Ryan Coogler blends hip-hop and blues in Sinners to create a movie that has resonated powerfully both commercially and culturally, with Sinners reaching a significant box office milestone while debuting for streaming audiences on June 3. The film, set in Mississippi and led by Michael B. Jordan in a dual role, deeply reflects Coogler’s vision of connecting Black music’s heritage with modern storytelling.
Hip-Hop as a Guiding Force in Sinners
Oakland-born director Ryan Coogler explained how hip-hop became the foundation of his latest project during a Rolling Stone interview. Although the blues provides the initial lens through which Sinners is introduced, Coogler sees hip-hop as the driving energy that carries the story forward. The director described the intimate relationship between these two genres and how their legacy shaped his creative process.
“Blues is the entry point to the movie for me, but if blues was the entry point, hip-hop was the car that I was driving in,”
—Ryan Coogler, Director
He also touched on how hip-hop, as a uniquely personal and cultural language, bridges his own life experience with the film’s themes. Recognizing that every form of music he encountered influenced the film, Coogler highlighted his belief that the blues serves as an ancestor to hip-hop, infusing Sinners with layers of historical significance.
“For every music that I come across in my life experience, hip-hop is what I know as being mine. It’s my native language. And so for me to really feel like I could make this movie, I had to truly understand that blues was hip-hop’s ancestor.”
—Ryan Coogler, Director
Box Office Triumph and Notable Cast
Sinners has become a sensation, surpassing $350 million globally according to Box Office Mojo. Michael B. Jordan leads the film, portraying twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return to rural Mississippi from Chicago in order to open a jook joint—a historic gathering place for music and dance. The supporting cast features Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Omar Miller, and Delroy Lindo, each contributing to the film’s dynamic representation of Black life and culture.
The success of Sinners extends beyond ticket sales, as it now reaches wider audiences with its streaming premiere. Its vivid storytelling and rich musical influence have drawn praise within the industry, including from prominent figures such as Spike Lee, who lauded the film’s innovative approach and impact.
Celebrating and Examining Black Music’s Power
In the same Rolling Stone interview, Coogler addressed the deeper meanings behind the film’s soundtrack and its reflection of Black history. He explored how music operates as both a tool for survival and a symbol of liberation for Black communities, while acknowledging that these cultural expressions have not always been protected from exploitation.
“I got a family who was very intergenerational since slavery was abolished,”
—Ryan Coogler, Director
According to Coogler, family heritage and shared musical traditions are inseparable. He spoke passionately about the journey his ancestors took, escaping oppressive Jim Crow laws and enduring the hardships of sharecropping, miscegenation laws, and racist environments. For Coogler, Sinners was an opportunity to honor those hardships by depicting descendants joyfully living despite such a legacy. He insisted that music provided the means for this celebration to exist within the narrative.
“They fled the Jim Crow South. We make it our business to stick around each other. I could not justify [making] a movie with vampires biting into people’s necks without showing this part of me; showing these people – that drew the straw of being born and dying in the height of sharecropping, miscegenation laws, and these back-breaking, dehumanizing, racist policies – with their descendants having a good time. Music is magical. That was the A side to the B side of everything else. Hip-hop has its place in that.”
—Ryan Coogler, Director
Impact and the Road Ahead for Sinners
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners stands as a powerful testament to the creative fusion of hip-hop and blues, rooted in historical and personal narratives that continue to resonate with audiences. The film’s impressive earnings, cultural engagement, and emphasis on the evolution of Black music establish Sinners as a benchmark for contemporary cinema. As the movie’s reach expands through streaming platforms, its exploration of music, identity, and resilience promises to spark even broader discussions among viewers and critics alike, setting a high bar for future works that dare to blend genre and heritage as boldly as Coogler has achieved here.
