The jargon-heavy dialogue may leave less-hip viewers lost, but it’s still the most naturalistic, plausible element in a film railing fat lines of powdered implausibility. A host of local talent fills out the soundtrack, trap-rap legends make inspired cameos, and X conjures all of the weatherbeaten beauty that ATL has to offer.

This numbers among a small cadre of films shot during Georgia’s tax break-fueled production boom that embrace the character of Atlanta instead of disguising it as another city. Beyond enlivening the downbeat scenes with lurid colors nicked from the Hotline Bling clip, he capitalizes on his acumen with details that make the film feel lived-in and personal. His bona fides in the world of hip-hop, where he’s been a go-to music video director for two solid decades, are the production’s greatest asset. While Youngblood may be the dope-dealing black Übermensch – his sexual potency is such that he requires not one, but two girlfriends – in this instance, X is the true OG.

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