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Belly is a 1998 American crime drama film written and directed by music video director Hype Williams, in his feature film directing debut.[2] Filmed in New York City, the film stars rappers Nas and DMX in their film debut, alongside Taral Hicks, Method Man, and R&B singer T-Boz.

Belly
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Hype Williams
Written by	Hype Williams
Story by	Anthony Bodden Nas Hype Williams
Produced by	Ron Rotholz Hype Williams Robert Salerno Larry Meistrich
Starring	Nas DMX Taral Hicks T-Boz Method Man
Cinematography	Malik Sayeed
Edited by	David Leonard
Music by	Stephen Cullo
Production company	Big Dog Films
Distributed by	Artisan Entertainment
Release date	November 4, 1998 (1998-11-04)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3 million
Box office	$9,639,390 (US and Canada)[1]

A sequel, Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club, was released in 2006.

Plot

In 1999 Queens, New York City, young street criminals Tommy "Buns" Brown (DMX) and Sincere ("Sin") (Nas), along with associates Mark and Black, murder five people during a violent nightclub robbery. After celebrating with the gang, Sincere returns home to his girlfriend Tionne (Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins) and infant daughter Kenya.

The following morning, Tommy asks Sincere to help him sell a new form of heroin. Sincere, who has begun having second thoughts about his life of crime, reluctantly agrees. Tommy then visits Ox, a wealthy Jamaican drug lord, who agrees to obtain the heroin on the condition that Tommy repay him with a favor at a later date.

In Mark's grandmother's basement, the gang convenes to discuss the nascent drug operation; one of Tommy's associates, Knowledge (Oliver "Power" Grant), will be involved in the operation. Knowledge tells Tommy over the phone that Black had been talking about robbing Sincere to get his larger share of the loot from the nightclub. Enraged, Tommy forces Black to strip naked in front of the others, firing warning shots with a handgun wildly into the floor to force him to strip naked or else the next shot would not be a warning shot.

The gang begins transporting heroin from Queens to Omaha, Nebraska, where they begin to overrun the local drug business. Big Head Rico (Tyrin Turner), an Omaha dealer, informs the police of their activities. The resulting raid at their stash-house ends with Mark's death and Knowledge's arrest. Knowledge angrily realizes that Tommy will not bail him out of jail, and calls Shameek, a.k.a. Father Sha (Method Man), to both infiltrate Rico's gang and kill Tommy. Shameek drinks shots that Rico spikes with some sort of powder and Shameek tells Rico that he was sent by Knowledge to look after Rico and his henchmen blowing his cover causing Rico to get up and inform his henchmen at a strip club, but is gunned down by Shameek when he tries to flee. Shameek is shot by the bartender and stumbles out of the club. He shoots at and evades the police.

Tommy travels to Jamaica and repays Ox by killing Sosa, the son of a local drug lord. Back home, Tommy's girlfriend Keisha (Taral Hicks) is arrested by police and later bailed out by Tionne. Tommy finds out about the raid and leaves town. Pelpa, a close friend of Sosa, finds out that Ox ordered the hit on Sosa. Pelpa sends a hit squad to kill Ox in his home. Ox kills most of the hitmen before dying at the hands of a female assassin.

Sincere prepares to leave the drug trade and move his family to Africa, planning to leave on New Year's Day 2000. Meanwhile, while laying low in Atlanta, Tommy instigates an argument between Wise and LaKid, two marijuana dealers, which ends with both men to drawing their guns and LaKid shooting Wise. After being arrested over the shooting, Tommy is coerced by a shadowy organization with unclear motives into assassinating a Black Muslim leader, Rev. Saviour, (Benjamin Chavis) during a sermon on New Year's Eve. Tionne comes home and finds herself confronted by Shameek and his henchmen, who had already broken into the home in hopes of finding Sincere, but were unsuccessful, so they waited until someone came home and Tionne came home and Shameek and the henchmen attempt to interrogate and demand the whereabouts of Sincere and Tommy.

While Sincere talks to a friend who is his barber (AZ) outside a barbershop, Black shoots him in the leg as revenge for his earlier humiliation. Sincere and his barber kill Black and his accomplice in self-defense before fleeing the scene. On New Year's Eve, Tommy confronts Rev. Saviour before his scheduled speech and points his gun at him. Saviour convinces Tommy not to go through with his mission, even though this will put his life at risk.

A tearful Tommy agrees, and the two men embrace. Shameek breaks into one of Tommy's homes, (but in this case the home is Tommy's main home) where Keisha is living, in the hopes of finding Tommy there. He interrogates and assaults Keisha, who manages to turn the tables and get a hold of Shameek's gun and shoots him in the face. Sincere, now in Africa with his family, reflects on recent events and is happy to start a new life.

Cast

• DMX – Tommy "Buns" Bundy
• Nas – Sincere
• Taral Hicks – Keisha
• Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins – Tionne
• Method Man – Shameek aka Father Sha
• Tyrin Turner – Big Head Rico
• Hassan Johnson – Mark
• Oliver "Power" Grant – Knowledge
• Louie Rankin – Lennox aka Ox
• Jay Black - Black
• Stanley Drayton – Wise
• James Parris – LaKid
• Benjamin Chavis – Reverend Saviour
• Sean Paul – Himself
• Mr. Vegas - Himself
• Lavita “Vita” Raynor – Kionna
• Crucial Conflict - cameo appearance
• Ghostface Killah – cameo appearance
• AZ – Born (Friend of Sincere)
• Frank Vincent - Roger
• Kurt Loder - Himself
• Paula Ouch - Chiquita
• William Burke - friend of Sincere

Production

While filming Belly, the production was mired by frequent clashes between Williams and the producers, budget constraints, and cast members showing up drunk, high, or late.[3] Much of the $3 million budget was used up on the film's opening scene, which was filmed in the former Tunnel nightclub in New York City.[3][4] The film's costume designer, June Ambrose, recalled that Williams wanted the film's "shiny look" to "forecast what the hip-hop genre's gonna look like in the millennium."[3] Williams revealed that Jay-Z was considered for the film's title role.[5]

Release and controversy of the film

When Belly was released in the United States in November 1998, some critics condemned it for its demeaning depictions of young Black or African American men.[6] Furthermore, the Magic Johnson Theatres, a film theater chain then owned by the former basketball player Magic Johnson, banned the film from being shown on its screens due to "negative and violent depictions of African Americans."[7]

Reception

The film was poorly received by critics, scoring a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes from 20 reviews.[8] Although it was generally praised for its highly stylized "noir-like"^{[citation needed]} visual design and cinematography, it was criticized for what was seen as a weak plot. Since then the film has developed a cult following.[9] Clayton Purdom of The A.V. Club described Belly as a "far from a perfect film, but it radiates talent, both from Williams and the musicians he captured at their commercial and artistic peak."[4] Khris Davenport of Complex doubled down on the film's legacy and influence, writing that Williams "blazed a trail in black cinema that some filmmakers are only just now starting to understand and build upon."[9]

Soundtrack

Year	Album	Peak chart positions		Certifications
		U.S.	U.S. R&B
1998	Belly Released: November 3, 1998 Label: Def Jam	5	2	US: Gold

See also

• List of hood films

References

1. ^ LaSalle, Mick (Nov. 4, 1998). "A Clumsy Film Debut, Williams' `Belly' Flops". San Francisco Chronicle.
2. ^ Richberg, Chris and Williams, Houston (Jun. 12, 2006). "DMX Talks 'Beast' Sequel to 'Belly'. AllHipHop.com: Daily Hip-Hop News.

External links

• Belly at IMDb
• Belly at AllMovie

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