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http://vimeo.com/59613055
(Zucca Films/Vimeo)
THE LIVES AND work of a small group of Irish hip-hop artists is explored in a new and unexpected way in the soon-to-be released Broken Song.
This documentary focuses on GI, Costello and Willa (William) Lee, north-Dublin based street poets, hip-hop artists and songwriters, for whom music is not a hobby, but a religion.
While GI and Costello are quickfire, introspective-yet-outgoing emcees, Willa Lee has the soulful voice of a man far older than his tender years. Also featuring in the documentary is Dean Scurry, of the impressive Workin Class Records, who works with the young musicians and songwriters.
In contrast to the graffiti-strewn, urban look that people tend to favour when profiling hip hop, director Claire Dix chose to shoot most of Broken Song in black and white, with some imaginary sequences in colour.
The result is that the viewer isn’t distracted by bling, but instead drawn in by the fluid, somewhat dreamy feel of the film. The characters of the men are able to come through, as Dix follows the ups and downs of their real lives over a number of months.
Dix first met Costello, Scurry and GI back in 2010, and despite her initial unfamiliarity with their work, they left quite an impact on her, particularly the lyrics, which she described as “modern-day, real poetry”.
As Dix got to know them, she realised that, contrary to the image conjured up by mainstream artists, they were not motivated by money.
“Commercial success isn’t what drives them. Hip hop is a part of their everyday life. They call it their religion,” she explained.
The men aren’t just happy to work on their own output, and are very involved in outreach work with younger children in the Ballymun area of Dublin in particular. For them, it’s a way of fostering the same love of hip hop that turned them into creators. “There’s something very refreshing there,” said Dix of their approach.
Costello
Rather than relying on the over-used tropes of graffiti, bright colours and flashy editing, Broken Song is a more gentle, poetic affair. Dix sees it as an art piece, and instinctively shot the majority of it in black and white.
The film looks at the men’s lyrics and writing more so than how they create their beats, as Dix is clearly fascinated by the words they spit out and weave together.
The first song they performed for her, called Flawless, was about “how unjust the whole society is” and what it is like to be a voice for the disenfranchised. This served as a focal point for what she wants to get across with this film, as it showed how the musicians were getting back to the real roots of hip hop.
The landscape that surrounds the men, the streets where they spend their time and which inspire their work, in turn inspired Dix:
Their poetry comes, really, from the streets where they are from. [The footage] does really linger on landscapes, shots of Ballymun. This is where they are rooted, what inspires them, what they are trying to articulate.
Willa Lee
Broken Song is a positive film, but it doesn’t shy away from the issues facing the men. Willa Lee’s court issues are documented, but Dix said he was not reticent about this being included. “He didn’t seem to have any qualms about it. We really did get great access, they really took a leap of faith.”
Dix was careful not to rely on stereotypes when filming the musicians, treating them like artists rather than caricatures. “I really see them more as poets,” she explained.
As for the documentary title, while Dix said it references the idea of rap being a deconstructed or broken song, it is also inspired by Willa’s struggles.
One thing that is not fractured is the tight relationship between all of the men, for whom collaboration is a key part of what keeps them working so hard.
“They’re all so committed to their thing. There’s no preciousness involved. They help each other out,” said Dix. “It is such a collective in the real sense of the word.”
This isn’t a documentary about Irish hip hop as a whole, but it’s a film about people who happen to be Irish hip hop artists. This is a look at young men who are “heroes in their own neighborhood and within the hip hop world”, who aren’t in it for the money, and who work with young people to give them their own voice.
“They were so disempowered but the music made them powerful,” said Dix of the transformative effect that she believes creating hip hop has had on GI, Costello, and Willa Lee.
“They did it themselves with their own voice and own brain, and poetry and soul. They managed to become powerful.”
Broken Song will go on release in the IFI in Dublin on 15 November and axis: Ballymun on 27 November. For more information visit Claire Dix’s website.
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Well done girls. Now back to the kitchen to cook for your menfolk. There’s a 3 week pile of ironing that’s built up too.
And don’t forget the dusting
Jasus 3 weeks. They may look after there man in the bedroom too.
Just because they play football doesn’t mean they’re all straight.
Wow Beachmaster what a way to crash the party.
Not like twitter to be overly sensitive. Is there anything factually incorrect about the tweet? No. This seemingly constant need to be offended is the thing I find most offensive these days!
