Beyond Beats and Rhymes: Masculinity in Hip Hop Culture

This 60 min. documentary was previewed recently at Sundance and has been picked up by PBS to be shown later this year. Through his documentary, Byron presents images, samples and interviews that he hopes will expose and take apart the structures of violence, hyper- aggression, and misogyny present in much of today's hip hop.

"So much of the ills in our society come from the way we men define manhood," says Byron, adding, "I want this film to really get men to question and to challenge the way we're socialized and conditioned."

Byron stresses the need to educate boys and men about what it means to be male in our society. Encouraging such discussion, he believes, has the possibility to spark important social change.

In the process of making the film, Byron interviewed a number of male rappers -- from LL Cool J, Wyclef Jean, and Fat Joe to Chuck D, Talib Kweli, and Mos Def. He also spoke with a variety of hip-hop scholars
and historians, and tried to take on some of the major decision makers in the hip-hop industry. Perhaps most poignant, however, are his interactions with kids. In one scene, Byron captures the voices of
several young aspiring rappers spewing out words of hate, violence, and sexism for the camera. When Byron challenges them, they are un- phased. " That's how you get paid," they respond, implying, no one
wants to hear anything positive, so why even try?

"I'm not naive," says Byron. "I don't think my film is going to change the industry. It's an amoral business culture. They're not concerned with changing society, they're concerned with making money. So I focused on how this affects the people who see this film." Byron hopes this practical approach will inspire viewers to open their minds and be self-reflective. "It's up to us as consumers to challenge some of the representations of masculinity that we see in American culture."