''Who's the Man?'' is a 1993

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

buddy

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Ted Demme in his feature film directing debut. The film stars '' Yo! MTV Raps'' hosts Doctor Dré and Ed Lover as its two main protagonists and features cameo appearances from some of the top rap/ hip-hop acts of the time, including (though not limited to) Busta Rhymes, Bushwick Bill,

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan- Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

Eric B. Louis Eric Barrier (born November 8, 1963) is an American rapper, producer and DJ for the golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim. Eric B. & Rakim's album '' Paid in Full'' was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by MTV in 2006, an ...

, House of Pain, Ice-T,

Kris Kross Kris Kross was an American hip hop duo that consisted of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. Kris Kross was the youngest hip-hop duo to gain success, with gold and platinum albums at 12 and 13 years old. The duo was discover ...

, Phife Dawg,

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

, KRS-One,

Run-D.M.C. Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

, and a young Del the Funky Homosapien. The film is also the feature film debut of Terrence Howard.

Plot

Doctor Dré and Ed Lover are two bumbling barbers at a

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

barbershop. Knowing full well that cutting hair is not their calling, their boss, friend, and mentor Nick (

Jim Moody James Powers Moody (September 2, 1935March 22, 2019) was an American economist and Democratic politician. He served five terms as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 5th congressional district (1983–1993). At the time, the 5th congre ...

) tells the two maybe they should try out for the police academy. They refuse at first, but Nick threatens them with unemployment. Crazily enough, it works out for the two, and they are accepted on the New York City police force. Things seem to be going well for them, when tragedy suddenly strikes, and they lose Nick and the barbershop. Now enforcers of the law, the team decides to investigate the incident, which they believe to be a murder. Ed and Dre find out through the streets that a crooked land developer named Demetrius ( Richard Bright) might have had something to do with their friend's death, and proceed to attempt to dig up as much dirt on him as possible. This proves to be difficult, however, when they've got an angry Sergeant ( Denis Leary), a moody detective (Rozwill Young), and a bunch of unwilling street hoods (

, Ice-T) to go through to get the information they need. Though there aren't any certain clues to be found, strange happenings are certainly going on, as the cops found out that Demetrius' company seems to be looking for oil rather than looking for property. With their superiors not believing Ed and Dre's story and getting themselves in trouble, they end up being suspended. However, they get a lead to a warehouse where they find a lot of guns. They have enough evidence to arrest Demetrius, but Demetrius didn't kill Nick. It was revealed that Nick's friend, Lionel, who was working for Demetrius had murdered him because Nick refused to sell his shop. Ed and Dre have Lionel arrested. Ed and Dre are offered their jobs back, but decided to quit, stating it's too violent for them. When they return to their old barbershop they discover oil coming from the floor. Soon after, they're back in business re-opening the place giving customers bad haircuts.

Cast

* Doctor Dré as Himself * Ed Lover as Himself * Badja Djola as Lionel Douglas * Cheryl "Salt" James as Teesha Braxton *

Colin Quinn Colin Edward Quinn (born June 6, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Quinn first gained widespread attention for his work as a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series '' Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2 ...

as Frankie Flynn * Denis Leary as Sergeant Cooper * Bernie Mac as G-George * Terrence Howard as Costumer * Richard Gant as Albert *

as Martin Lorenzo * Ice-T as Chauncey "Nighttrain" Jackson * Larry Cedar as Officer Barnes *

as Nick Crawford *

Joe Lisi Joe Lisi (born September 9, 1950), also credited as Joe Lissi, is an American television actor. He appeared in the NBC television show '' Third Watch'' as NYPD Lieutenant Swersky from 2000 to 2005. He also appeared on the NBC television show '' ...

as Captain Reilly * Karen Duffy as Officer Day * Roger Robinson as Charlie * Richard Bright as Demetrius * Rozwill Young as Bo Griles * Vinny Pastore as Tony "Clams" Como * Tony Lip as Vito Pasquale *

