On this day back in 1994, the now cult classic basketball movie Above the Rim was released.
‘Above the Rim’ Turns 27 Today
The movie starred hip-hop superstar Tupac Shakur as the local drug lord/goon named Birdie. Above the Rim was a basketball movie, but Tupac’s character, Birdie pretty much stole the show. He showed that he was conniving, ruthless and willing to do anything to win, including having someone killed in broad daylight. He could be nice and warm one minute and willing to kill the next. It almost felt as if Tupac wasn’t acting, but really playing a version of himself.
On 23rd March 1994, the release of movie Above the Rim hit screens across the United States. The movie stars Tupac Shakur, Duane Martin, Leon Robinson, Wood Harris and Marlon Wayans. It follows the story of talented high school basketball star Kyle Watson, who dreams of playing in the NBA. Waiting to find out if he will get a scholarship to Georgetown University, he faces a difficult situation at a neighborhood tournament Shoot-Out.
Duane Martin (who was really an NBA level player) was casted as Kyle Lee Watson, a super talented but self-centered, hot-tempered high school baller who falls under Birdie’s influence. Leon played Tommy Shepherd, a troubled local basketball legend with a few dark secrets, who returns to the neighborhood to bury his mother. The movie also featured Marlon Wayans as Bugaloo, Bernie Mac as Flip and a young Wood Harris as Birdie’s right hand man, Motow— though we’re not sure his name was ever said in the movie. Above the Rim is a coming of age story about making smart choices and learning how to own up to past mistakes.