You heard our short take on Entergalactic—here’s the extended bonus cut. We get deeper into Kid Cudi’s world-building, the film’s NYC authenticity, the design influence of the late, great Virgil Abloh, music references, and why Meadow’s ending sparked a real gripe.
➡️ "Analysing the Art of Entergalactic" by Daniel Ang
➡️ "The Making of: Entergalactic" by Netflix
🎬 Hip Hop Movie Club is produced by your HHMCs JB, BooGie, and DynoWright. Theme music by BooGie.
🤔 Don't hate...gesticulate!
🎞️ Join us at SteelStacks in Bethlehem PA on Sept. 16, 2026 and see DOPE (2015, dir. Rick Famuwiya) on the big screen
🎟️ Get your FREE tickets, courtesy of ArtsQuest!
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Substack (newsletter)
Mentioned in this episode:
Dope on September 16th
Join us at the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas at SteelStacks for a screening of Dope! Part of the Hip Hop Movie Club film series at ArtsQuest, sponsored by LOUD Radio PA. Free tickets at artsquest.org
She has to leave her own exhibit just to meet up with him.
2
:It's romantic on the surface, but there’s an imbalance.
3
:On today's episode of Hip Hop Movie Club,
So
we're gonna dive into the twenty
twenty-two animated film Entergalactic,
4
:starring Kid Cudi Timothee Chalamet,
5
:and several others, as it takes us through
~ the journey
6
:of Cudi's character Jabari as he moves
into a new apartment,
7
:settles into New York City, how his life
his love life evolves.
8
:So
right off the top here, I enjoyed this
quite a bit.
9
:The animation was really good.
10
:Kinda gave me that Spider-Man into the
Spider-Verse vibes,
11
:like the same style of animation.
12
:Great story, very relatable. I like that
they broke it up into different chapters.
13
:It kind of kept me even more focused and
entertained about what's coming up next.
14
:Really good romantic comedy.
15
:I love how he weaves in Mr. Rager as a
character.
16
:Mr. Rager is one of Cudi's biggest hits
from a a prior album and
17
:how that becomes his tag and the object of
his creativity throughout the film.
18
:So yeah, really, really enjoyed this film.
19
:I'm glad that we we were able to watch it.
20
:Yeah, this this one right here,
21
:like I've told you guys before we started
recording,
22
:this one has been sitting in my to watch
list ever since it hit hit Netflix,
23
:and I just haven't gotten around to it.
24
:But what really got me was like,
25
:as you s as you said, JB, the first thing
I noticed when I saw the trailer
26
:for it was that the animation reminded me
from ~ Spider-Man to the Spider-Verse.
27
:That was the first thing that stood out
for me,
28
:and I immediately let the trailer play for
a little while and I added it right
29
:to my list, like, yeah, I'm gonna watch
this.
Yeah.
But I never got around to it.
30
:~ so shout out to Ice Berg for
31
:putting this back on my radar so we can watch it.
32
:I thoroughly enjoyed it.
33
:I'm a rom com fan. I like I love rom coms.
34
:The cheesier the better. But this one
Ha ha ha.
35
:wasn't really cheesy. This one was highly
relatable.
36
:Like I related to this one a lot.
37
:a new guy moving into a new neighborhood,
38
:trying to navigate, got a nice,
39
:job with a bright future ahead of him that
that could potentially lead
40
:to something really, really big.
41
:And trying to figure out how to balance
that with feelings that he's starting
42
:to develop for somebody unexpectedly and
how to,
43
:figure out, do I tell her? Do I know do I
hold back?
44
:Is it too soon? She lives next
door to me,
45
:like she's my neighbor. That's gonna be
really weird.
46
:And just like, that whole scenario,
47
:just how it played out was very,
48
:very relatable, and I really enjoyed this
one.
49
:it had a lot of hip hip hop in it.
50
:The music, the soundtrack was great.
51
:I didn't even try to look at the titles
of the songs,
52
:I was just vibing. Like it was just it was
Yeah,
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, Cudi I mean Cudi did the whole
album.
it was just a good vibe.
Yeah. And I love
53
:his style is different and I am you know,
54
:like you guys, I'm more of a hip hop
traditionalist,
55
:but Cudi kind of broke that barrier with
me in terms of the more
56
:emo type music and
57
:I really enjoy lot of his the The Man on
the Moon album is
Mm-hmm.
just terrific. There's so many good songs
on there.