Caron Bernstein Caron Bernstein (born 16 August 1970) is a South African model, actress and singer. Biography Caron Bernstein was born in Johannesburg. She majored in painting while studying at the School of the Arts in Johannesburg. At the age of fourteen ...

as Kelly * Kim Chan as Fuji

Cameo appearances

* B-Fine as Club Guy #1 *

B-Real Louis Mario Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band ...

as Jose * Apache as Bubba Worker #1 * Bill Bellamy as K.K. *

Big Bub Today is an American R&B vocal group formed in 1988. The group comprised Frederick Lee "Bubba" Drakeford, Larry "Chief" Singletary, Wesley "Wes" Adams, and Larry "Love" McCain, childhood friends from Englewood, New Jersey. History The group sta ...

as Roscoe * Bow-Legged Lou as Forty * Bushwick Bill as Bar Vagrant * Busta Rhymes as Jawaan *Angelo Montagnese as The Manno *Michael Giordano as Not The Manno * Chi-Ali as Drew * CL Smooth as Robber #2 * Danny Boy as Steve * Del the Funkee Homosapien as Kid #1 * D-Nice as Male Nurse *

DJ Lethal Leor Dimant ( lv, Leors Dimants, russian: Леор Григорьевич Димант, ; born December 18, 1972), better known as DJ Lethal, is a Latvian-American turntablist and producer and is best known as a member of the groups House of Pa ...

as Mike * D.J. Wiz as Test Taker #1 * Dres as Malik *

as Robber #5 *

Everlast Erik Francis Schrody (born August 18, 1969), known by his stage name Everlast, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter, who was the frontman for hip hop group House of Pain. He was also part of the hip hop supergroup La Coka N ...

as Billy * Fab 5 Freddy as Himself * Flavor Flav as Himself * Freddie Foxxx as Bartender * Gavin O'Connor as Police Drill Man * Heavy D as Himself * House of Pain - Card players *

Humpty Hump Gregory Edward Jacobs (August 25, 1963 – April 22, 2021), known professionally as Shock G and by his alter ego Humpty Hump, was an American rapper and musician who was best known as the lead vocalist of the hip hop group Digital Underground. ...

as Club Doorman *

Kid Capri David Anthony Love Jr. (born February 7, 1967) is an American DJ and rapper better known by his stage name Kid Capri. Early life Kid Capri's humble roots can be traced back to his parents' home in the Bronx, where ten year old David Antho ...

as Himself * King Sun as Haircut Guy *

as Karim/Micah * KRS-One as Rashid * Leaders of the New School as Passengers in Jeep * Lin Que Ayoung as Female Nurse * Mark Sexx as Guy at Bar *

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furi ...

as Delroy * Monie Love as Vanessa * Naughty By Nature as Themselves *

Nikki D Nichelle Strong (born September 10, 1968), known by her stage name Nikki D is an American rapper. Career Strong signed with Def Jam in 1989 and released her debut single "Lettin' Off Steam" the following year. It was produced by Sam Sever. The ...

as Protestor * Pete Rock as Robber #1 *

Penny Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...

as Darryl * Phife Dawg as Gerald *

as Herself *

as Detectives * Sandra "Pepa" Denton as Sherise * Scottie Pippen as Raymond * Showbiz & A.G. as Test Taker #2/Test Taker #3 * Smooth B as Bubba Worker #2 * Stretch as Benny * Taji and Qu'ran Goodman as Kid #2/Kid #3 * Yo-Yo as Woman

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

gives the film a score of 50% based on reviews from 7 critics.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gives a favorable review, with a score of 3 stars out of 4.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack containing hip hop music was released on April 20, 1993, through

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

. It peaked at #32 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and #8 on the

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 ...

References

External links

* * * {{Yo! MTV Raps 1993 films 1990s police comedy films African-American comedy films De Passe Entertainment films 1993 directorial debut films Films directed by Ted Demme Films set in Brooklyn 1990s hip hop films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films