News Item:

The film Hustle and Flow, directed by Memphis filmmaker Craig Brewer and Executive Produced by John Singleton ("Boyz N the Hood") debuted at the Sundance film festival to rave reviews. It won the American Dramatic Audience Award and the American Excellence in Cinematography Award, and was purchased for a record $9M for wider distribution by Paramount / MTV.

Could it have been the music? Well, perhaps the acting and directing had something to do with it as well, but Yellow Dog Records artists play prominent roles in the film's music. The film score was composed by Scott Bomar and performed by the Bo-Keys, and songs by Mark Lemhouse and Calvin Newborn also appear in the film. In this article, Singleton enthuses: "To have these classic musicians is the icing on the cake to shooting a little movie in Memphis. You couldn't do it anywhere else in the world." This article also describes more about the the Bo-Keys' role in the film score.