A story of four Black teens hanging out in Harlem. They skip school, chill at the arcade, lock horns with a Puerto Rican gang, and steal hip-hop LPs. But cracks begin to appear in the tight-knit group. Bishop thinks the only way for him to get “juice” (respect and street cred) is with violence. His biggest role model is James Cagney in Raoul Walsh’s iconic gangster movie ‘White Heat’ (1949). Quincy (“Q”) wants to be a star DJ and enters a competition. Meanwhile, Bishop and Raheem are trying to set up an alibi for a convenience store robbery. But the plan goes pear-shaped when Bishop starts shooting.
In this directorial debut of Spike Lee cinematographer Ernest R. Dickerson, the quartet of young men are united by a love of rap and hip-hop. The music was also a big draw for the target audience. Not only did the cast include hip-hop superstars Tupac Shakur and Queen Latifah, the pre-release of the soundtrack brought in audiences, weaving New Black Cinema together with the music charts. In an analogy to gangsta rap and its often-violent music videos, ‘Juice’ combined the traditional teen subgenre of juvenile delinquents with elements of high-octane action movies.

USA 1992, directed by Ernest R. Dickerson, 95 min, rated: 16