The Beat is a 2003 drama written and directed by Brandon Sonnier and was screened at the

2003 Sundance Film Festival The 2003 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 16 to January 26, 2003. ''American Splendor'', a biopic of comic-book author Harvey Pekar, won the grand-jury prize. Steve Zahn and Maggie Gyllenhaal presented the awards in a ceremony tele ...

. At 20 years of age, Sonnier was the youngest director to have a feature film debut at the Sundance Film Festival. The previous record was held by

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...

for

El Mariachi ''El Mariachi'' is a 1992 Spanish language American independent neo-Western film and the first part of the saga that came to be known as Robert Rodriguez's '' Mexico Trilogy''. It marked the feature-length debut of Rodriguez as writer and direc ...

. With limited release on Showtime, Black STARZ, and Encore in 2005, the film became an underground hip hop cult-classic, supported by a cast of internationally recognized rap artists such as

Chino XL Derek Keith Barbosa (born April 8, 1974), better known by his stage name Chino XL, is an American rapper, and actor. He has released four solo studio albums, in which his most recent – '' Ricanstruction: The Black Rosary'' – won the 2012 HH ...

, Tak (

Styles of Beyond Styles of Beyond was an American underground hip hop group from the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The group consists of MCs Ryan Patrick Maginn (Ryu) and Takbir Bashir (Tak), Colton Raisin Fisher ( DJ Cheapshot), and produce ...

) and Coolio, as well as Def Poetry Jam's Steve Connell. The film's star, Rahman Jamaal also wrote and produced the film's hip hop soundtrack.

Plot

Philip Randall Bernard a.k.a. "Flip" (Rahman Jamaal) is faced with the decision to join the police force, or attempt to live his dream of becoming a Hip Hop/spoken word artist. The film shows both of Flip's possible futures.

Cast

*Rahman Jamaal * Jazsmin Lewis *

Gregory Alan Williams Gregory Alan Williams (born June 12, 1956) sometimes credited as Gregalan Williams, is an American actor and author. He is best known for portraying LAPD Officer Garner Ellerbee in '' Baywatch''. From 2011 until 2013, Williams portrayed the rol ...

Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...

*Steve Connell *

Jermaine Williams Jermaine Charles Williams is an American actor, producer, and dancer. He dances for the Norwood Kids Foundation. He is from Rialto, California. He is best known for his role as Mush Mouth in ''Fat Albert'' and Noel in ''Stomp the Yard''. He a ...

External links

References

2003 films 2003 drama films American drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-drama-film-stub