War of Words: Battle Rap in the UK
Synopsis
The film reveals the history and evolution of this unique subculture of hip hop: charting from its origins in playgrounds and parks, through to nightclubs and competitions. From its beginnings as a battle of quick-thinking freestyle wit, through to its current incarnation as a form of well-rehearsed poetry and theatre.
Directors Craig Tuohy and Tom Worth followed and filmed major players involved with the UK battle rapping scene over a period of two years- revealing behind the scenes footage, clips from some of the best battles, and interviews with the top battle rappers from all over the UK including poet Mark Grist, whose battle rap with Blizzard has had over 4.5 million hits on YouTube.
The film is an entertaining expose on how the UK has taken an American art form and made it uniquely British, and so creating one of the most exciting youth subcultures around today.
Details
- Year
- 2015
- Type of film
- Features
- Running time
- 93 mins
- Format
- digital video
- Director
-
Craig Tuohy, Tom Worth
- Producer
- Craig Tuohy, Tom Worth, Charlotte Arden
- Executive Producer
- Lee Kemp, Peter Dunphy, Vivian Giourousis, Alistair Monty
- Editor
- Barry Moen
- Screenwriter
- Craig Tuohy
- Composer
- Si Begg
- Principal cast
- Ice-T, Doc Brown, Raekwon, Scroobius Pip
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
Gizmo Films
13 Queensborough MewsLondon
W2 3SG
Page updates
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