SLAM (1998)

Cast

Plot

Triple award-winning gangsta drama from former documentarist Marc Levin. Newcomer Saul Williams stars as African-American Ray, holed up in a Washington DC penitentiary on a drug-dealing charge. Warding off the prison-yard heavy on his first day with a spectacular outburst of "slamming" (a mixture of rap, hip-hop and street poetry), he is quickly taken under the wing of the prison writing tutor, Lauren. Discovering his own talent, Ray begins to see a way forward to a better life, but the reality of his approaching court date still looms. Somewhat idealistic, but an intriguing insight into live performance art.