Sinners – Hip-Hop in a Movie’s Musical Montage Scene

Vampire-music-horror film ‘Sinners’ has certainly left a (bite)mark on the movie industry. Fans have been fascinated by the gothic tale, a truly original narrative that mixes stories of the undead with themes of art that can immortalize a community’s spirit. The Ryan Coogler-directed film has become one of the most acclaimed releases of 2025. It nabbed a near-perfect 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has become the first horror film in the history of CinemaScore to receive a perfect A rating.

It may not make you wince in pain like the upcoming Final Destination film, but this horror offers a rich story with themes of heritage, oppression and identity, with a few decent scares and splatters along the way. Not to mention the stellar performances by Michael B. Jordan, Jack O’Connell, Hailee Steinfeld and the rest of the cast.

One central theme of the movie is the power of music as a spiritual force, which can channel the voices of our ancestors. Or as the narrator puts it, music “so pure it can pierce the veil between life and death, past and future”. It also tells the traditions of griots, the West African musicians, poets and storytellers who preserve stories by maintaining an oral history of the past.

One scene has stood out for fans and critics alike – when one of our protagonists, blues musician Sammie, strums his guitar and soulfully croons. After humbly introducing himself at a juke joint, his performance opens a portal into another world. Not just metaphorically, but literally. The audience sees spirits of the past and future of black music, as the bluesy riffs melt amongst traditional African music, jazz pianos, turntable scratches, psychedelic rock solos, West Coast synths and trap drums, to name a few. We see the lineage of legendary sounds that run from the same root of storytelling as Sammie’s blues.

Today, Funktasy will look at a few of the hip-hop styles referenced in this hypnotic, hallucinatory montage, diving into some of the music that manifests in this fantastic scene from Sinners…

TURNTABLISM / OLD-SCHOOL HIP-HOP

As one of modernity’s first striking montage moments, we see an old-school DJ in throwback New York style attire, scratching vinyl. The city that birthed hip-hop as a new way of life and expressing yourself, and its element that re-shaped music performance and production. In hindsight, it might be the most direct example of the spirits of the past surviving on – with the voices, instruments and rhythms of the ancestors being directly replayed and repurposed to make a new work of art.

As we said in our “Hip Hop to Pop” two-part series, turntablism traces its roots as a modern musical art form back to Kool Herc. He brought the “breaks” (instrumental parts of records) to his block party sets in the 70’s. He was known for using a technique called the “Merry-Go-Round”, which would loop these instrumental breaks using two turntables, extending special sections of records by soul and funk artists like James Brown and Incredible Bongo Band.

In a 2023 interview with Spin, Herc notes his motivation for making the groundbreaking technique: “I was watching a crowd, and everybody was waiting for the breaks to come in. I said, I’m going to do something tonight. I’m going to call it the Merry-Go-Round. I’ll put on two copies of a record, James Brown, “Give it Up or Turnit a Loose,” and just play the break.”

Herc and other DJs, like Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaata, brought a new dawn to the disenfranchised youth of New York. They pioneered hip-hop as a musical form, providing the backdrop for the block parties, b-boys and eventually the emcees, who would share their stories above the instrumentals: true modern day Griots.

G-FUNK

As soon as you hear that whistling synth, you’ll want to throw up a “W” sign and dance ‘til your heavy gold-rope chain starts hurting your back. As we see a group of men in black attire doing the iconic crip walk with that classic Dre synth sound in the back, we’re transported to the coolest, flyest musical movement in the 90’s – G-Funk.

The style that defined the West Coast hip-hop scene would first come into existence in the late 80s and early 90s. Innovative producers like Dr. Dre and DJ Quik would sample squealing synth tones and funky grooves from groups like the Ohio Players and Parliament Funkadelic. It marked a change in the sonic direction of mainstream hip-hop, taking the spotlight from the more rugged, aggressive style of East Coast artists, like Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions. Those East Coast beats were tense, grimier and darker, like a ride on the New York sardine can subway – these West Coast beats felt like a laid-back lowrider cruise, with their dreamy, sun-soaked vibe that made you mellow out like a hit of herbal medicine.

The aptly named album “The Chronic”, by Dr. Dre, is seen as the quintessential release of this sub-genre, introducing the sound to the masses, while bringing on a rap roster of California talent, including Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Kurupt and The Lady Of Rage, to name a few. The iconic production of hits like “Nuthin But A G Thang” still sound cool, polished and fresh even decades after their release. Another crucial listen is Snoop’s 1994 album “Doggystyle”, which became the fastest-selling debut ever at the time, shifting 806,000 copies in its first week, as well as shifting hip-hop into a new era.

In an interview detailing the creation of classic G-Funk anthem, “Regulate”, Warren G described the spirit of the song and its smooth style. He said that he was “taking some gangsta sh*t and putting a melody to it and having a guy – which was Nate Dogg – sing some soulful gangsta sh*t about how he felt. That was G-Funk.”

TRAP MUSIC

Trap music is synonymous with hip-hop today, the style that has dominated the rap landscape for the past few decades. We see this music materialize in the dream sequence with 2010s-era partygoers vibing out and twerking to those triplet hi-hats and 808 bass sounds (and please don’t clutch pearls; even twerking can trace its roots to traditional dances in Africa).

Trap music started in the southern states like Georgia, New Orleans and Tennessee. Its name refers to the “trap houses”, where drugs were sold and the inescapable lifestyle of the hustlers trapped in the cycle. This booming, bellowing style commonly features the iconic 808 sub-bass sound, rolling hi-hats and snare rolls, along with dark, ominous melodies. Social consciousness was mainly eschewed for street realism, with lyricists voicing vivid tales of violence, drugs and lives in poverty chasing wealth. 

Classic albums in the genre include ‘Trap Muzik’ by T.I. (2003), a release full of rapid-rhythm drum rolls and slow, swaggering beats, that still wasn’t shy on lyrical technique. Another notable release of this era is Young Jeezy’s “Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation” (2005). However, since its earlier popularity in the 2000s, every new generation has developed the trap genre, like Waka Flocka Flame’s gargantuan-sounding “Flockaveli” (2010) with its dense, orchestral production. Or Travis Scott’s psychedelia-infused records like “Rodeo” (2015), which pushed the sonic boundaries further, full of artsy ambition and spacey sound design.

Just look at the Billboard 200 today. Whether it’s Kendrick, Drake, Playboi Carti or Doechii, the trap style has seeped into songs on each of their latest albums, now a staple within most modern rap releases. Not only has it been incorporated into regional rap styles all over America, like in New York, Chicago and L.A., but also globally into genres like pop, rock, metal and EDM. Who in the Dirty South would have thought that one day we’d hear its influence in everything, from pop stars like Ariana Grande to metal groups like Bring Me The Horizon?

In What was Possibly the Most Memorable Moment of the Film…

“Sinners” squeezed together a wealth of musical history into one beautiful, thought-provoking montage. It’s interesting to see a visual representation of the thread running through – whether it’s traditional African music, the blues, jazz, old-school hip-hop or trap music, these genres provided a cathartic voice to the voiceless, one that will echo enduringly through the ages. Whether it’s the blues of Buddy Guy (who even makes a cameo in the film), the trap stylings of T.I. and Young Jeezy or the early hip-hop of Herc and Grandmaster Flash, they’re all looking for one thing – to tell their tales and see their stories live on.