Beat Street
| Beat Street | |
|---|---|
Beat Street movie poster
|
|
| Directed by | Stan Lathan |
| Produced by |
Harry Belafonte David V. Picker |
| Written by |
Andrew Davis David Gilbert Paul Golding Steven Hager Richard Lee Sisco (story) |
| Starring |
|
| Music by |
Arthur Baker Harry Belafonte Webster Lewis |
| Cinematography | Tom Priestley Jr. |
| Edited by | Dov Hoenig Kevin Lee |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
|
Release date
|
June 8, 1984 |
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Running time
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105 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $16,595,791 |
Beat Street is an American 1984 drama film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s, breakdancing, DJing and graffiti.
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 Master of Ceremonies, 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.
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