The story of Rudy Ray Moore, a struggling singer and comedian working in a record store in early-1970s Hollywood. Every type of hustler populates the neighbourhood, most with a wicked repertoire of obscene insults. Moore begins picking up their patter, drawn from the rich African American tradition of “the dozens.”
He creates a stage character, Dolemite the pimp, records some especially profane routines, and soon rockets from shop clerk to ghetto superstar. It’s not long before he starts making movies that embrace the gratuitous violence and female nudity of blaxploitation cinema, insisting on his own form of perfection.
A celebration of black creativity, the film features stand-out performances from Murphy and Snipes.