A Hip-Hop Fan Hunts the Reason Behind the Rhyme

So he dove into a grueling fundraising effort and began interviewing rappers, activists, scholars and fans at national events like BET's annual Spring Bling celebration in Daytona Beach. "I wanted to make it a combination of real people and real events," Hurt says, "as well as the scholars and the experts who can speak very clearly to the issues."

The result paints a broad and eye-opening portrait of hip-hop masculinity. And while intellectuals Michael Dyson, Kevin Powell and rap legend Chuck D. offer sharp insights on male aggression, black animosity and homoeroticism in hip-hop, the most illuminating points come from the fans -- whether they're aspiring rappers at Spring Bling in Daytona or white teenagers trying to connect with the black urban experience in Moline.

When asked why so many aspiring rappers resort to violent imagery in their rhymes, one hopeful MC said that the record industry doesn't want to hear anything else. "They don't give us deals when we speak righteously," he shrugged.

There aren't many female voices in the film, a conscious decision by Hurt based on his experience in community work. "It was important for me to keep a male audience," Hurt says. "I know that boys are much more receptive to hearing guys talk about manhood. When they hear it from women they get defensive."

The film screened at last year's Sundance Film Festival to standing ovations. "It was incredible," Hurt says of the experience. "I sort of liken it to going to the Olympics. You get to meet filmmakers from all over the world. . . . My life hasn't been the same since then."

In other words, he's been busy. Hurt has been screening the film in schools across the country since Sundance, showing it as many as three times a week leading up to tonight's broadcast. Is he worried that he might not reach his intended audience on public television? "I think it's pretty accurate to say PBS doesn't appeal to the average hip-hop fan," Hurt says. "But it's unfair to say a hip-hop audience won't come to PBS. . . . People of color watch PBS when there's something relevant to them."

Yet for all its accolades, the film doesn't answer the question it has the courage to ask: How do we fix hip-hop? "One of the criticisms of the film is that it doesn't offer real solutions," Hurt says. "I did that intentionally. . . . I wanted the audience to take ownership over what can be done about this."

Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes (one hour) debuts tonight at 11 on Channel 26 (WETA).