‘The After Party’ Pokes Fun at Struggling Rappers

Making a monumental jump from rapping to acting, Kyle Harvey, better known as Kyle, stars as aspiring musician Owen in the new Netflix original ‘The After Party’.

Frustrated about being a ‘Soundcloud rapper’, Owen, who uses the stage name OH!, pursues a record deal to jumpstart his music career and although his best friend-slash-manager Jeff (Harrison Holzer) has the heart, the latter often forces Owen to succumb to peer pressure including smoking Wiz Khalifa’s weed to look cool.

This only hurls Owen into viral status after he throws up on a stage meant to make or break his career – hence his new nickname ‘Seizure Boy’.

Completely embarrassed and discouraged, Owen gives Jeff a couple of days to get a record deal of a lifetime, else he’ll be shipped off to the army for good. But Owen’s pursuit of Jeff’s older sister Alicia (Shelley Hennig) often throws the duo off, forcing the rapper to choose between love and his dream career.

The film has already come under fire for its inaccurate portrayal of epilepsy and other seizure disorders, but that’s no surprise – Hollywood and hip-hop’s sensitivity factor still needs a lot of work. It may speak more to teenagers who absolutely adore the music scene and seek a life of money and fame in the industry as it exposes them to the reality of it all.

However, there’s no denying how over-the-top it gets with stalker ex-boyfriends, car chases, bar brawls at exclusive parties and public disses. That’s how you know it’s not really a movie to take seriously, much like ‘This Is The End’.

You’ll definitely spot a number of famous faces such as Teyana Taylor who stars as a Bl’Asia, a stripper who catches Jeff’s eye; Jordan Rock as Bernard, an unpaid but influential intern at a record company who gives Owen and Jeff a gateway to exclusive parties and such; Blair Underwood; DJ Khalid; French Montana; Desiigner; DMX; Young MA; Ski Mask the Slump God; Pusha T and a handful more.

Opening credits show website World Star Hip-Hop as a benefactor, but this is only because the film is a dedication to World Star’s founder Lee ‘Q’ O’Denat who died of a heart attack last year, but worked on the production of the movie.

Overall, ‘The After Party’ offers a few laughs here and there, but only see this if you’re interested in passing the time.

‘The After Party’ is now screening on Netflix.