It must be hell to be a professional comedian nowadays. Anything you say is judged in the same way that football newbies judged every slightly negative thing that Dunphy and Giles said during Italia ’90.
Well bacoxy, ask yourself why it’s never said about men…?
That’s always a good barometer of what’s PC and what’s not.
If it’s not a standard that’s applied to both genders then there is cause for annoyance.
But as a white male living in the western world you probably don’t have to consider these things.
Hope that helps for future reference and why people are annoyed.
You came dangerously close to mentioning White privilege there.
Isn’t sexism the treatment of or perception that women are in some way inferior to men? What’s sexist about calling a woman a mother, daughter or sister?
@beano – it’s the way they did it. It’s not just that it was sexist. It was also patronising. These women didn’t stop being mothers, partners or daughters when they put on the jersey. Plus, the men don’t get tweets from the FA saying the men are going back to being sons, partners and fathers.
Whenever I read an article about a twitter outrage fest it makes me hope WW3 kicks off sooner rather than later
Factually, the vast majority of mothers I know are heroes already. They don’t need to win a football title to become one. Not winning a football title doesn’t make them less of one. Part of the problem with society is undervaluing the work of a mother, or father for that matter, in the home. They are shaping future doctors, scientists, architects, builders, leaders, parents, and yeah, footballers of tomorrow.
Similar is said about men too Abbi, just not in football because they are viewed as obscenely wealthy professionals. It’s often mentioned about GAA players heading back to milk the cows, or there were similar things said about the Irish cricket team when they took the World Cup by storm and then had to head home to normal jobs. You can’t compare male and female footballers as though they are the same because of the insane money in the men’s game, but in sports against which women’s football would be comparable sentiments like this are pretty common.
Maybe the fact that while at the world cup representing their country they were still “wives, mothers and daughters” as women are capable of being more than one thing at any given time.
Once I finish this moderately successful post I will return to be a single childless loser. :(
Twitter needs to be killed. We would be much better without it.
It annoys me when an article is supplemented by a hape of meaningless tweets from folk I’ve never heard of.
Apparently it gives it “colour”. Lazy journalism in my opinion.
*supplemented with? Damn it anyway. Where’s Tap Solny when I need her?
As you comment using your Twitter account…
According to feminists, it is offensive to acknowledge that women are a separate gender. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
please do explain this comment. where did this information come from?
PC gone mad ;-)
You’re blaming the computer? I bet the FA wished they’d though of that.
The English football fans are funny. Coming third is a decent achievement but I wouldn’t call them heroes. They always over hype themselves.
In fairness if you take a step back and look we do the same, we’re still talking about Italia 90 where we drew four games and lost one, if our women’s team came third in a World Cup we’d probably be naming streets and bridges after the players.
We think the English hype is peculiar because we get to see it as outsiders due to the fact we watch so much English TV, they’re entitled to hype their own national team if they want to it’s their own media after all, who are we to say otherwise.
Twitter outrage is like cheering in a large crowd even though you don’t know what the crowd started cheering at…
Nothing offensive here ffs!!
Stop cursing please.
Gawd! How DARE people be mildly annoyed by a thing! What kind of world do we live in where people can express their opinion freely? When will it ever end? ;_;
When our lads come back from the Rugby world cup, they ll go back to being husbands partners and sons.
This just proves there will never be a shortage of people that get offended on other people’s behalf.
Thank God they have husbands, that’s all I can say.
Because they’re absolutely shit at football.
In terms of skill the women’s world cup is the equivalent of watching Scottish League 3 football.
And if anyone has ever been unfortunate enough to have watched a game from that division then you’ll know why the average attendance is about 3 and a half people.
I’d rather listen to Serena Williams grunting for 40 minutes (the average time span of her matches) than watch a ladies football game.
There’s easier ways to get brain damage.
I’ve a strong suspicion any one of those women would make absolute sh*t out of you on a soccer pitch.
My local pub team could thrash the England’s ladies team.
At closing time.
For God’s sake relax. Let’s remember the real issue here, women’s football is shockingly bad :)
Yawn, keyboard warriors are bored obviously
…says the one who’s bored…
“three lions on a skirt……..”
Western corporate feminism at its finest.
everone of them falls into at least one of those.
A lot of PC whackjobs who completely miss the point and don’t bother their hole to do some research.
political correctness gone mental , I want my masculinity back , whatever happened to Gary Cooper , the strong silent type.
Alex Scott though…
have your say