''Thicker than Water'' is a 1999 film directed by

Richard Cummings Jr. Richard Cummings Jr. is an American actor and film director most recognized for his acting roles in the dramas '' thirtysomething'' and ''Northern Exposure''. He is currently working as a film and television director. Recent projects include ...

and starring a host of rappers and urban entertainers such as

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

Mack 10 Dedrick D'Mon Rolison (born August 9, 1971), better known by his stage name Mack 10, is an American rapper. He has sold nearly 11 million records combining his solo and group works. Mack 10 made his first appearance on Ice Cube's 1994 " Bootleg ...

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

MC Eiht Aaron Tyler (born May 22, 1971), better known by his stage name MC Eiht (pronounced MC eight), is an American rapper and actor. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's na ...

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the ea ...

, and others. The film contains rappers from both the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

, as it was made after the end of the East Coast-West Coast feud.

Plot

In Los Angeles, two rival gang leaders are also trying to be music producers. When DJ's (

) equipment shorts out and Lonzo (

) is cut out of the action by a record producer, the two join forces, which also requires a tentative peace between gangs. With backing from Gator (

CJ Mac Bryaan Ross, also known as CJ Mac (Born in March 26, 1964) is an American rapper and actor. Music career He released his debut EP, ''Color Me Funky'', independently in 1991, under the name "CJ Mack." The album is out of print, and extremely ra ...

), a smooth New Orleans drug king, DJ and Lonzo start

drug dealing The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs throug ...

, organizing their gangs into pushers. Just as their finances are looking up, one of Gator's team pulls a double cross and two of DJ and Lonzo's gang bangers start a shooting war. Can the erstwhile music producers salvage anything of their bond or their plans?

Cast

Soundtrack

A soundtrack containing hip hop music was released on October 5, 1999, by

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice-T, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Big L, Silkk the Shocker and Westside Connection. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death Row R ...

. It peaked at #64 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and #8

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

. It spawned a single in "Let It Reign" by Westside Connection.

External links

* * * 1999 drama films 1999 films American gang films Hood films American drama films Films scored by Tyler Bates 1990s hip hop films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-drama-film-stub