Skip to main content

The Screen Queen Presents: Love Beats Rhymes


by Dana Muwwakkil

Meet Coco (rapper Azaelia Banks), the self-assured wordsmith looking to get a record deal for her music group. A natural leader, she is the only female rapper in her group and her ability to string together words effortlessly is important to her because music – particularly rap – is her life. While Coco considers herself a bit of a master of her craft, her social life is at a standstill as she is hung up on Mahlik, a young man in her group who doesn’t seem to be interested in anything more than their casual hook ups. 
 
Coco is hustling to get a demo together for a potential agent and waiting tables at her mom’s cafe, but her mother hounds her to finish school. Coco concedes to her mother’s wishes and signs up for classes at her local community college. Only a few credits shy of getting her degree, she decides to take what she assumes will be an easy course called Poetry 101. 

Immediately Coco and Professor Dixon (Jill Scott) butt heads over the differences between poetry and rap. Stubborn and hardheaded, Coco refuses to bend as she raps and recites verses for her assignments, much to the disappointment of Professor Dixon and the teaching assistant, Derek. Not one to back down from a challenge, Coco enters the world of spoken word and begins to put pen to paper in a different way. As she finds herself in her poetry and grows closer with Derek, she alienates her rap group and starts to question how much she’s willing to change for a passing grade.

Currently on Netflix, Love Beats Rhymes reflects a positive message about following passions and not being afraid to grow - or even change.

Screen Queen Dana Muwwakkil tackles social trends and movies in her blog and for other publications. She lives with her husband and their three children in Ulster County. This review originally appeared in the May/June 2018 issue.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Screen Queen Presents: GLOW

by Dana Muwwakkil Step into the ring with the Women from GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) – the 1980s spandex and big hair world that women like actor Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie) land in when quality acting roles are scarce. Dreaming of landing a role that consists of more than telling powerful men that their wives are on line one, Ruth stumbles into GLOW and thinks this gig might be her big break.  The organization is brand new, headed by former B-list director and financed by a rich kid who wants to turn the women into stereotypes. Ruth is a natural front-runner who is passionate about her craft, but struggles to develop a compelling character and find her footing with the physical training. The show is based on the real women from GLOW, which became the very first television show with all female pro wrestlers in 1986. Netflix also has a documentary showing the real trailblazers some of the characters are loosely based on. These women were incredible enough to t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Business Spotlight: Hoover Architecture, PLLC

What we do: We are a NYS WBE-certified, full-service architecture firm, specializing in commercial and custom residential design throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley.  How it started: Fifteen years ago, after working for a number of years as an architect in the commercial and industrial sectors, my daughter was born. I decided I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. I had always done small projects aside my full-time job, so the transition wasn’t that hard. Using my contacts of contractors and past clients from my years in the business, I hung out my shingle.  ​ About the clientele: I am a sole proprietor, which allows me to design a huge range of projects, rather than getting stuck in one sector. Overall though, my primary clientele are private business owners and custom home clients, and sometimes they are the same people!   Why it's unique:  A client gets to work soley with me throughout the entire design proc...
Post a Comment
Read more