58
:The Mr. Rager song, the Man on Moon song,
59
:so many others, Day and Night.
60
:I have that on continuous play.
61
:I like that he weaved in again Mr.
62
:Rager as an element.
63
:I used to have a list of my favorite
album covers every year
64
:and in 2009 when Man on the
Moon: End of Day came out,
65
:it was one of my favorites. it just had a
really cool similar colors
66
:to what's happening in EnterGalactic It's
a lot of purples and oranges.
67
:I always loved it since then.
68
:And so it was cool to watch this film,
which is a companion piece to
69
:the album of the same name that released
on the same day and
70
:I really appreciated this it's a it's a
risk to do something this bold.
71
:Even for someone as established as Cudi.
72
:And it's such a rich and colorful film.
73
:Some may consider his music
not so colorful or bright.
74
:If you talk about emo rap,
75
:if you wanna call it that.
76
:But to do this, to
This
do a feature length
77
:on top of an album. Even good kid M.A.A.D. city
was a short film.
78
:Cudi went big and it paid off.
79
:I really appreciated that. Like it's it's
this is hard to do.
80
:I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it also.
81
:And it's funny, like you said,
82
:the story of him being smitten by the new
girl in the apartment,
83
:but then running into the ex and the
complications of the ex,
84
:the ex being a little bit needy and a
little bit off kilter.
85
:Very interesting and the dynamic with at
work,
86
:with his coworker. And I like that there's
some messaging behind it too.
87
:Like digital versus analog dating.
88
:Like you see that Stush
89
:throughout all advertised everywhere.
Stush yeah.
90
:Yeah, Stush, And his coworker was all
about it,
91
:like swipe left, swipe right, swipe right.
92
:And he's just like he's all about he seems
like a bit of an old soul,
93
:you know, riding his bike everywhere and
just being authentic.
Right. A BMX bike. Yeah.
Yeah, exactly. He's
Yeah.
authentic. He's just wearing his hoodie
everywhere and jeans and doing
94
:his own thing. And it's more the meet cute
type
95
:I'm not into this app.
96
:I'm just trying to go go out there,
97
:do my own thing and have things happen
organically.
98
:And that that his love interest
Yeah.
meadow, you know, becomes a great match
for him.
99
:It's an interesting statement on
100
:digital versus real life. ~
Yeah. Right.
101
:to meet your match on an online dating platform.
102
:I feel like this kind of message would have hit harder
103
:in the beginning of the internet, at least as we know it. So it was kind of an odd
104
:a reaction to all the digital aspects of our lives.
105
:So I thought that's an interesting
106
:way to say this. ~ in a bright and obviously digital production,
107
:the themes are ~ meeting people
in real life,
108
:having experiences in real life,
109
:riding your bike through the city.
110
:that might be the most way to connect to
people almost.
111
:You could ride the bus and be amongst people or be on the subway amongst people
112
:There’s something
113
:dangerous, literally dangerous,
about riding your bike in the middle of the city.
114
:And it's more like connected to life.
115
:Then you can easily like tune out people
on the subway.
116
:It's an interesting idea to to put forth.
117
:the whole idea of the BMX was
was something that I was very
118
:popped right out to me because I I I
still have a BMX in my basement,
119
:~ stunt pegs and all. And like I used
Ha ha.
to ride all over the daggone City on my
bike and,
120
:It was a rite of passage.
121
:Like everybody on my block had a bike.
122
:And if you didn't have a
Mm-hmm.
bike, we would find parts and build you a
bike.
123
:So we all had bikes.
124
:It's like wow, a throwback to my childhood.
125
:it was so authentic. Everything,
it was so New York,
126
:like everything was very authentic.
127
:Like
The neighborhood is I'm like, wow,
128
:I I know exact I can figure out where they
are like watching it.
129
:I'm like, I know where that is.
130
:It was very stylish and it was very like it was very relatable.
131
:Not to keep using that word,
132
:but
Yeah.
133
:I like the subtle word play that
they use too like he had that shirt that
134
:said “Closure” throughout. And I'm like,
135
:well that's fitting. I'm just thinking
that that and then obviously
136
:that text just like stays on the
screen when he finally gets closure with
137
:his ex Carmen. And even the ex there when
the FedEx
Yeah.
machine and the word ex like is when he
first meets bumps into her
138
:at the restaurant towards the beginning.
