My thoughts on “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes”

It was a pretty insightful film. It was innovative, in that Byron Hunt actually turned these questions (which are not new by any means in the academic world) on the performers and owners of record labels themselves. I think the film will be useful in beginning dialogue. I don’t think it is necessarily groundbreaking, but I think it is an important beginning point to further discuss the issues brought up in the film. Hunt’s film looked at Machismo, Misogyny, and Homophobia in hip-hop. It was interesting to hear the perspectives of many of today’s most popular rap performers. It would’ve strengthened the documentary to have more opinions from more artists. He interviewed Jadakiss, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Busta Rhymes, Chuck D, and some other industry professionals. However, this group is hardly representative of modern hip-hop culture (not that they aren’t a
representation. All of these artists have been successful and had long careers). The interviews with those waiting to get into the rap game were some of the most insightful interviews of the documentary. Hearing what the young emcee’s felt they had to say and the image they had to portray to ever make it in the rap game was especially informative. Comments made by social critics and professor’s were very thought provoking, but once again, I was personally more interested in hearing what the people who are actually perpetuating these stereotypes have to say. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining and important documentary that will hopefully spark more dialogue and discussion concerning the implications in the film. The issues highlighted are undoubtedly major concerns, not only for hip-hop, but for American society as a whole.