Poetic Justice (1993)

The loss of her lover to gang violence and her alcoholic mother's suicide has made Justice a recluse whose singular form of expression and survival is her poetry. Abandoned and alone, Justice's tough-talking persona masks her insecurity and distrust of people. Lucky is a stalwart postal carrier who has successfully resisted the temptations of a seemingly natural existence on the streets. Dedicated to raising his daughter while her mother spends her days on crack, Lucky's ambition to transcend the limitations of life in the hood compels him to spend weekends in Oakland in his cousin's eight-track garage studio, recording rap songs that enable him to creatively voice his inner rage and build hope for his future. Both Justice and Lucky are recluses and dreamers pushing through the status quo to make their own destinies. Against the backdrop of urban despair and loneliness, they struggle to find love, hope and, ultimately personal transformation.