Yeah. I wanna know how much money was
transacted for that.
The FedEx, you know,
I was like it's so obvious.
Ha ha ha.
like the product placement.
139
:Yeah, right, exactly. That's a good one.
Yeah, like it's I know it's part of the film
Yeah like
140
:You couldn't go through New York without seeing one FedEx truck,
141
:one on every block.
142
:But
Right.
Yeah.
it was still kinda funny to see in the
film.
143
:McDonald's as well.
144
:Yeah.
yeah.
And he said America's second favorite
burger because the the greasy spoon
145
:was the secret spot with the delicious
burger.
146
:I liked that part. That was charming.
147
:I liked the the chapter five's called It
Was Yellow and it was like because Meadow’s
148
:thumbs up emoji. Was it her skin color?
149
:No, it was yellow. I was ~ okay.
150
:She's not really into this. She was ticked
off because the ex Carmen had sent
151
:a sexy type photo over and she saw
Yeah.
it on the nightstand. And obviously that
bothered her to no end,
152
:but it was funny because
Yeah, there there has to be
153
:some kind of conflict in a rom com and
here it is.
Exactly. Yeah.
You know, as as
Yeah. Yep.
154
:kind of a trope it is, it was kinda
handled in a way that one is relatable,
155
:people see each other's
phones and they see s of course they
156
:see something they shouldn't see.
157
:Right. The unsolicited sexy photo.
158
:It fits perfectly. Like, ~ okay.
huh. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
159
:Yeah. That's some rough timing.
160
:Yeah. I
Yeah.
mean, but there was that
Yeah.
sexual interactions, you know,
161
:with him and Meadow were like so
physically intertwined and that animal
attraction,
162
:like they really longed for each other and
obviously connected physically.
163
:I like that
164
:they're both into art, for their
profession.
165
:And it was awesome that she used his photo
in her,
166
:Her show, her art show, like his photo.
167
:And then you're wondering, like,
168
:is she gonna still use it? She's still
upset?
169
:Is he gonna show up? So it's a little bit
of drama there.
170
:Yeah.
Towards the end. I thought it was well
done.
171
:Yes, like they were both as the you know,
172
:they hit that little bit of a conflict and
they were trying to figure out,
173
:how to deal with one
another and still have to deal with their
174
:their professional lives at
the same time.
175
:He's trying to get his proposal ready to
present to the comic company
176
:and she's trying to prepare the art show,
177
:and also trying to work with with her
friend,
178
:~ Reed, to get some of her photos
purchased.
179
:So she's like trying to trying to focus on
that at the same time.
180
:It's like, wow
181
:It's funny you were saying this
was on your radar,
182
:Boogie. This wasn't even really on my
radar at all.
183
:~ until, you know, Ice Berg kinda said,
184
:You guys should really watch this,
185
:you guys should really watch this.
I watched the trailer a couple of times
and I'm like,
186
:Yeah, it was rated highly as well.
187
:It was a good choice.
188
:Absolutely is great choice, yeah.
189
:The animation is just really fun.
190
:I watched a couple videos behind the
scenes stuff,
191
:~ another YouTube channel that breaks down
some of this more techie stuff,
192
:but Cudi really put his ass into it.
193
:Yeah. ~
194
:Yeah. We'll I'll link to the videos,
195
:Star power too.
196
:Ty Dollar $ign,
197
:Timothee Chalamet, Vanessa Hudgens,
198
:Keith David, Jaden Smith, Macaulay Culkin,
199
:Teyana Taylor. Even has his sister has a
brief role in it.
200
:His actual sister plays his sister
in in it. Myesha Mescudi I'm like, wow, look at
that.
201
:Luis Guzman
202
:Jessica Williams plays Meadow.
203
:Carmen, Laura Harrier’s character,
204
:actually looks like her.
205
:They really put a lot
of work into the the characters.
206
:The late great Virgil Abloh was the
costume designer for this and
207
:you see a lot of tributes to him
throughout the film.
208
:He passed away before this came out,
209
:Real heads, not me. Real heads know Virgil
Abloh.
210
:Watch out for that. Look for those Easter eggs ~ throughout the film.
211
:he was a legend that
I was not aware of
him really. ~ I'm not that cool.
212
:So I only
Yeah no.
heard about him after, after he passed.
