When Disco meets Hip Hop you get… The Get Down? More like the New Era! Netflix has taken a trip down memory lane with their newest series “The Get Down”. Set in the late 70’s, the transition from disco to hip hop is a tale untold. Growing up in the city of New York, the South Bronx is home to many, but Ezekiel, Mylene, Shaolin Fantastic, Dizzee, Boo-Boo, and Ra-Ra aren’t your average neighborhood kids. One of the Executive Producers, Rapper Nas narrates the story through music as the series shows semi fictional events of the rapper’s life growing up. Deadline quoted,

“A partial and heavily fictional re-imagining of sorts of the life of Nas, one of the top-ranked MC’s in hip-hop and a EP on the series’”

Ezekiel, the wordsmith, uses his poetic talents to get the love of his life, Mylene. Disco diva Mylene has a voice of gold, but growing up her father, a pastor, disapproved of disco music over gospel. This led Mylene to rebel and take matters into her own hands as she chases her dreams to making it in the music industry. The two show their undeniable love for music as they both go through great lengths to be heard and called greats.

In the first couple episodes of the series, Mylene is convinced, by her two free spirited friends, to sneak into a disco night club behind her father’s back. Of course, her lover couldn’t let her make a move without him there to follow in her shadow like a guardian angel. Almost ending not to well, a crossfire shootout left these two fleeing the nightclub to safety. Of course with Mylene in Ezekiel’s arms as he helps her to safety.  This was just one of many love scenes throughout the 6 episode series.

Did I forget to mention Grandmaster Flash was in this almost duplicate of the birth of hip hop series? Serving as a mentee to the boys, all thanks to the help of Shaolin Fantastic one of Grandmaster’s MCs in training. Grandmaster stresses to Shaolin the importance of finding a wordsmith as he goes through the necessary tasks on his journey to becoming the next greatest MC.

In a small altercation with some hoodlums in the neighborhood, Shaolin Fantastic finds himself in a foot race over one record; the original Misty Holloway record. Highly influenced by Kung Fu, Shaolin is known for his super-fast feet, his moves in fighting, and his dope graffiti work all over the city. In a time when the government of New York was plummeted but more prevalent in South Bronx, THE STRUGGLE WAS REAL. So real for these kids, that they’d do just about anything to make it out. Shaolin Fantastic is even caught selling his body for money to an old decrepit women of a pimp, who owns the nightclub. Because of that Misty Holloway record, Ezekiel and Shaolin meet for the first time, the rest is history.

In my honest opinion, EP Baz Luhrmann constructs an almost identical told story of Hip Hop’s evolution.  Using real footage of the South Bronx in the late 70’s really puts us in that setting and relating to these characters and stories so well. Burning buildings, music, and police, the scenery is absolutely amazing. So beautiful and cultural, music, money, and drugs “The Get Down” opens our eyes to something bigger, the birth of a new era: HIP HOP. . . . Enjoy!