Rooftop Films & the National Black Programmers Consortium present Beyond Beats and Rhymes:
A Hip-Hop Head Weighs in on Manhood in Hip-Hop Culture
An hour-long documentary Directed by Byron Hurt
Co-Produced and edited by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon DOWNLOAD a PRESS RELEASE
Date: Saturday, August 19 Venue: On the lawn at Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn Directions: Enter at Myrtle Ave & North Portland. DIRECTIONS
to the PARK Rain Date: Sunday, August 20 (check this website or call 718-417-7362 for updates) Tickets: Free!
This screening is part of the Fort Greene Film Festival
Sponsored by City Council Member Letitia James
8:30 PM - DJ L-Mani V 9:00 PM - The Film Running Time: 1 hour
Made in Brooklyn
Beyond Beats and Rhymes BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES: A Hip-Hop Head Weighs in On Manhood in Hip-Hop Culture, is a riveting documentary that examines representations of gender roles in hip-hop and rap music through the lens of filmmaker Byron Hurt, a former college quarterback turned activist. Conceived as a "loving critique" from a self-proclaimed "Hip-Hop Head," Hurt tackles issues of masculinity, sexism, violence and homophobia in today's hip-hop culture.
BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES features revealing interviews with famous rappers including Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D, Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons; along with commentary from Michael Eric Dyson, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Kevin Powell and Sarah Jones and interviews with young women at Spelman College, a historically black school and one of the nation's leading liberal arts institutions. BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES also reveals the complex intersection of culture, commerce and gender through on-the-street interviews with aspiring rappers and fans at hip-hop events throughout the country. The film provides thoughtful dialogue from intelligent, divergent voices of rap artists, industry executives, rap fans and social critics from inside and outside the hip-hop generation.
"In the past 20 years, hip-hop has become a critically acclaimed billion-dollar industry," says BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES filmmaker Byron Hurt. "How do black men feel about the representations of manhood in hip-hop? How do black women and men feel about the pervasive images of scantily clad and sexually objectified women in rap music and videos? What do today's rap lyrics tell us about the collective consciousness of black men and women from the hip-hop generation? What does homoeroticism in hip-hop media look like? These are the
types of questions I set out to explore in this film and to provide thoughtful dialogue from intelligent, divergent voices of rap artists, industry executives, rap fans and social critics from inside and outside the hip-hop generation.
Hurt, 35, is a former Northeastern University football star and a long-time gender violence prevention educator. For more than five years, he was the associate director and founding member of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program, the leading rape and domestic violence prevention initiative for colleges throughout the country and for professional athletics. He is also the former associate director of the first gender violence prevention program in the United States Marine Corps.
BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES will have its broadcast debut on PBS's Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens next year.
BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES, produced and directed by Byron Hurt, is a co-production of God Bless the Child Productions, Inc. and the Independent Television Service (ITVS) in association with the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC). Executive Producer is Stanley Nelson. Executive Producer for ITVS is Sally Jo Fifer. BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES is co-produced and edited by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon.
The feature will be preceded by the following shorts: Battlescars (Karim Lopez | New York, NY | 19:00)
A young man is willing to jeopardize his relationships and even his own life, as creditors come crashing down on him, in order to try to make it as an independent, politically minded rapper. But when some thugs steal his book of rhymes, will that be the final straw, or another arrow in his sling?
Clockwork (The Dugout music video)
(Shaka King | Brooklyn, NY | 5:00)
In a gritty hip-hop video shot on the streets of Brooklyn, a young playa gets played.
ABOUT NBPC: The National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) is a non-profit national media arts organization committed to the presentation, funding, promotion, distribution and preservation of positive images of African Americans and the African Diaspora. Since 1990 NBPC has dispersed over six million dollars to independent filmmakers, whose works have provided several hundred hours of programming on the national PBS system. Its primary source of funding is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. NBPC supports insightful outreach programs targeted for the national PBS schedule and in the spirit of healthy competition presents a bi-annual international film festival called Prized Pieces.
