NOTE: This film was recommended to me by YouTube user Kjo Schultz for "Steve Pulaski Sees It." Hype Williams' Belly follows the troubled escapades of two New York street criminals named Tommy (DMX) and Sincere (Nas), in addition to their partners in crime, as the gang spends their nights cracking cars and robbing nightclubs using little else other than brute force. This provides them with pocket money for the meantime; enough where Tommy can satisfy his girlfriend Keisha (Taral Hicks) and Sincere can take care of his girlfriend Tionne (Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins) and infant daughter.However, the big break for these gentleman comes at the turn of the 2000's, when heroin prices are escalating and the business is becoming a lucrative venture for anyone willing to take the risk. Tommy and Sincere go on to meet "Ox" (Louie Rankin), a heroin drug lord who wants to work with the men due to their promise. The perils of urban life soon take their toll on the men, in addition to greed and self-absorption, most of it resting on Sincere, who has to constantly battle the push and pull effect he gets with his business and his wife nearly every day.Belly is an interesting street-drama largely for its cinematography, and surprisingly not so much for its two leading male performers, two of the biggest names in hip-hop at the time. Rather than opting for flare with a constantly moving camera or canted angles similar to the Hughes Brothers' Menace II Society (this film also featured Tyrin Turner from that film in a small supporting performance, as well), Williams and cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed employ a wide variety of different ambiance and aesthetic warmth to the film. Consider the scene in a nightclub, where the blacklights make the characters "glow" blue in a strangely eerie, unsettling manner. Then consider one of the chase sequences in the film and how Williams employs very vivid, cleanly shot and paced car chases that help make a film that's mostly grounded in reality suspend disbelief for a few minutes in order to give you something completely different.There's more variety to Belly than I initially had predicted. The issue at hand is that there is so much going on in Belly that it's a shame character development suffers as a result. Granted, this particular drama doesn't have a liberal three hours to build up character relations, but it doesn't have the same hard-hitting punch and haunting, "urban jungle" vibes as a film like New Jack City did a few year prior. DMX and Nas do a fairly adequate job of conveying characters, but there's not a lot to them as people, which makes their performances, as well as their characters, stunted from any kind of significant growth.On an unrelated note, the soundtrack for Belly is what truly pushes it over and makes it a presence. Songs from Wu-Tang Clan, Method Man, and DMX himself populate a film that pulsates with life and adds to the noir-aesthetic Williams and Sayeed work to create. While it's unfortunate that Belly's lacking character development and rather subpar plot distract its loftier, more impressive elements, there's almost never too many urban films that depict some kind of dichotomy between playing by the rules and ripping the rulebook to shreds when you look at where it has gotten you. The film, in many ways, proudly showcases that.Starring: DMX, Nas, Taral Hicks, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Louie Rankin, and Tyrin Turner. Directed by: Hype Williams.

"Belly" con temporarily shot in late 1998 is one of the most visually stimulating films I have ever seen. Nas, DMX, Method Man, and others all prove to be great convincing characters in their roles as big time new york gangsters whose run of good luck in crime is about to run out. This has got to be one of my favorite gangster films of all time. It boggles me that this film got such a low score, apparently by people who don't appreciate cinematic art when they see it. It amazed me when I saw that Nas, who is my favorite rapper of all time, actually got a big part in developing this film, to mainstream society, Nas is misunderstood and criticized by all media and the industry, much like this exceptional film. But to those who know real music and real movies they recognize that Nas is the best rapper out there and Belly is one of the best gangster movies out there. What I most love about this movie is the nostalgic sense of the late 1990's that it brings out, a time where everything was changing. From the cars, Mercedes-Benz CLK 500 and the Lexus GS300 to the visual hip hop movie style that makes this film encompassing and exceptional, as well as nostalgic. Nas is an excellent narrator, as well as en excellent actor, and an exceptional writer and artist. The scene from "One Love" has got to be one of my favorite scenes of all time. The scenes in Jamacia are 100% real, and the dangers and the high life of crime are depicted sincerely in this movie. This movie sends out so many good messages about society that I cant list them all, the soundtrack is excellent, the cinematography is excellent, the acting is excellent, and the plot is excellent. So many memorable scenes to list. Overall one of the realest movies of all time, and one of the best, if not the best gangster film ever. I still never get tired of watching this movie, especially with a blunt to pull on.Supra Rating 9.5/10

OK first of all the low rating on Belly has given me a very good idea about the people that rate movies on IMDb. First off, the Godfather is one of my favorite movies as well as Belly. So how can the Godfather be rated a 9.1 and this equally interesting gangster movie a 4.1?? OK the Departed, Goodfellas, Carlitos Way, and Godfather are all rated very high, which I agree. But when you rate Belly so low, even though it is just as dramatic, gangster, and violent, etc. that proves without a doubt that the nerds that rate movies on IMDb are all racist dorks with no true appreciation towards a movie with a different racial perspective. Just because Belly revolves around the black mob and has rappers in it doesn't mean it should be judged lowly. This movie is one of the most Realistic cinemas that i have ever seen regarding the street life. This movie revolves around real life deals, trafficking, and police evasion of the REAL drug world. F*** those who jump on the bandwagon, racist pricks.

there's a reggae song that comes on in the movie when Dmx and the Jamaican guy go to an "island" i really need to know its been bugging me for two years. please help i need the name of the song and or the artist if someone would not mind helping me out that would be great but know I'm just writing the ten line minimum of bull crap by the way this movie is average its just that Nas really needs to take some acting courses or something because he was horrible his wife can use the help too because her acting was horrible as well talking to someone requires emotion, she was just reading off of a script. since I only have eight and a half lines I have to bull crap this last line, this really grinds my gears.