Fear of a Black Hat

A derivative, sporadically funny comedy that chronicles a year in the life of rap band Niggaz with Hats, and tries to do for rap what This Is Spinal Tap did for heavy metal. Given the lyrical and sartorial excesses of rap luminaries such as Ice T, Public Enemy and Niggaz with Attitude, the idea has potential. But while individual interviews, pop-video parodies and album titles hit the mark, the film as a whole is insufficiently clear-cut in its satire of the bands' dubious antics and attitudes.