Article: Martial arts moves get a hip-hop flair.(FEATURES)(ARTS & LEISURE)

Byline: Brian Libby Special to The Christian Science Monitor

PORTLAND, ORE. -- Forget buddy movies featuring a by-the-book veteran and a wisecracking maverick. Hollywood's new Formula 1 action pairing teams up a Hong Kong martial arts star and an American rapper. Take this week's new No. 1 film, "Cradle 2 the Grave," featuring Jet Li and rapper DMX, which continues a steady - and profitable - postmodern fusion of martial arts with hip-hop music and style.

While martial-arts movies featuring African-American actors date at least as far back as 1977's "Black Samurai," the genre has come alive in Hollywood only over the past few years - with such films as ...

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