'Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes' Turns 10

It's hard to believe that nearly a decade has transpired since Kounterattack collaborated with documentary filmmaker, Byron Hurt for his riveting documentary, 'Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes'. The film takes an in-depth examination into the issues prevalent in hip-hop culture. His tribute to, insights and criticisms of the rap music industry still reverberate with observers today. Kounterattack was thrilled to explore these concepts and generate the film's branding and graphic design segments.

The film explores many relevant issues within hip hop culture including the portrayal of women, glamorization of violence, representation of (hyper-) masculinity, rap lyrics' social repression, and homoeroticism in hip-hop. These topics are explored through direct insight from an assemblage of intelligent and diverse interviews including rap artists, industry executives, hip hop fans and social critics. These interviews include rappers such as Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D, Talib Kwali, Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons; along with commentary from Michael Eric Dyson, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Kevin Powell and Sarah Jones and interviews with young women at Spelman College, a historically black school.

“We’re like in this box and in order to be in that box you have to be strong”

“We’re like in this box and in order to be in that box you have to be strong, you have to be tough, you have to have a lot of girls, you got to have money, you got to be a player or a pimp, you got to be in control, dominate other men and other people,” Hurt comments at the beginning of the film. It was this monologue that inspired Kounterattack to design a montage of typography-as-visuals that represent the one-dimensional messages that are ultimately "rewinding" social advances that hip hop should otherwise support.

The documentary further presents images of rappers surrounded by provocative woman, tossing money at the camera, participating in gunplay, violence and drugs. These representations that have been ingrained into the minds of young men and women play a pivotal role in the establishment of misogyny and hyper-masculinity within hip hop culture.

'Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes' and filmmaker, Byron Hurt can both still be seen in screenings and speaking engagements across the country. This continued interest is a true testament to the timelessness of both this film and our collaborative contribution to it's storytelling.