Ha ha ha.
213
:I dug into his career.
Mm-hmm. Icon.
214
:I mean, he did all the Kanye West fashion
stuff as well as many others.
215
:And Cudi was close with them.
216
:Yeah, I was on the fringe of knowing
him who he was 'cause just because
217
:a lot of this stuff that he was putting
out was a little out of my price range.
218
:I was aware of him.
Yeah.
Me too. Me as well.
I just c I was just like
219
:just like I'm not paying that for that.
220
:It looks cool, but
Like that's cool, but I'm not I don't
221
:have the dividends for that.
222
:Cudi made sure this film
was released on what would have been
Virgil
223
:Abloh's birthday as a tribute.
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Yeah.
224
:When I hear the word
Entergalactic and I always think
225
:of Intergalactic, the Beastie Boys song.
226
:So that's always like kind of stuck in my
head.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Yeah.
But then I dove into
like why is he using this term?
227
:And there's a lot of celestial themes with
Cudi,
228
:as you see with Man in the Moon,
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
and a lot of his videos. He does other
229
:There's a lot of space themes.
230
:When I was looking up Entergalactic,
231
:it's kinda like when you're feeling that
powerful feeling of love kind
232
:of lifts you into a new universe.
233
:It's literally cosmic, yeah. Yeah.
Yeah,
234
:there's a song on his on the Man in the
Moon album called “Enter Galactic”
235
:Two words. And ~
Right.
you could trace it back to that.
236
:The space theme there.
237
:Yeah.
Exactly. Right.
238
:Yeah, and he's known to to ~
I have one gripe at this film.
239
:And this is a spoiler alert, but in the
great climax at the end of the film,
240
:Meadow runs from her great new gallery
show debut
241
:to reconcile with Jabari. the stakes is
high for her.
242
:Like this is a big deal, this exhibit,
243
:this gallery. And Jabari doesn't really
have to sacrifice anything for this.
244
:Like he yes, he takes a leap and he makes this grand gesture,
245
:Maybe if she was The One and
he didn't pursue her really,
246
:then you you lose out on that.
247
:She could have gotten away.
248
:See you next lifetime, like Erykah
Badu would say. But
249
:It's a romantic on the surface,
but there’s an imbalance. She has to
250
:leave her own exhibit just to meet up with
him,
251
:even though it looks romantic.
252
:It’s kind of common that these things happen and we just kinda go with it.
253
:The imbalance, the dynamic between
254
:men and women.
255
:You know, it's a touch patriarchal and we
just sort of not think about
256
:it anymore 'cause it just happens
everywhere.
257
:And so I was like, mm it kinda ended on a
It's funny you say that.
258
:even though they're together and like that
was kind of the point.
259
:Yeah, my son Ice Berg, he was watching
it with me as well.
260
:He said the very same thing. He's like,
I can't believe she
261
:would like leave her own show.
262
:Like she's built up to this and like she's
really just leaving her
263
:art show like that? Didn't didn't add up for him either.
264
:I know Kid Cudi is like the main character of
this film with all the main character
energy.
265
:And so this has to come on his terms.
266
:But we see it so much. It's like we see it
so much we don't see it anymore.
And so I was like,
mm. And what's up with the Temple
University keychain?
267
:Like I was like, whoa, what's what's that?
I saw that.
268
:Like cool, like go owls. But I was like,
269
:it's the kind of random.
270
:It didn't come up afterwards. And I looked
into it.
271
:I couldn't find anything really,
272
:but anyone listening or watching,
273
:tell us what's up with this. May maybe,
I mean maybe somebody involved with the
film went to Temple or has ties,
you know. You know, the internet
274
:The bots say that it's
probably just a way to make
275
:her look authentic. a New York
photographer,
276
:maybe roots in Philly went to temple
probably
277
:And just how to make them look real and
I'm fine.
278
:But it was very stark, like I know that T
anywhere.
Stark like I know that tea anywhere.
That white T on the red. The cherry and
the white tea on the red. Uh-huh.
279
:the white. I know it very well.
280
:But it's like, ~ What's up with that?
281
:Yeah.
Ha
ha ha.
Yeah, I I pick up on that too.
282
:I'm like 'cause I'm like a Philly guy.
283
:I'm like, Temple, is this Philly?
284
:I'm like, no, it's New York City.
285
:But yeah, there's
Yeah.
gotta be some some story behind it.
