Twenty-eight years after the blue-tinted, neon-soaked streets of Belly first redefined the visual language of hip-hop cinema, actress Taral Hicks returned to the spotlight to unpack the legacy of a character who became an accidental icon.
During the HBCU First LOOK Film & TV Festival in Washington, D.C., held on November 6–7, Hicks stepped into an immersive exhibition that proved the 1998 Hype Williams classic is more than just a relic of the late nineties.
The event served as the debut for FRAMEWRK, a new exhibition series spearheaded by Kasim Peterson of CUL TRHAUS. Inside the gallery space, over 200 guests moved through an environment designed to honor the film’s distinctive aesthetic, which remains a touchstone for directors and fashion designers alike.
For Hicks, who portrayed the steadfast Keisha, the weekend was an opportunity to reconcile her own upbringing in the Bronx with the character’s enduring cultural footprint.
When asked by attendees if she anticipated Keisha would evolve into such a recognizable figure, Hicks emphasized the deliberate intention behind her performance.
“I did not know, but what I did know was that I wanted to represent women of color, our tone, my skin tone very well, and let them know that I’m here so you could be here too,” Hicks said at the festival, as reported by WBLS.
The Visual Architecture of a Cult Classic
Belly arrived in 1998 at a crossroads for music and film, bridging the gap between the gritty realism of early nineties urban dramas and the high-gloss, experimental cinematography of the music video era.
Hype Williams, already a titan in the music video industry, brought a painterly eye to the film’s production design. The result was a film defined by deep blue saturation and a deliberate, almost dreamlike pace that prioritized mood over conventional narrative structure.
The FRAMEWRK exhibition sought to distill these elements, transforming the movie’s visual DNA into a tangible experience. Four original works inspired by the film sold during the two-day event, raising more than $2,000 for the participating artists.
The display relied heavily on the collaboration of legacy brands that defined the era’s streetwear. Timberland and Evisu, both deeply intertwined with the film’s wardrobe, provided archival and contemporary pieces to anchor the exhibition.
Honoring the Spiritual Legacy of DMX
Central to the exhibition was a solemn tribute to the late DMX, whose performance as Tommy “Buns” Bundy provided the film with its moral and spiritual gravity. In a collaboration with Universal Music Enterprises, the exhibition featured a dedicated listening station that stripped away the cinematic artifice to focus on the rapper’s voice.
Attendees engaged with the late artist’s spiritual writings, with the exhibition offering preorders for The Gospel According to DMX. This estate-authorized collection, set for wide release on November 17, compiles the prayers and introspective writings that defined the final chapters of the artist’s life.
Defining the Cultural Language of Generations
The decision to host the debut of FRAMEWRK at Howard University was a tactical choice, placing the conversation within the heart of an institution that fosters the next generation of Black filmmakers. Erika Torres, co-curator and founder of 85th & Park Inc., said that the film provided a generation with a visual vocabulary before there was a formal industry platform for such stories to be told.
“Belly gave a generation a visual language before most of us had words for it,” Torres observed during the event. “Watching people step inside that world at Howard showed us exactly why FRAMEWRK needs to exist,” Torres said.
As the film nears its third decade, the focus has moved beyond the performances of Nas and DMX to the broader impact of the production on the way Black stories are framed in visual media. For Taral Hicks, the experience at Howard was a full-circle moment, confirming that her quiet, deliberate work in 1998 continues to resonate with audiences who are only now finding the words to describe its influence.
The conversation surrounding Belly is likely to intensify as the November 17 release of the estate-authorized collection of DMX’s prayers and spiritual writings approaches, providing a final piece of the puzzle for those who have spent decades analyzing the film’s legacy.
