Beat Street

Dir: Stan Lathan

1984

*****

Beat Street was probably the coolest films I ever saw as a kid. Released in 1984, it brought hip hop culture (breakdancing, DJing, and graffiti) to the attention of millions of kids like me and a whole new world opened up to us. I’m not even exaggerating. Along with skateboarding, I often wondered whether it was the last truly pure youth movement. I was naturally devastated when I learned that the film was sponsored by Puma and that the entire cast was ordered to wear Kangol hats and Puma sneakers all throughout production of the film even though many of the dancers felt that it wasn't authentic. Most of the graffiti art that was displayed all throughout the film wasn't even done by real graffiti artists - it was airbrushed by set decorators, although, two graffiti artists were hired as creative consultants for the film, including Bill Cordero - aka "Blast", and Lonny Wood - aka "Phase II", (who is also referenced in the movie, during the subway graffiti scene). Truth is, Beat Street couldn’t have been made without corporate money, the point is though that the people, the dancing and the music were all authentic. Set in the South Bronx, the film follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to various elements of early hip hop culture. Kenny Kirkland (Guy Davis) is a budding disc jockey and MC, and his younger brother, Lee (Robert Taylor) is a hardcore b-boy who dances with Beat Street Breakers (the New York City Breakers). Kenny's best friends are Ramon (Jon Chardiet), a graffiti artist known by his tag, "Ramo", and Chollie (Leon W. Grant), his self-styled manager/promoter. The film begins with the main characters preparing for a house party set in an abandoned apartment building, where Kenny is the featured DJ. An uninvited Lee and his breakdancing friends crash the party, and nearly get tangled into a battle with a rival troupe, the Bronx Rockers (the Rock Steady Crew). The battle of mostly words is broken up by Henri (Dean Elliot), a squatter who lives in the building and is befriended by Kenny, Chollie, Ramon and Luis (Franc. Reyes). Kenny has dreams of performing in New York City's top nightclubs. No club is bigger than the Roxy, and on one visit he crosses paths with Tracy Carlson (Rae Dawn Chong), a college music student and composer. A breakdance battle between the Breakers, Rock Steady ensues and Tracy admires Lee's performance. She then invites him to audition for a television show focusing on dancing. Lee, Kenny and their crew arrive during a dance rehearsal, and Lee gives his performance only to find out he won't be on television. Protecting his brother's interests, Kenny rips into Tracy for leading Lee on; Ramon steals a videotape of Lee's dance as the crew walk out. A remorseful Tracy then shows up at the Kirkland home to apologize. Lee was not home but Kenny was, working on a mix tape. Tracy clarifies her story, saying that she did not promise to Lee that he was going to be on the TV show. She then takes an interest in Kenny's mixing and the two find common ground. Kenny and Tracy then head into the subway, where they meet up with Lee, Ramon and Luis spray painting an abandoned station platform. They pack up and leave when they hear noises, thinking it may be the police; it turned out to be a rogue graffiti artist known as Spit who defaces Ramo's work (and the work of other artists) by spraying his tag over it. As the group take the train back uptown, Kenny and Tracy break away and spend the rest of the evening together, striking up a romance while walking and talking. Chollie talks Kenny into a guest spot at the Burning Spear, a club run by DJ Kool Herc. Kenny not only spins but presents a special Christmas-themed skit performed by the Treacherous Three, Doug E. Fresh and the Magnificent Force. The crowd's positive reaction convinces Kool Herc to invite Kenny back. But both Kenny and Chollie see the regular gig as a stepping stone to their bigger goal. They return to the Roxy, where auditions are being held for new talent. Chollie convinces Kenny to let him do the talking, and waits for the auditions to end before he succeeds in getting the talent scout to check out Kenny at the Burning Spear. The scout keeps his word, and is impressed enough that he offers Kenny a performance on New Year's Eve. Tracy offers to help Kenny out by allowing him to work on a computer keyboard system at her studio. However, Kenny accidentally presses a wrong button and deletes his work. Stubborn and frustrated, Kenny leaves the studio, saying he had enough material for New Year's Eve. Meanwhile, Ramon is feeling pressure from two sources. His father, Domingo (Shawn Elliot), who despises his graffiti, wants him to find honest work, while his girlfriend Carmen (Saundra Santiago), the mother of his son, longs for them to be together as a family. Ramon eventually gets a job in a hardware store, and he then takes Carmen and their baby to live with him in Henri's building. But Ramon does not stop thinking of the subway trains that are his canvas. When he sees a white painted one pass him by, he vows to put his mark on it. Later that evening, Ramon and Kenny find the train and proceed to paint one side of the lead car. As they work on the second side of the car, Ramon hears noises, and they discover the rogue graffiti artist, Spit, defacing the completed side. Ramon and Kenny chase Spit through the tunnel and into a station, and a fight ensues. Spit sprays paint in Ramon's eye, and both men tussle on the roadbed before they roll onto the electrified third rail, which kills them instantly. As the group mourn the death of their friend, Kenny considers not performing for the New Year's Eve show at the Roxy. However, with the help of Tracy and despite initial reluctance from Chollie, Kenny turns his big break into a celebration of Ramon's life. The show is the film's grand finale starting with a rap performance by Kenny while images of Ramon and his work were shown on a screen in the background. Kenny is followed by Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five and a Bronx gospel choir, and backed by dancers and breakdancers. It’s a scene that has been referenced repeatedly in hip-hop and rap songs ever since. Some of the plot line was based on the New York City graffiti documentary, Style Wars. Most visibly, the antagonist, Spit, was lifted from the real-life graffiti artist CAP MPC. Tagging someone else’s work was known as a diss when I was younger, Beat Street taught many creative kids about respecting others’ work and the difference between art and vandalism. It also showed the depth behind the music that the grown ups would repeatedly overlook. Hip-Hop was a cultural revolution that still isn’t regarded as highly as it should today. Content aside, Beat Street features some amazing footage of parts of New York that just don’t exist anymore. Beat Street's impact was felt internationally as well as throughout the United States. In Germany, for example, movies such as Beat Street and Wild Style are credited with introducing the hip hop movement to the country. Because movies are so easily distributed over borders, part of the importance of this movie lay in its ability to influence both East Germany and West Germany, which at the time were still divided. Beat Street was of particular importance in the East, where it is said to illustrate for young people the evils of capitalism. Because the film focused so heavily on the visual aspects of hip hop, such as breaking and graffiti, these aspects had the heaviest influence on the emerging German hip hop scene, just look at the graffiti on the Berlin wall. It was precisely these visual aspects that helped bring hip hop culture to Germany, rather than simply a genre of music. Beat Street appeared in the German Democratic Republic at almost the same time as in the West. Dresden, the center of the Beat Street scene was geographically out of western media range, making it a perfect center to explore this genre of music. The hip hop scene for the entire public would meet at breakdancing competitions, emceeing competitions, and graffiti spraying. Puerto Rican and African American breakdancing, hip hop and Latin freestyle dance sounds, and inner-city American graffiti made up what Germans knew as hip hop culture. The aftermath of Beat Street propelled events such as competitions in emceeing, break dancing, and graffiti spraying throughout Germany. Hip-Hop suddenly felt more inclusive too, with white kids embracing it just as much as black kids. Many will say it was meant for middle-class white kids such as myself – and they’d be right – but I would argue that the message and inspiring creativity is so strong that its influence is universal. I love it. I have a soft spot for Breakin’ but perhaps for all the wrong reasons, Beat Street however is a masterpiece and one of the most influential films of the era.