Its 1977 in New York City, there is corruption in the city
council, greedy developers are intent on gentrifying the poor neighborhoods and
politicians struggle to keep graffiti off subway trains and abandoned
buildings. Disco is at its peak, with countless, infamous nightclubs where celebrities,
drug dealers, pimps and gangsters indulge in all manner of extravagances, whilst
in the rubble-strewn sprawl of the South Bronx an underground music culture is
rising that will not only take over the city but the entire globe, It’s the birth of hip-hop music.
In the next 40 years hip-hop became a billion dollar
industry and disco was practically forgotten unless you happen to share Baz
Luhrmann’s nostalgic inclinations and wish Studio 54 re-opened its doors; but for
now let’s leave that in the dust pans of history.
Watching the Netflix series The Get Down, you can’t deny the
small screen’s power to re-interpret a forgotten musical trend through the eyes
of shady characters and introduce it to a new generation of music fans who did
not grow up dancing to its soul-influenced, melodic rhythms. The Get Down takes
audiences back to an era where young people struggled through the week and had
the time of their lives every weekend. Already in its 2nd season the
drama is fastidiously well researched re-telling in gritty details the origins
of hip-hop with DJ Cool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa making
cameos throughout the series. Disco provides a counterweight to the story
clearly showing the fall of the phenomenon as all kinds of sleaze from record
label executives to film directors sift through human misery searching for the
next Donna Summer.
This musical period-drama was created by Baz Luhrmann and
produced by music journalist Nelson George. The main protagonists are Ezekiel
Figueroa a young black Puerto Rican teenager who is a talented poet, wordsmith and
promising student but he gets involved with a young man from the streets named
Shaolin Fantastic, an apprentice DJ under the wing of Grandmaster Flash who is
trying to start a hip-hop group called the Get
Down brothers and completely revolutionize popular music by sampling, cutting
and scratching disco records whilst his 3 MC’s rap over
the music. The term Get Down means taking a 10 second drumbeat on a record and
manually editing it from one drum solo to the next extending the beat so MC’s
can rap over it, a technique invented by
Grandmaster Flash in the mid 70’s.
The main female protagonist Mylene Cruz is an attractive
young woman who has dreams of becoming a disco singer but whose father a
devoted Catholic wishes his daughter to only sing hymns about God in his
church. Of course Mylene and Eze kiel are also in love and they come into
conflict over his dreams of music stardom in the Bronx instead of going to
University and trying to find a real job. Other revolving characters are Papa
Fuerte (played by Jimmy Smits) a businessman working with politicians and other
business leaders to deliver housing, healthcare and jobs to his community. A
friend of Mylene’s family Papa Fuerte encourages her to start considering a
career in singing seriously and introduces her to record executive Roy Asheton
owner of disco label Marrakech Star, the label that turned Donna Summer and the
fictional character of Misty Holloway into super stars.
Hip-hop star Nas executive produced and wrote the rhymes
that narrate the story; each episode begins with him rapping as if he was the
adult Ezekiel. There are notable villains in this series too; one being
Cadillac a gangster and drug dealer who loves disco and hates hip-hop with a
vengeance wishing death upon all of the Get Down brothers. Cadillac is the son
of Fat Annie a wicked woman running the notorious Les Inferno club in the Bronx
who lures Shoaling Fantastic to help her push drugs and in return offers the Get
Down brothers a record contract and allows them to play a show at her club.
The first season of the Get
Down was more concerned with character development and the flamboyance of the
period with the drama revolving around the conflict between the popularity of
Disco and the rise of hip-hop. Season 2 however really kicks the plot line into
overdrive with many twists and turns in the narrative not to mention outrageous
sub-plots making it a really entertaining story that keeps you wondering what
more trouble these people will find themselves in.
The cast does a great job in portraying their characters and
the trade mark of Luhrmann’s art direction from the costumes and fashion
accessories to the flashy sets are spot on and really
do stand out. The superb soundtrack includes all the popular black 70’s music
from funk, Jazz, RnB and classic Disco hits such as Got to be Real by Cheryl
Lynn and hip-hop anthems like Rappers Delight by Sugarhill Gang. In fact all the elements of hip-hop culture are
heavily featured from MCing, breakdancing and graffiti to Dj’ing embracing a real lesson of what shaped this culture in its
early heyday.
Luhrmann also adds his other magical touches like stylistic editing,
colorful lighting and amazing cinematography, particularly with musical
performances as he’s done in his previous films really making the story come to
life.
As comic books and graphic novels were also highly popular
in the late 70’s season 2 introduces a stylistic departure via a comic book
format telling parts of the story in a cartoon configuration. However I found
it didn’t add to the enhancement of the story and felt unnecessary.
On the other hand an interesting subplot is when Ezekiel
takes on an internship with a business firm that mainly employs white middle
class students and he’s the exception to the rule. The boss of the company
likes Ezekiel and his daughter also fancies him; keeping to the contrasts of
the period she tries introducing him to The Ramones and other punk music of the
time.
With all the cultural references this really is a hybrid of real
events cleverly combined with fictitious characters and incidents tailored
specifically for young people who might not know the history of the origins of
hip-hop and the glamourous decadence of disco, The Get Down is a trip down
memory lane and all the artists who once carved the way for a generation of
hip-hop stars to come to the forefront. The HBO series Vinyl attempted something
similar with rock music and also had a great cast but failed to get a 2nd
series. The Get Down has exceeded all
expectations and there could be the possibility of a third one in the works.
Overall The Get Down is a breakthrough original production for
Netflix having premiered both series in 190 countries and receiving great
reviews. Regardless if you’re into hip-hop or disco The Get Down ties drama,
romance and music in a very satisfying package that makes for exceptional
viewing.
Four and a half stars out of five!