A Genius Leaves the Hood: The Unauthorized Story of Jay Z

2014 • 57 minutes
4.0
151 reviews
Eligible
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About this movie

On the surface, "A Genius Leaves The Hood: The Unauthorized Story of Jay Z" chronicles how hip-hop's most successful rapper of the past two decades reached the top; but at its core, the film attempts to divulge the savvy and cunning business acumen of a mogul who decided being at the top of the charts wasn't enough. This 60-minute unauthorized biography explores the mind of a man who never played by the rules and admits it. This film uncovers the price Mr. Carter paid for his success through recent controversies that include the racial debate of the Barneys deal, the feud with Harry Belafonte, and clashes with community activists over the construction of the Barclay Center. The film also explores rumors of association with the Illuminati, a highly publicized separation from the Roc-A-Fella crew, his estranged relationship with rapping mentor Jaz-O, and his break up with business partner Damon Dash. Through in-depth interviews with friends, former business partners, music industry executives, authors and journalists, this exploratory biopic gives the novice, the fan, the critic and the non-believer an uncensored look at Jay Z's journey from Marcy Projects to Madison Avenue and beyond. As a drug dealer, turned rapper, turned CEO, turned author, turned sports agent, viewers will discover what drove Jay-Z to seek unlimited wealth, how he positioned himself to achieve this wealth, and whether criticism is warranted for someone who successfully pursued the American dream.

Ratings and reviews

4.0
151 reviews
Rick Cervantes
April 7, 2014
Anyone that raises from the bottom to the top is worthy of an applause. It's what they do when they are on top that should be worth even more. Because now that they have the minds and ears of younger generations, what will they give them as far as good moral ethics, good character building advise, will they be a role model or just a model. As far as JZ, he has choosen to worship himself and teach people that God is whatever they choose him to be, but that is unbiblical. God is one and there no others..none.
6 people found this review helpful
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BQSTUDIOS
June 26, 2014
This documentary was made by people who knew jay-z a long time ago and are most likely bitter they're not in his life anymore. I was surprised to see kim osario (or whatever), former someone at the source magazine, talking bad about jay-z . I Guess all former source mag workers are bitter ( ala Benzino) people that are mad at the very people they tried to get on the cover of ther magazine, when it was relevant. Surprisingly jaz -o doesn't go too hard on jay, but you know what hes there for, to basically say jay-z shitted on me, his mentor. Sprinkled through out with moody music to over dramatize some of the mostly negative interviews , This doc just has a negative tone thats hard to ignore.
3 people found this review helpful
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Nancy Lao
May 16, 2014
This Unauthorized documentary shows a side i think Mr Carter doesn't want anyone too see. Its all true unfortunately in the documentary Shawn Carter is a Capitalist . I think anyone who see this video would agree. Would you expect this man to not want a better life to transition from the one dimension rapper or go do something better.I honestly wish he would do more for the black community ......but that is up to decide
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