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Before the dawn of Hip-Hop, New York City was infamous for another type of culture: it’s gang sensibilities. The cult classic film The Warriors wasn’t just a fictional tale of a street power struggle; The Bronx used to be a breeding ground for gangs with no resolution in sight.

Director Shan Nicholson’s new documentary, Rubble Kings, highlights the tension, violence and crime wave that permeated NYC in the early 1970s. Narrated by John Leguizamo and produced by Dito Montiel, Michael Guilar and Jimy Carrey, Rubble Kings profiles several individuals including Afrika Bambaataa on their perspective on how the Bronx streets were “bathed in blood.”

As history has shown us, the resolution came with the creation of Hip-Hop which gave bitter enemies a common interest to invest in keeping the peace. Anyone who has dug deeper than the iconic chorus of Melle Mel’s classic, “The Message” can attest to the streets and the lineage of rap being closely associated.

Rubble Kings opens today, June 19, in select theaters in New York (AMC Empire 25), Los Angeles (AMC Burbank 8) and Chicago (AMC Country Club Hills 16) with future cities to be announced. If you just so happen to be amongst the majority not in the cities, the movie is also available via a BitTorrent Bundle for $9.99.

Purchasers of the Bundle will receive the HD copy of Rubble Kings, a hi-res movie poster and a collection of behind-the-scene hi-res photos from the making of the film.

Watch the Rubble Kings trailer below and click here to cop the Bundle.

Photo: Rubble Kings