Hood 2 Hood - The Blockumentary (2005)

Directed by:

• Aquis Bryant

Wiki.org
The documentary takes a tour through American neighborhoods with high crime rates. Street gangs allowed Rich Kid Entertainment to capture the day-to-day actions of life in gang-ridden neighborhoods. Rich Kid Entertainment traveled to over 29 different cities and neighborhoods which included the hoods that many music artists grew up in, such as Jay-Z, Eminem, Nelly, Suge Knight, Mac Dre, Michael Jackson, 3-6 Mafia, Juvenile, T.I. and Nas.

The documentary was used by police to help in investigations. A Las Vegas man, an alleged member of the Gerson Park Kingsmen, has been charged with murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

America Undercover: Thug Life In D.C. (1999)

Directed by:

• Marc Levin

movies.nytimes.com
While filmmaker Marc Levin was making his feature-film debut with Slam, he was also completing this documentary which tells a similar tale on far grimmer terms. Thug Life In D.C. tells the harrowing true story of Aundrey Burno, a 17-year-old felon facing up to 115 years in prison on charges of killing a police officer. On one hand Burno is a street-hardened young man who talks of the "thug life" creed that "you gotta do what you gotta do to survive," but at the same time it's hard not to see the fear and despair in his eyes as his case moves along, or in his pleas to his younger brother not to follow the path he's walked. Thug Life In D.C. was produced by Levin for HBO's America Undercover documentary series.

Gang War: Bangin' in Little Rock (1994)

Directed by:

• Marc Levin

IMDB.com
I must admit that I may be a little partial to this title as it has somewhat achieved cult status amongst myself and my peers. This title is a beautiful first hand look into streetgangs as we know it with a unique twist. . . it's not inner city youth. Generally speaking, gangs are thought to be confined to America's inner cities affecting mostly Black and Latino youth. This documentary opens your eyes to what's not publicized, which is the fact that suburban youth indulge in this lifestyle as well which stems from an air of hopelessness and despair which is prevalent where gangs are prevalent. We all know hopelessness and despair transcend racial barriers so we are privileged to follow our gang members (Whites, Blacks, Latinos etc.) from their rites of passage into these gangs, to a typical day in the life of, down to death, murder and comraderie. Ultimately this documentary reveals a lot about the underbelly of the city where our last ex-president hails from. A must-see if you're a fan of HBO documentaries.