Fear of a Black Hat

Fear of a Black Hat
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRusty Cundieff
Written byRusty Cundieff
Produced byDarin Scott
Starring
CinematographyJohn Demps Jr.
Edited byKaren Horn
Music byJim Manzie
Larry Robinson
N.W.H.
Production
company
Distributed byThe Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release dates
  • January 24, 1993 (1993-01-24) (Sundance)
  • June 3, 1994 (1994-06-03) (United States)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million[1]
Box office$233,824[2]

Fear of a Black Hat is a 1993 American mockumentary film on the evolution and state of American hip hop music. Written and directed by Rusty Cundieff in his directorial debut, the film stars Cundieff, Larry B. Scott and Mark Christopher Lawrence. Fear of a Black Hat is similar in format to the satirical film about early 1980s heavy metal, This is Spinal Tap. It is told from the point of view of a graduate student who is documenting the hip hop group N.W.H. (which stands for "Niggaz With Hats", a reference to N.W.A.) for a year as part of her thesis.

The title is derived from the 1990 Public Enemy album Fear of a Black Planet. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 1993, and was later theatrically released on June 3, 1994. While critically acclaimed, it was a box office bomb. Its stature has grown in the years since its release and the film has acquired a cult following.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Marriott was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).