Oscar Winner Hustle & Flow

The truest portrayal of a gangsta’s struggle against the adversities of life and a dream deferred are found for the first time in producer John Singleton’s Hustle & Flow. DJay (Terrence Howard) lives in a never-ending whirlwind of narcotics dealing and prostitution hustling, barely making ends meet, living only on the hope that someday he’ll come out on top. His sex workers Nola (Taryn Manning) and Shug (Taraji Henson) are what bring him through each day and eventually become the source of his success. When DJay reunites with his old, back-in-the-day school buddy Skinny Black (Ludacris), his drive to make something meaningful of himself rekindles and sparks the turning point of his life.

While Hustle & Flow may have won an Oscar for the track “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” the film’s underlying message of “making it” by any means necessary rings through too, loud and clear. Many might mistake the film as the essence of what some have come to call the “black experience.” Rather, Hustle & Flow speaks not to the struggle of what it means to be black, but what it means to be human where humanity has seemed to fade. Many have had the experience of not knowing where their next meal was coming from, either because a wallet was left in another coat or because there hadn’t been enough pay left after an honest day of work. Once we look past the drug selling and sex dealing, we discover that DJay is just like all of us. The beauty of Howard’s performance is his ability to bring through the insecurities of his character, otherwise hidden deep behind a veneer of false bravado and daring.

Regardless of what you think about rap or thug life, Hustle & Flow is worth taking the time to see. Though extreme, the characters are real and speak clearly to what it means to survive in modern times. 

Major Motion Picture Awards