In the realm of meat, tough is bad. Tough is cheap, unpalatable, undesirable. In the realm of straight-to-DVD, though, tough is good. Tough is real, gritty, hard-hitting. Or so Gang Tapes would have us believe. "Tougher than Menace II Society," mutters the promotional line for this 2001 clunker. True, but also dumber, nastier, phonier...
It tells of Lonzo (Darris Love), a pocket gangster who comes of rage over the course of a turbulent fortnight in downtown LA. A duff steak, Gang Tapes is rubbery and hard to swallow. It's City Of God made by half-arsed drama students.
DVD Extras:
The diamond in Gang Tape's 24-carat fool's-gold medallion is a 30-minute Making Of, which concentrates solely on convincing us that this is as real as it gets. The remaining extras - - a seven-minute bout of awkward freestyling, 16 decent bonus audio tracks and six deleted scenes - - are a wilting garnish.
