Top 5 John Singleton movies to celebrate his legacy

Tributes have been pouring in for trailblazing Hollywood director, producer and screenwriter John Singleton who passed away at the at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Monday.

Singleton, who had been in the intensive care unit of the hospital after suffering a stroke on April 17 passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends, according to Deadline.

“We want to thank the amazing doctors at Cedars-Sinai Hospital for their expert care and kindness and we again want thank all of John’s fans, friends and colleagues for all of the love and support they showed him during this difficult time,” the statement also read.

Initially on life support, Singleton’s family in a statement said they made the “agonizing decision” to take him off it on Monday after “careful counsel” with his doctors.

Born January 6, 1968, in Los Angeles, Singleton rose to prominence as a trailblazing African-American director in the 1990s after the release of his critically acclaimed 1991 debut movie Boyz n the Hood which starred the likes of Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, among others.

The success of the movie, which was set in Crenshaw, Los Angeles and follows the lives of three young men dealing with issues pertaining to race, violence, relationships and life choices deservedly earned Singleton two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. Aged 24 at that time, this feat made him the both the youngest and first black person to be nominated in the Best Director category.

Take a look at some of the tributes to the trailblazing Singleton below:

To celebrate his legacy, Face2Face Africa shares with you 5 snippets of some of the movies he directed. Scroll through to take a look: