PROFILES

Al Kapone

His music: For nearly two decades, Al Kapone has been a pervasive voice on Memphis' gangsta rap scene. After making early inroads via underground hits like "Lyrical Drive-By," he found mainstream success with "Whoop That Trick," his contribution to Craig Brewer's "Hustle & Flow." In 2006, Kapone collaborated with Atlanta's Lil Jon on the million-selling "Snap Yo Fingers," lent his formidable rhymes to Lord T & Eloise's "Million Dollar Boots," built a Downtown recording studio, and began working with Tha Untouchablez, a hand-picked backing band.


In $5 Cover: Whether he's delivering mattresses or hustling for studio time, Kapone's storyline as a father who wants to raise his son right doesn't stray far from the truth. Featured song: "Gettin' Mine."


In $5 Cover Amplified: Via a series of vignettes shot in Kapone's studio, onstage and at home, the street-savvy rapper teaches his teenaged son how to navigate the music biz, defying stereotypes along the way.


On Memphis music: "Memphis is a richly talented city in blues, gospel, underground rap, soul and rock, and I think I need to represent the whole spectrum."


Latest news: Al Kapeezy Oh Boy!!: The Hits, was released on iTunes in December 2008. Kapone has recently turned his attention to the career of his 14-year old son, Young A.J., with the upbeat "We On Deck," a collaboration with Three 6 Mafia, and a tour with Fall Out Boy and 50 Cent.


—Andria Lisle


Al Kapone on MySpace



Follow us on:

$5 Cover Amplified Summary:

Intimate, thoughtful, always entertaining and often formally daring, the 12 documentaries that comprise the anthology "$5 Cover Amplified" reveal a modern Memphis music scene that is as creative, passionate and vibrant as in the city's commercial heyday, when Elvis, Isaac Hayes and Al Green demonstrated that visionary art and popular culture could be inseparable as the 'A' and 'B' sides of a vinyl record.

Produced as a complement to Craig Brewer's episodic MTV drama series/ new media experiment, "$5 Cover," the "Amplified" series of documentary portraits chronicles the rousing art, uncertain careers and sometimes problematic home lives of a diverse, distinctive and often eccentric group of Memphis music-makers.

Mesmerizing Valerie June croons confessional lyrics from beneath a Medusan tangle of dreadlocks that's as thick as her family ties and her musical roots. The puckish Tommy Chong-meets-Pippi Longstocking "clown prince of rap," Muck Sticky, proves to be as dedicated to the welfare of his mother and sister as to his own pursuit of happiness. Punk rock pioneer Jack Oblivian, who plays to sell-out nightclub crowds in Europe, makes ends meet in Memphis by cleaning houses. "Crunk" hip-hop artist Al Kapone is shown to be a tough but loving father, bringing new urgency to the concept of rapper as "role model." Troubadour of heartbreak Harlan T. Bobo is portrayed impressionistically, through stop-motion animation, allegorical fantasy and other conceits.

Whatever the focus or style, the direction of Alan Spearman, an award-winning photographer/filmmaker with The Commercial Appeal, ensures that each segment is as visually assured as it is musically irresistible. "$5 Cover Amplified" was co-produced by Spearman, Andria Lisle and John Hubbell, and edited by Eileen Meyer; their familiarity with the Memphis "scene" ensures unprecedented authenticity as well as access.

John Beifuss- The Commercial Appeal