2023 promises to be a great year for lovers of music documentaries, after a 2022 avalanche of films that were (sorry) music to every fan’s ears.
Last year’s music-stacked slate came on the heels of the 2021 Beatles behemoth “Get Back,” and featured artfully crafted tributes to musicians ranging from Lizzo (“Love, Lizzo”) to Machine Gun Kelly (“Life in Pink”).
This year already features a few movies that help retell the fascinating 50-year story of hip hop and its ascendance from Bronx house party soundtrack to global cultural force. So far, we’ve got insights from both Chuck D of seminal group Public Enemy, as well as a new documentary on Ol’ Dirty Bastard of Wu-Tang Clan.
Here’s what else fans can look forward to in 2023:
‘Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World’
Few hip-hop artists challenged the status quo more than Public Enemy. One of the group’s central figures, Chuck D, explores that rich legacy in a new four-part PBS documentary series “Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World.”
The series uses firsthand accounts from some of rap’s most integral pioneers – including Killer Mike, Will.i.am, Monie Love, Ice-T, Roxanne Shante and MC Lyte – to recount the origins of the revolutionary art form and explore how hip-hop has grown into the mainstream cultural force it is today.
These days, you might call it “yacht rock.” But in the beginning, there was “soft rock,” that unique blend of rock chord progressions laid over a beat that seemed on a permanent alcohol buzz. Combined, this powerful force created background music par excellence along the lines of “Summer Breeze” (Seals & Crofts, 1972), “Sailing” (Christopher Cross, 1979) and “Keep On Loving You” (REO Speedwagon, 1980).
Now there’s a three-part documentary to celebrate those swaying tunes, “Sometimes When We Touch,” the title itself a nod to Dan Hill’s 1977 eponymous hit, which posed the question: Is the honesty too much? Among the artists covered in series are Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Air Supply, Ambrosia, The Carpenters, Captain & Tennille and Lionel Richie. Is it rock? The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame certainly thinks so, at least in some cases: It inducted Richie in 2022.
Director: Lauren Lazin
When and where to watch: Streaming now on Paramount+
‘j-hope IN THE BOX’
Fans of the South Korean boy band BTS, of which there are legions, will want to catch “j-hope IN THE BOX,” a documentary that explores the first solo album – “Jack in the Box” – released by j-hope, the band’s kinetic lead dancer.
Disney+ promises fans “a never-before-seen look at the creative challenges faced during the album’s preparation process, as well as front row seats to j-hope’s 2022 Lollapalooza performance (where he was the first South Korean act to headline) and the album’s listening party.”
