Hustle & Flow

DJay (Terrance Howard), a pimp living in Memphis, dreams of leaving the hustling life to become a hip hop emcee. Meeting up with his old friend Key (Anthony Anderson), a sound engineer, DJay thinks he may finally realize his dream. But first, to get money for the recording equipment he needs, DJay has to hustle again. He sends one of his girls, Nola (Taryn Manning), to turn tricks. Then, problems arise when Key’s uptight wife Yevette (Elise Neal) disapproves of DJay and tries to keep her husband away from him. In spite of this, the demo is recorded with the help of Key’s friend Shelby (DJ Qualls), and another of DJay’s prostitutes: the pregnant Shug (Taraji P. Henson), who adds background vocals. The song created, in which DJay vents about the struggles of being a hustler, clearly shows DJay’s talent. He catches a break when he hustles his way into a party to meet Skinny Black (Ludacris), a superstar rapper originally from Memphis. Black finally takes DJay’s demo, but then the night changes DJay’s life in a much different way than he expected. Will his songs ever make it to the radio, giving DJay the validation and credibility he craves?