286
:somebody's like, We can't let New York get
all the energy,
287
:let's throw that in there.
288
:one of my favorite songs is in this movie.
289
:~ Minnie Ripperton Inside My Love.
290
:Yeah.
291
:I was like
I was very excited to hear that song.
292
:Yes, I love that song. Yeah, so as soon as
I heard it come on,
293
:I was like, my god, Meadow’s playing
my song?
294
:I was hoping to hear
Yeah.
the piano break too, but or the electric
piano break,
Yeah.
295
:but they didn't go that far. But that it
wouldn't too much fan service for me.
296
:I couldn't couldn't handle it.
297
:For the listeners, Inside My Love
by Minnie Ripperton is ~ it's
298
:got a nice sample that's been ~ used by a
tribe called Quest and also Tupac
299
:~ in their in their rhymes, So yeah,
300
:that if you you know haven't heard that
song,
301
:listen to it. And you'll you'll definitely
hear the part that's sampled
302
:if you listen to it.
303
:Yeah, you go to “Lyrics to Go” - my favorite
A Tribe Called Quest song
304
:of my favorite rap group
Yes.
305
:and that electric piano break features
very prominently.
Yes.
So I was very
Yeah.
excited. I was like, I know that album She
put on the record,
306
:put it on the record player.
307
:Alright, you guys want to go around and
and rate the film here like we usually do?
308
:So Boogie for Entergalactic,
309
:would you bring that funky flick back or
leave it in the vault?
310
:Without a doubt, bring that funky flick back.
311
:Right on, Dyno Wright, for
Entergalactic,
312
:bring that funky flick back or leave it in
the vault?
313
:I am bringing funky flick back.
314
:It's unanimous. I will definitely bring
this funky flick back as well.
315
:Yeah, this this this is gonna be like my
new background like when
316
:when I'm not doing anything, I just want something in the background,
317
:this is gonna be my go to right here.
318
:Just gonna put it on and just do whatever
I gotta do and just let it vibe
319
:in the background. Yeah.
I love the the animation, the art style,
320
:the art marker look, so well done.
321
:Yeah.
shout out to D Neg ~ on the on the animation design.
I mean, I just love that hip hop
322
:is spreading its tentacles to everywhere
like over the years,
323
:you know. We already talked about, we saw the film by Chance the Rapper and,
324
:Childish Gambino like these are
like EGOT folks,
325
:these guys are just so magnificent
326
:and talented in so many forms of art.
327
:So it it's amazing. I I really have a
great,
328
:even more of a greater appreciation for
Kid Cudi and for
329
:For this project.
330
:Thank you for tuning in to Hip Hop Movie
Club,
331
:the show for serious hip-hop fans who want
to deepen their cultural knowledge.
332
:I'm Dyno Wright, filmmaker, designer,
333
:longtime hip hop fan, and I finally got
around to reading my copy
334
:of People's Instinctive Travels and the
Paths of Rhythm 33 1/3
335
:book. I'm glad I read that.
336
:Nice.
337
:I'm JB, eighties and nineties,
338
:nostalgia junkie, longtime hip hop fan.
339
:And if you remember, the first concert I
took my son to was Kid Cudi in Philly,
340
:which was literally a few weeks before
Entergalactic was released.
341
:It was around September 9th of 2022.
342
:For me personally,
343
:I've become a really big fan of Kid Cudi
My son Iceberg introduced me
344
:to him years ago. So I just thought that's
a really cool bonding thing that that
345
:the two of us have is that he told me all
about Kid Cudi.
346
:I introduced him to hip hop and all the
old school,
347
:and he introduced me to some of these
younger artists,
348
:like Kid Cudi and Tyler the Creator.
349
:And ~ I really admire his his work over
the years.
350
:Yep.
Dope, dope. And I'm Boogie, a DJ,
351
:longtime hip hop fan, and as the time of
this recording,
352
:yesterday was August 11th,
353
:the 53rd birthday of hip hop.
354
:Yes, give it up. DJ Kool Herc,
355
:aka Clive Campbell threw a legendary
back to school jam at:
356
:Ave in the Bronx, New York, back in
:
357
:and the rest, as they say, was history.
358
:Mm-hmm.
And remember, don't hate, gesticulate.
359
:Move
360
:it, move it.
Ha ha ha ha.
361
:Nice.