Visionary music video director Hype Williams made his feature film debut with this enduring stylistic achievement inspired by classic gangster noirs that culminates on New Year’s Eve 2000. 

Tommy Brown (DMX) and his best friend Sincere (Nas) are gangsters who have learned how to make a good living as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in Queens, New York, respected by many but feared by all. After relocating to an upscale section of Manhattan, the pair would seem to have it made, but both soon realize that their lives are headed toward a dead end. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last? 

Though Belly was panned by critics on release, it has gained a cult following and been given considerable reappraisal for its singular approach to style and the crime film canon. Complex senior editor Khal said in his piece “How Belly Changed Hip Hop and Hollywood”, “it’s a black story featuring black celebrities told under the black gaze that has become a cult classic, especially in the hood, which is the only place that truly matters for a film like this. It blazed a trail in black cinema that some filmmakers are only just now starting to understand and build upon.”