who had actually participated in Frank Lucas’s drug-running operation during the Vietnam War.
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42points
#12 Set It Off
1996 | 2h 3m | Directed by F. Gary Gray
Starring Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox and Kimberly Elise
Four desperate women start robbing banks to solve their financial and personal problems. The first attempts are a huge success, but policemen are on their trail. With every robbery, their interests begin to change, and their trust in each other is on the verge of collapsing. Starring Queen Latifah in her first leading role and Kimberly Elise in her film debut.
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41points
#13 Above The Rim
1994 | 1h 36m | Directed by Jeff Pollack
Starring Duane Martin, Leon and Tupac Shakur
The story of a promising school basketball talent and his relationship with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a fallen basketball star who now works as a security guard. This was the final movie with Tupac Shakur to be released during his lifetime; Bullet (1996), Gridlock’d (1997), and Gang Related (1997) have all been released posthumously.
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39points
#14 New Jack City
1991 | 1h 37m | Directed by Mario Van Peebles
Starring Wesley Snipes, Ice-T and Allen Payne
When Nino ascends to power and takes over Harlem’s criminal scene, the maverick cop Scotty vows to bring him down for good. The story is based on the real-life Detroit gang, The Chambers Brothers. Writer Barry Michael Cooper got the idea for the film after visiting Detroit and learning about the gang’s exploits.
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37points
#15 Belly
1998 | 1h 36m | Directed by Hype Williams
Starring Nas, DMX and Taral Hicks
Gangsters Tommy and Sincere have learned how to make a good living by dealing drugs and pulling armed robberies, but both realize that their lives are headed towards a dead end. Sincere begins getting in touch with his African roots, while Tommy has a religious awakening and joins the Nation of Islam. The pot smoking in the movie is as real as it gets. In fact, the blunts being smoked are not props—they’re actual joints.
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37points
#16 Dead Presidents
1995 | 1h 59m | Directed by Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes
Starring Larenz Tate, Keith David and Chris Tucker
In 1973, a Vietnam vet tries to adjust to life after the war while supporting his family in the Bronx. But the chance of a better life may involve crime and bloodshed. Tupac Shakur’s feud with director Allen Hughes during Menace II Society caused Jada Pinkett-Smith to turn down the role of Delilah for Dead Presidents since she was a long-time friend of Shakur.
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37points
#17 Baby Boy
2001 | 2h 10m | Directed by John Singleton
Starring Tyrese Gibson, Omar Gooding and Adrienne-Joi Johnson
Jody, a misguided 20-year-old man, lives with his mother and a child on his own while facing the commitments of real life in South Central Los Angeles. The movie features a mural of Tupac Shakur on Jody’s wall; Tupac was originally supposed to play the role of Jody, but the rapper was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1996.
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34points
#18 Friday After Next
2002 | 1h 25m | Directed by Marcus Raboy
Starring Ice Cube, Mike Epps and John Witherspoon
The third installment of the Friday movie series. Craig and Day-Day, now working as security guards at a local mall, run into the thief who robbed their house. The original script for this sequel movie included Roach’s character but was then rewritten following Justin Pierce’s suicide about six months after the release of Next Friday.
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33points
#19 Love & Basketball
2000 | 2h 4m | Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood
Starring Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps and Alfre Woodard
Monica and Quincy share the same dream: take their deep love for basketball to the next level and play in the NBA. In the end, fate always seems to drag them to each other. With 13 wins and 15 nominations, Love & Basketball established itself as one of those classic black movies that will never tire you out, doesn’t matter how many times you rewatch it!
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33points
