The night before last, I went to the “Barbershop: The Next Cut” premiere at the infamous Chinese Mann Theater to join the cast, crew and fans to take the first peak at the American Comedy motion picture that many have been anticipating. Surprisingly, the 12 year reunion of Calvin (Ice Cube) and Eddie  (Cedric The Entertainer) is not all jokes and laughs.

Directed by Malcolm D. Lee, this sequel and fourth property within the Barbershop franchise has a star studded (Common, Nicki Minaj, Anthony Anderson, Regina Hall, J.B. Smoove, Tyra and Michael Rainey Junior), but more importantly, a direct message against police brutality and its growing adversary impact on black youth and the community at large. In order to save the barbershop and the community from “trigger-happy” gang members that are killing the youth and instilling fear within their communities, Calvin, Eddie and the rest of the barbershop crew come together by giving free haircuts to the community for 48 hours as long as there is an agreement to cease fire.

While the film addresses black on black crime and how the community directly impacted must take matters into their own hands to help eradicate gun violence within their communities, it also addresses police brutality and the “value of black lives”. In fact, the way in which “Barbershop: The Next Cut” courageously addresses the “Black Lives Matter” campaign, naming some of the children that have been shot and killed by police with no justice implemented, was a brilliant and bold way to implement social commentary about what’s really going on present day, not only on the streets of Chicago, but across the entire nation.

We all have a responsibility in what’s going on in America if you are American. Period. Point-blank. End of story. And it’s beautiful to see that Ice Cube, Malcolm D. Lee and by way of the aforementioned, the Hollywood Industry in general, understands this fact.

Make sure you go check out “Barber Shop: The Next Cut” when it opens to the public on April 15th.

💜Love & Light🌞,
Cris