Ya Heard Me
Released 2008
Ya Heard Me is a new documentary film covering New Orleans bounce music, an uptempo hip-hop sub-genre that emerged in the 1980's and 90s. Bounce tracks rely heavily on samples of "Triggerman" also known as "Drag Rap" by the Showboys, while the vocals feature lots of neighborhood big ups.
Bounce isn't just a music, it's a dance culture and the film features lots of dancers doing the bounce's famous 'pussy-popping'. Beyond just cover the musical culture, the film touches on the devastation of Katrina which split the bounce community, through before and after footage and testimonies and the efforts to rebuild community and bounce culture.
Narrated exclusively by the interview subjects, the film tells the bounce story in its own winding, idiosyncratic manner, which can be at times hard to parse into a straightforward narrative, but does give a clear picture of the music and the culture, as well as a sense of the damage done to the city and communities by the hurricane. The film also manages to show links between New Orleans rich musical past and the bounce sound and scene.
Points too, go to the filmmakers to for covering the queer side of bounce, through interviews and music by transvestive Kadie Red and other gay bounce artists. While hip hop is mainly seen as a macho, hetero-centric culture, there are many exceptions to the rule and its nice to see that in New Orleans, those exceptions they're fairly well integrated into and accepted in the mainstream hip hop culture.
And what of the music? Bounce is a highly infectious, elated party music and after watching this film you're definitely going to search out some bounce albums...
Hip hop fans not familiar with the story of bounce will find Ya Heard Me a thoroughly enjoyable film, and even to those not crazy about hip hop, the film is still an interesting glimpse into New Oreans subculture.
