"Its title might read more like a Blaxploitation spoof rather than the real deal, but, when it was released in April 1971, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss song ushered in a whole new era of filmmaking. Despite a rudimentary plot – even by the standards of the time – the fact that writer, director, actor and musician Mario Van Peebles masterminded, starred in and financed the whole thing himself proved that a new genre of film could attract a black audience to the cinemas – and that that same audience could, finally, see characters they related to up on the big screen. Released during funk music’s heyday, the film also boasted a soundtrack written by Peebles and performed by nascent funk group Earth, Wind And Fire. This marriage of sound and vision would help to define Blaxploitation films, as a host of artists clamoured to assert their street cred and soundtrack these cinematic tales of ghetto life. ..."
udiscover (Audio/Video)
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