Nina Blackburn, a sociologist who analyzes hip hop as a form of communication, chooses to make a documentary on the hardcore gangsta rap group called N.W.H.

members are Ice Cold, the main rapper and the intelligent and vulgar backbone of the group; Tasty Taste, the ultra-violent secondary rapper who always seems to be armed with a variety of dangerous assault weaponry; and Tone Def, an esoteric DJ who is talented enough to scratch with his buttocks and his penis (the latter is not shown directly, but humorously implied).

The members wear outrageous headwear during their performances, because according to N.W.H., hats are a symbol of resistance and revolution since their hatless slave ancestors were too tired from working all day in the sun to revolt.

's use of over-the-top graphic language (e.g. sex, violence and rantings against the police), which their detractors see as a cheap means to sell records, but in their eyes is essential to conveying a "socially relevant message".

brings to light evidence that the Jam Boys' lead rapper attended a prep school, directly threatening his street credibility.

A macabre running gag involves their white managers dying under mysterious circumstances (the group originally insist that they "wasn't in town when the shit happened").

's internal matters turn sour when Ice Cold wants to break away from the group because of his desire to participate in a film, and Cheryl C., a groupie, hooks up with Tasty-Taste.

When Tasty finds Cheryl and Ice Cold in bed, the group has an argument that leads to the dissolution of N.W.H., with each member launching a solo career.

[1][12] However, CB4, a film that similarly parodies the hip hop world and starred Chris Rock, was released in March of that year to moderate box office success.

[16]Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B− grade, opining that although it "never achieves the dizzying cinema verite swirl that made Spinal Tap such a timeless satire [...] Cundieff has what nearly every commentator on the rap scene has lacked: a first-class bull detector.

In a three-star review, Roger Ebert wrote the film "is not as fearless and sharp-edged as it could be—but it provides a lot of laughs, and barbecues a few sacred cows."

Writer-director Rusty Cundieff, who also stars, along with Larry B. Scott and Mark Christopher Lawrence, as one of the three members of the rap group N.W.H., has a loose-limbed comic sense, and there are hilarious bits poking through the tedium.

[20][21][5][22] In August 2023, The Criterion Channel included Fear of a Black Hat as part of its film series celebrating 50 years of hip hop.