In Hustle & Flow, filmmaker Craig Brewer crafts an exceptional story that captivates with its richly flawed characters and core themes that transcend social boundaries. A tale in which dreams are conceived and achieved, Hustle & Flow is set in Memphis, Tennessee, a city known more for blues than rap. As with dreams, hip hop is pervasive and the genre has spread throughout the globe. But in the dirty South and Memphis in particular, the genre took new form and regional artists created a hip hop hybrid known as crunk. It is crunk, rather than the chronic and pimping, that Hustle & Flow's main man DJay decides is where his destiny lies.

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Hustle & Flow's compelling drama about an individual desperately looking to add his verse to hip hop's anthology is brought to life by a fantastic ensemble cast that enriches the film's narrative with their uniformly strong performances. Nevertheless, Terrence Howard and Taraji Henson are standouts among the cast. Henson brings a captivating naïveté to her portrayal of Shug, one of DJay's stable of women who is currently homebound due to the impending birth of her child. The senior member of DJay's trio, Shug is DJay's confidant who supports DJay when he is in need. Although Shug is unable to contribute financially to DJay's ventures, Shug's sweet voice melds harmoniously with DJay's raw timbre in the creation of pulsating rhythms that uplift the narrative. But make no mistake; Hustle & Flow is Howard's showcase where the actor finally gets an opportunity to demonstrate the breadth of his immense talent.   MORE >>>

Neither a silk-suited or bejeweled purveyor of flesh galavanting around town in a ride with shaggy seats, spinning rims and a brightly-hued exterior, Howard's DJay is a low-level street hustler managing three hookers, pushing weed and living day-to-day on the meager paper he earns. DJay's only concession to the hustler's lore is a relaxed and hot-curled 'do that would make Rev. Al envious. Without the trappings of stereotypical pimpdom, Howard allows DJay's experiences and circumstances to define the character's life as a hustler.

To reap the modicum of success he has earned in the game, DJay relies on his silver-tongue and street swagger to convince impressionable youngsters to sell tail to enrich his coffers. But DJay's mediocrity is of no consequence until he realizes that time is running out for him to live the hip hop fantasy of his youth. Since hip hop is a collaborative process, an eclectic group bands together to make DJay's dream a reality. Howard magnificently layers his hustler-cum-musical upstart with angst, raw desire and an urgency to succeed that is palpable.