To honor the legacy and influence of the late filmmaker John Singleton, who passed in April at 51, we’re showing his first film, Boyz n the Hood. A classic of black cinema, Singleton’s directorial debut follows the formative years of three friends coming of age in South-Central Los Angeles at the height of the crack epidemic and mounting gang violence. Singleton unflinchingly captures the triumphs, tribulations, and injustices specific to the black American experience and does so with deep familiarity, palpable rage, and an unprecedented humanity. At just 24, Singleton became both the youngest person and the first black filmmaker to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director.

Want more John Singleton? Check out JBFC Mixtapes, Vol. 15: John Singleton Soundtracks, now streaming on the JBFC Blog!