The Long Island Underground Legends of Hip-Hop, directed by Archie Snowden, aka MC Amazin’ A, is coming to Westchester County as an official selection of the 11th Annual Hip Hop Film Festival. The feature documentary will screen Sunday, August 23, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. at LOOK Dine-In Cinemas, 1 Hamilton Street in Dobbs Ferry. The Film Fest, presented by Harlem Film House, runs August 19–23, 2026.
Multimedia journalist, award-winning video producer, musician and filmmaker Archie Snowden recently sat down with AJ “AJ ROK” Woodson to talk about his new documentary and why the story of Long Island’s Hip-Hop pioneers needed to be told. Check out our conversation with Archie Snowden about The Long Island Underground Legends of Hip-Hop, the artists who built the Long Island scene, and why it is important that Strong Island gets its proper place in the history of Hip-Hop.
The Long Island Underground Legends of Hip-Hop digs into the early suburban roots of Hip-Hop on Long Island, focusing on the teenagers, DJs, MCs and crews who were building their own scene just outside New York City’s five boroughs. The documentary challenges the traditional telling of Hip-Hop history by examining how artists growing up among the grass and suburban streets of Long Island, rather than the concrete landscape usually associated with the culture’s beginnings, helped create a movement of their own.
At the heart of the film is a larger question: Who gets remembered when Hip-Hop history is told—and who gets left out?
Snowden gives the people who were there an opportunity to tell the story themselves, documenting a Long Island scene whose influence was often overlooked or omitted by the mainstream gatekeepers responsible for defining Hip-Hop’s historical narrative.
Among the pioneers featured are B Luv and me- AJ ROK of JVC FORCE, the Long Island group responsible for the iconic 1980s anthem “Strong Island,” a record that helped give Long Island one of Hip-Hop’s most enduring identities.
The film is listed by the Hip Hop Film Festival as a feature documentary with a running time of 1 hour and 24 minutes.
Screening Details
Sunday, August 23, 2026
2:30 PM
LOOK Dine-In Cinemas
1 Hamilton Street
Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
Tickets for the 2:30 p.m. screening are currently listed at $20, plus a service fee. Seating is first come, first served, and festival organizers recommend arriving approximately 20 minutes before the screening for check-in.
For more information about the 11th Annual Hip Hop Film Festival and to purchase tickets, visit: https://www.harlemfilmhouse.org/hhff2026
