20 Years ago this month a classic film, Boyz N the Hood was released at theatres nationwide. USC film student, John Singleton wrote and directed this film at the age of 23 in (1991) inspired by Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing (released 1989). Boyz N the Hood told a an urban story of a poor South Central neighborhood in the early 1990s.  Boyz N the Hood sparked successful careers of Larry Fishburne (Furious Styles) Ice Cube (Doughboy), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Tre Styles) Nia Long (Brandi) Angela Bassett (Reva Styles) Regina King (Shalika) and Morris Chesnut (Ricky).

John Singleton was nominated for both Best Director and Original Screenplay during the 1991 Academy Awards, making Singleton the youngest person ever nominated for Best Director and the first African–American to be nominated for the award.The film was screened at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2002, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film “culturally significant” and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Estimated budget: $6.5 million

Gross Revenue (to date): $57.4 million

“Either they don’t know, don’t show or don’t care whats going on in the hood!”

– Dough Boy played by Ice Cube