That music scene

For now, I'll say this: that music scene where the guy is playing the blues and then things shift, and we're led to think about West African music, that Zaouli dance, funk, hip hop all in a matter of minutes. Coogler rose based on that scene alone for me. Well, really, right before the movie, I saw him discussing his interest in different kinds of film formats. His passion for the art form really came through in a way that was really admirable. Is that scene the new bar in film for representing the power of Black cultural space in a single scene?

I got a live primer last month. As I was telling you Dixon, the saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin played in St. Louis. During her cover of Trane's cover of "My Favorite Things," Benjamin incorporated "Wade in the Water" into the song. Whew. It was something. –Howard Rambsy II

**********************

That scene, thee scene, alone could've been the whole film for me. It has marked a shift in Coogler's career from director to auteur for suuureee. Along with this, I feel that this film is sort of a(n) (re)introduction to his artistic capabilities. The worlds have, for the most part, been established for him in many of his previous works. This film was his imagination playground, and boy, did he stretch, run, and fly. --Nicole Dixon

**********************

That incredible music scene: I had a moment where I was both thrilled I was first seeing the scene in a theater and real mad because I couldn't rewind. Coogler was just perfection there. –Elizabeth Cali

Related: 

• A Notebook on Sinners