About: Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes

Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes is a 2006 documentary film written, produced, and directed by Byron Hurt. The documentary explores the issues of masculinity, violence, homophobia, and sexism in hip hop music and culture, through interviews with artists, academics, and fans. Hurt's activism in gender issues and his love of hip-hop caused him to feel what he described as a sense of hypocrisy, and began working on the film. The premiere of the film took place at the Sundance Film Festival, and was welcomed by a standing ovation. It has also won Best Documentary at the San Francisco Black Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Roxbury Film Festival. On February 20, 2007 the film aired on the PBS Emmy-winning documentary series, Independent Lens.