Patti Cake$ (2017)
Director: Geremy Jasper

Patti (Danielle MacDonald in a breakout performance) is an overweight, 23-year-old New Jersey girl who lives at home with her mother and ailing grandmother. Day and night she fantasizes about becoming a famous rap singer. It’s the only thing that seems to make her happy. Her neighborhood is lower income and bluer than blue collar. Patti’s mother is a hard drinking, bitter figure, who once had dreams of a singing career herself. She has little patience in supporting Patti’s own dreams because her prejudiced view of rap music is that it’s only fit for criminals and thugs. Patti spends time with her friend Jheri, an energetic Indian pharmacist, who backs Patti with his beats, comedy relief and pep talks. At a VFW local band night, they stumble upon outsider, and musical whiz, Bob (Mamoudou Athie in a quietly dynamic performance) an African American who dresses in black and has dreadlocks and facial piercings. Together these three pool their knowledge and talents long enough to record a demo CD called PBNJ. Patti even brings her wheelchair-bound grandmother, a scene stealing Cathy Moriarty, to help out on vocals. The group sells their demo and hits up every open mic they can find. It all builds up to a rap contest that’s hard not to be moved by. Continue Reading

“That’s what women did back then. They had to be better.”
– Suzanne Ciani

“A Life in Waves,” a music documentary, tells the story of Suzanne Ciani. A name you may not be familiar with. But chances are you know her work very well. She began playing playing piano at a young age, but during her college years a new instrument called to her. She fell in love with synthesizer (or synth) and electronic music the instant she heard it. Although keyboards had been invented years earlier the machine that she played, called a Buchla, looked like a huge telephone switchboard from the 1940’s. It has various colored cables connecting one module to another, flashing lights, and an endless sea of knobs and dials to control it all. Its limitless options separated it from traditional keyboards. Ciani’s natural ability to twist and distort sounds wasn’t terribly commercial until she did something no one else had done. She gave the sounds musicality. It was a serendipitous moment where Ciani’s talents converged with breaking technology. She set out to give the world something they didn’t know they wanted. In the 1980’s, the advertising business was male dominated and Suzanne was often brushed aside. Despite her sweet personality and nerdy attitude she was able to forge ahead because she never doubted her own talent. “That’s what women did back then. They had to be better.” she explains. Early in her career she was asked to help out on a TV commercial for Coke. The ad played nationwide and was a huge hit. Suddenly the list of companies vying for her new, space age, electronic sound was endless. If you’re over the age of 30 there’s no doubt you’ve heard her work. From there it was onto more personal albums, concerts, Grammy awards and even sounds for a pinball machine (Xenon, anyone?). Closing scenes show Ciani welcomed by synth fans eager to meet and learn from a pioneer of modern electronica music. Continue Reading