At first glance, a documentary film that promises to tell the story of a 9-year-old attempting to force her way to hip hop stardom should not provoke such intense fascination. Everyone doing everything is getting younger these days aren’t they? Sure, it’s an interesting tale; possibly a little kooky, possibly a little disturbing, but there isn’t really anything shocking in that story, especially in these tired and cynical times. Neither is there an awful lot at stake. Diverting, and possibly amusing at best.
That is, until you see the opening shot of Gabriel Noble’s documentary P-Star Rising. Priscilla ‘P-Star’ Riaz, born and bred in New York, is the girl in question, and in that first scene you see the diminutive Puerto Rican being snuck into a hip hop club at 2am, appearing on stage minutes later performing her rhymes and laying down her flow in front of the blinged-up majority, and, it seems, seriously rocking the house.
It is only then that the incongruity of P-Star becomes apparent. It’s true that she isn’t rapping about the typical urban ribaldry in much of the hip hop canon: no bitches, hoes or guns here. Her songs are largely self-referencing treatises on her precociousness and her family. But the delivery is distinctly ‘mature’, shall we say, and later in the film she indulges in some Beyonce-style ‘booty shaking’ dancing (or whatever it’s called).
P-Star Rising has been doing the rounds of European Film Festivals recently, with a screening on the BBC planned for the new year. This is actually an extremely well told story, with Noble keen to present the film as an analysis of family dynamics as much as any music documentary. Equally as prominent as P-Star in the film is her father Jesse, a rather deluded man who failed in his own attempts to achieve stardom in the eighties. The fragile balance between his genuine passion to ensure his daughter is treated fairly, and his dangerously irresponsible streak, is one of the main fascinations of this film.
Film or no film, P-Star’s is a story worth telling. Yet to truly crack any lucrative market with a big deal, she remains tied to NYC’s Hunc Records as her father works two jobs. Her mother, a drug addict, is estranged and her sister, thanks to that, was born with learning difficulties. That P-Star emerged from that background to even be in a position to attract the attentions of a filmmaker such as Noble is a notable achievement.
Her music, however, is nothing special. A few levels above Aaron Carter, maybe, but while she is accomplished enough as an MC, it is a struggle to put together anything meaningful at that age, especially in a genre based on oral delivery rather than melody. In the film, her father is intent on not making her ‘bubblegum’, and is even accused of dressing her as a ‘young thug’ to ensure this. However, surely the best chances of success do lie in appealing predominantly to children. Some of her most prominent work in the past was with Reggaeton Ninos, a team of well organised Latino youngsters who put out a series of reggaeton albums aimed at children, and she is currently acting in The Electric Company, a public service TV show for kids. Clearly, to go down the ghetto route would not be a good move. Her album, Welcome To My Show, has a beaming, colourful P-Star on the front cover. It is, one has to say, pretty darn ‘bubblegum’. Her MySpace reads: “a wonderful attraction for any children’s party”, which tells its own story about her current status, as well as her prospective audience.
The other problem with taking P-Star seriously is her frightening confidence. Throughout Noble’s documentary she is articulate and forthright, almost brash at times. At one point this pre-teen is seen holding the room at label headquarters laying down the law to executives and other workers. So structured is her speech that one wonders if she has meticulously rehearsed for every interaction she ever has. Her sincerity in these moments seems hollow, yet this, of course, is a talent in itself.
P-Star frequently points out she is a ‘phenomenon’; but nowadays, she is simply a charismatic young woman with various talents, the most suitable of which is yet to be found. In that opening scene though, she is something to see.
