Pimps Up, Ho's Down (1999)

Directed by:

• Brent Owens

IMDB.com
This HBO documentary looks at the lifestyle of the modern day pimp, without any condemnation or real depth. These swaggering men (and one woman) discuss how they control their 'hos' as if they were regular businessmen. Although no regular businessman would dress in their flamboyant style which seems a parody of those 'Blaxploitation' characters in the 1970's movies. We see them preparing, with great seriousness of purpose, for 'The Pimp of the Year' competition, while guest star Ice-T tells of how proud he is of his pimp background, which he sees as little different to the record or film industry. Pointedly, violence towards the women is never addressed. All we see is a troupe of apparently adoring (and often skanky looking ) acolytes. As far as we learn from this, the prostitutes need a good pimp to look up to and 'take of them'. These fellows wax philosophical about their calling while seemingly lacking any moral view. Having said all that, the pic is lively and colorful, with a lot of amusing characters on display. Remember---never make eye contact with your pimp.

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.