Freaknik: The Musical

I'm not really sure where to start with this. I know that Adult Swim tends to play towards the lowest common denominator, but this is ridiculous; never has the bar been set lower. Take some gangsta stylings, add in a rap battle that ends in a Dragon Ball Z power-up, make sure that the n-word gets dropped on a regular basis, and throw in "weed=good" and "all we want is bling and bitches" messages, and that pretty much sums up the movie. You see committee movies in Hollywood all the time; this was a movie produced by a gangsta-wannabes.

It's mildly homophobic (you have a group of ostensibly gay rappers that provide the counterpoint to the show's group of up-and-comers), and women are relegated to pure sex objects; with the exception of the leader of the 10%-ers, the only women in the show are literally nothing but sex objects; heck, one of the rewards for winning the contest is a lifetime of ho's, and one of the numbers shows Freaknik going around transforming women into big-busted bra and Daisy Duke-wearing ho's. The sole intelligent woman was portrayed as a hungry shrew that wanted nothing but control.

The portrayal of the men wasn't much better. Cops are evil, drugs and alcohol are good, and gang credos rule. All that matters for them is getting drunk, laid, and high. I know that young men see fame as a way to getting sex and drugs, but they usually learn something about whats important on the way up; in this show, it wasn't about how the music was important, but how it was a way to money and getting laid. There was nothing solid about any of the male characters; sort of fitting that that a ghost was the lead, I think...

I know that this was supposed to be "light-hearted" and in the vein of the House Party movies, but it just came off as offensive. I think if you wanted proof that the civil rights movement is dead, and not in a good way, this show would be it...

I was a pretty good video. The animation wasn't the greatest but the plot was pretty decent. I'd recommend it for a first view but I probably wouldn't watch it again any time soon. The plot had some good points to it that weren't typical of something you would get out of most Hip/Hop. The voice actors did a pretty good job. It was also cool that they had Kel Mitchell in it since I haven't seen him in anything lately. All in all I would give in an 8 out of 10. Not because it wasn't great but because it was lacking in some of the things that you would expect out of an animated movie but it did have some of the plot features that you don't soo to often in movies nowadays.

I'm writing this in absolute disbelief how the main review that showed up on this page is absolutely asinine. I honestly thought for a moment that Al Sharpton himself decided that being a robot trying to destroy a festival wasn't satisfying enough to his ever-shrinking heart. But seriously, the reviewer gave it a 1-star, and went on to talk about how it was down right offensive and about nothing other than money, hoes, and weed.

This is the kind of thing that makes me upset, they had a multitude of rap and hip hop icons working neck and neck with the animators and the writing team. This entire show was supposed to be a tribute to an insane event that happened once a year. Not to be taken seriously by anybody, and to say the only intelligent female throughout, who is based off Oprah, that's just ridiculous. But then again I can tell you the reviewer who caused me to write this also was an extra in the movie itself. At one point Big Uzi is diving into a sea of gyrating asses. This was Jamais Jochim's acting debut in all it's gyrating glory.

This country we live in is a complete culture pit, and I think only when we strip off our pride and really destroy ourselves for comedic benefit is when progress from hundred year old grudges might actually happen.

But then again, titties, money, hoes.

Word out.

What can i say ? After watching it i was throughly impressed with the production values, the cast, and even the way it was animated.

The story was told at a nice pace, and our main group of characters all had their own personalities, each one had an original feel to them.

The music produced by T-pain, and co-produced by Tha bizness, was just fantastic. I mean seriously the scores were first class. i honestly wanted the justice league to be in on the sound scape, but alas this was produced very well without them. T-pain and tha Bizness did what they do best.

After watching it felt like it went by so fast i had to rewind and watch it all over again, and when i did i found myself not being fatigued by the music. It was just as refreshing as when i heard it the first time.

If you have any love for hip-hop music or great music scores, then this would definitely be you cup of tea.

My score originally was a 8 out of 10 but i figure i'd bump it to 9 seeing as how those that hate it, don't quite fully understand it, thus i'll pickup some of their slack.

Best thing to happen to and come from hip hop in many years. Freaknic, The Musical has a star studded cast (of hip hop artists) that brings the excellently written script to life, as well as gives depth and realism. "Freaknic ain't real, its a urban legend, like Candyman (the character from the movie)," became, for me, one of the more memorable lines from the musical. Great one-liners and 90's references as the previously mentioned before are pleasantly placed throughout the musical, maintaining a quick pace of comedy. Freaknic, The Musical, as a work of hip hop music brings a fresh critique of the genre as a popular art form and as an urban form. Freaknic, The Musical also offers an intellectual component, similar to Adult Swim's The Boondocks, as it makes fun of conservative black thought for more liberal and modern culture. Once again, Adult Swim has delivered thoughtful programing for its targeted audience.