Around his Bay Area stomping ground, Nickatina is a hip-hop legend who’s best known for his hardcore “life-on-the-streets” ethos and silky smooth delivery. Some might call Nickatina “gangsta rap,” and he might not even disagree with that label.
There’s no doubt this rapper, whose word-of-mouth rise to regional fame has allowed him to tour the West Coast extensively, has skills – BUT we’re talking MC skills, not filmmaking skills. Nickatina recently served as executive producer of a feature length film entitled Ugly Money, a confusingly low-budget story about prostitutes and their predictably skeezy pimps.
The film, shot entirely on a handheld (Hi8?) camera, was directed by fellow rapper Gino Carnell, who also plays Mack, a slick pimp who prefaces most of his nouns with any variety of N-words, F-words, MF-words, or mumbling. Nickatina is only a producer, so it’s unclear what influence he had, but his name does appear (albeit misspelled) on the cover, so he can’t completely escape the blame…or accolades. Nickatina previously produced another DVD that one SF Weekly writer called “fantastically bad,” which is also an apt description of Ugly Money.
The film includes lines like: “Respect the game for what it is. I got the bitch and let’s leave it at that,” said from one pimp to another. Soon after, the aforementioned “bitch” is fatally and repeatedly stabbed behind a Mayflower moving truck. This is all probably meant to paint a poignantly realistic take of life on the street, but the result is a hilarious C-grade flick that you’ll be staring at (and laughing at) for it’s entire hour and a half. – Mike Bookey
Andre Nickatina, Cool Nutz, Cloaked Characters, Benzo, and Mindscape
8pm doors, 9pm show Friday, June 6. Midtown Ballroom, 51 NW Greenwood Ave. $22/advance, $27/day of show.
This article appears in Jun 5-11, 2008.
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THE ACTING IN THIS FILM IS GREAT,THE WHOLE CAST CAME TOGETHER TO PUT A GOOD FILM TOGETHER……LUCIA REVELES AND AMANDA COLEMAN AND GNOC PERFORMED WELL AND 1NCE YOU START WATCHING THIS FILM YOU CANT STOP.
i wana trow up
Stop bein such a hater my friend……yes it may be a low budget film, but a very well done film. I have spread this movie among my friends, and in stores where I live and I have heard nothing but praises, and I believe Gnoc can say the same thing. I have lots of faith in Gnoc and know that with every step he takes he makes a mark. Soon enough Gnoc will be making anybody who wants to talk negative shit about him and the things he does eat their words…..soon Mike Bookey you will be praising my man and those who surround him, and help him with his success!
B.S….that movie is wack….cant even act…so fake!
I heard that wack ass nigga was in jail for pimpin a minor, and gettin life, is that shit true???? How I get this dudes movie? I wanna see this shit fo myself and see if ya’ll is talkin shit up in here
I saw the movie…and the acting sucks! Very disappointed!!!!!!!
Thank you all for viewing Ugly Money and for the support from the lovers and yes also the haters. Because I was illegally convicted, the Nevada State Supreme Court reversed my charges and I will be home soon to film Ugly Money 3.
I saw the movie not the greatest piece of film I must say. Instead of glorifying pimping and showing how the “hoes” turn out why not depict a movie on the real circumstances of living this hideous lifestyle. I beg my brothas to wake up and realize u are glorifying a sterotype a negative one at that. But if u wanna make a doc about it tell about the risks of HIV drug use and yes even prison. This topic is so played out how many low budget films we gotta have floating out there about pimps and hoes. Why don’t u so called movie makers make some positive shit for our young black men to look up to esp since most of are brothas are locked up or not even in the picture. I will never NOC (no pun intended) creativity but garbage like this just fuels and glorifies disrespect not only for these females caught in the game but also the pimps who in some cases force these women thru manipulation drugs and physical violence to be the “hoes & bitches” they all called. …. bless