Singleton’s impact on the evolution of Black storytelling is unmeasured.
It is with great sadness that we report director John Singleton is dead at the age of 51 after suffering a stroke earlier this month. Though there were conflicting reports throughout Monday, it has been reported that his family has chosen to remove him from life support.
Singleton has been a central figure in creating and promoting stories that dealt with life in South Central Los Angeles.
Prior to the release of “Boyz In the Hood”, many of the fictionalized accounts of life below Wilshire Blvd were filled with stereotypes and worn out troupes of what it is to live in such environments.
From “Poetic Justice” to “Baby Boy” and recently with “Snowfall”, Singleton’s sincere, three-dimensional depictions of black males in troubled circumstances has helped broaden the conversation of what it is to be “America’s Most Wanted” simply for being black and in the ghetto.
Within the midst of his greatest works emerged some of the top acting talent in Hollywood, and he was instrumental in getting Ice Cube mainstream shine beyond hip-hop. Not to mention pictures with Tupac and Janet, he dared cast musicians in leading roles when many still scoffed at the notion.
Cuba Gooding Jr., Omar Epps, Taraji P. Henson, and, of course, Tyrese Gibson the list is continuous.
Singleton is survived by his mother Sylvia Ward and four children, Hadar Busia-Singleton, Cleopatra Singleton, Maasai Mohandas Singleton, and Justice Maya Singleton. In celebration of his life, here are some pivotal scenes from some of his most celebrated works.
Least we forget a crowning achievement in music video that he crafted to bring Michael Jackson’s “Remember the Time” to life, which depicted Michael as a smooth talking rogue romancing the Queen, portrayed by supermodel great Iman, and an affront to the King, played by Eddie Murphy. It also featured a cameo from Magic Johnson. It was a cultural shift, not only in filmmaking, but the aesthetics of black cultural ownership over Khemetic imagery in a mainstream context cannot go understated.
Remember the Time featuring Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Magic Johnson, and Iman
Michael Jackson – Remember The Time (Official Video)
Michael Jackson’s “Remember The Time” short film was the second short film from the Dangerous album and continued to push the boundaries of the music video medium with a star-studded, nine-minute epic co-starring Eddie Murphy, Iman and Magic Johnson. Directed by John Singleton, this short film was hailed as a “gorgeous ancient Egyptian extravaganza” by Entertainment Weekly.
Boyz in the Hood Final Scene featuring Ice Cube and Cuba Gooding Jr.
Boyz N The Hood Ending Scene
Uploaded by T-Videos on 2019-01-18.
Poetic Justice featuring Tupac Shakur and Janet Jackson
Poetic Justice Ending
Uploaded by Brett Dove on 2017-12-22.
Baby Boy featuring Tyrese Gibson and Taraji P. Henson
Baby Boy-I Wanna See My Son (Uncensored Version)
Jody gets mad and kicks Yvette house cause she won’t let him in after he apologizes and get back with her then he yells through the window to get see son. WARNING: This scene contains mild language and may be inappropriate to some viewers (Under Age 17 and under) VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!!
Higher Learning featuring Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne and Omar Epps
Higher Learning ‘Information Is Power” Classic Scene!
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Four Brothers featuring Andre 3000, Mark Wahlberg and Tyrese Gibson
Four Brothers (2/9) Movie CLIP – These White Cops Are Crazy (2005) HD
Four Brothers movie clips: http://j.mp/1CM1orr BUY THE MOVIE: http://j.mp/w6dswL Don’t miss the HOTTEST NEW TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u2y6pr CLIP DESCRIPTION: Bobby (Mark Wahlberg) and Angel (Tyrese Gibson) lead a raid on a teen gang to get some answers. FILM DESCRIPTION: Four men come together to find out how and why the woman who raised them was killed in this hard-edged urban drama from director John Singleton.
These are but a handful of the many works that we’ve been blessed to enjoy from the mind of John Singleton.
Though he hasn’t released a feature-length film in over a decade, his creative energy did not wane as he directed episodic television on such shows as “Snowfall”, “Billions”, “American Crime Story” and “Empire”.
His work and his life will be sorely missed.
