The Art of Rhyme

Documentary Feature

Director: Kevin Fitzgerald

RT: 72:00mins

Saturday September 29 2:45PM

Website: http://www.organicfilms.com

Synopsis:  

From neighborhood ciphers to the most notorious MC battles, "Freestyle: the Art of Rhyme" captures the electrifying energy of improvisational hip-hop--the rarely recorded art form of rhyming spontaneously. Like preachers and jazz solos, freestyles exist only in the moment, a modern-day incarnation of the African-American storytelling tradition. Shot over a period of more than seven years, it is already an underground cult film in the hip-hop world. The film systematically debunks the false image put out by record companies that hip-hop culture is violent or money-obsessed. Instead, it lets real hip-hop artists, known and unknown, weave their story out of a passionate mix of language, politics, and spirituality.

Filmmaker Bio:  

Kevin was born to a West Indian mother and Irish-American father in New York in the early 1970's, and has been DJ'ing since the age of 14. He is Co-Founder with Carlos Ninos, of the popular radio show, "All @ One Point," on KPFK 90.7 FM, in Los Angels. He is also a founding organizer of The Center for Hip-Hop Education and responsible for creating and promoting (along with MC Hymnal of Dark Leaf) the open-mic The Breaks (the birthplace of the live hip-hop band Breakestra) and the original incarnation of the popular weekly LA club The Root Down.

Shortly after being awarded a scholarship to attend the University of California's film production program, Kevin started seriously studying, researching, and documenting hip-hop. Shooting for Freestyle began with equipment and supplies he gained access to through his classes, and when a DJ friend, Mix Master Wolf (Breakestra) introduced him to L.A.'s original hip-hop open mike at the popular South Central community health food café, The Good Life.

A long time student of natural medicine, Kevin's philosophy is to tell stories that reveal and bravely explore the nature of community: both its lines of fracture and its prospects for healing.