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IMDbPro

Love Beats Rhymes

  • 2017
  • R
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
Common, Lucien Laviscount, Hana Mae Lee, and Azealia Banks in Love Beats Rhymes (2017)
An aspiring hip-hop artist discovers the world of slam poetry.
Play trailer2:07
6 Videos
9 Photos
DramaMusical

Azealia Banks, Jill Scott, Lucien Laviscount, and Common lead this inspiring, music-filled story of a struggling rapper looking to find her own voice.Azealia Banks, Jill Scott, Lucien Laviscount, and Common lead this inspiring, music-filled story of a struggling rapper looking to find her own voice.Azealia Banks, Jill Scott, Lucien Laviscount, and Common lead this inspiring, music-filled story of a struggling rapper looking to find her own voice.

  • Director
    • RZA
  • Writer
    • Nicole Jefferson Asher
  • Stars
    • John David Washington
    • Common
    • Lorraine Toussaint
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.5/10
    1.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • RZA
    • Writer
      • Nicole Jefferson Asher
    • Stars
      • John David Washington
      • Common
      • Lorraine Toussaint
    • 10User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
    • 54Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos6

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:07
    Trailer
    Love Beats Rhymes: New Direction
    Clip 1:34
    Love Beats Rhymes: New Direction
    Love Beats Rhymes: New Direction
    Clip 1:34
    Love Beats Rhymes: New Direction
    Love Beats Rhymes: Restaurant
    Clip 1:22
    Love Beats Rhymes: Restaurant
    Love Beats Rhymes: Coco Meets Coltrane
    Clip 2:00
    Love Beats Rhymes: Coco Meets Coltrane
    The Rise of John David Washington
    Clip 3:55
    The Rise of John David Washington
    Official Trailer
    Clip 2:05
    Official Trailer

    Photos8

    View Poster
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    View Poster
    View Poster
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    + 3
    View Poster

    Top cast42

    Edit
    John David Washington
    John David Washington
    • Mahlik
    Common
    Common
    • Coltrane
    Lorraine Toussaint
    Lorraine Toussaint
    • Nichelle
    Method Man
    Method Man
    • Ref
    Lucien Laviscount
    Lucien Laviscount
    • Derek
    Hana Mae Lee
    Hana Mae Lee
    • Julie
    Craig muMs Grant
    Craig muMs Grant
    • MuMs da Schemer
    Jill Scott
    Jill Scott
    • Professor Dixon
    Arjun Gupta
    Arjun Gupta
    • Naveen
    Mary Christina Brown
    Mary Christina Brown
    • Sapphire
    Caleb Eberhardt
    Caleb Eberhardt
    • Reasons
    Jeremie Harris
    Jeremie Harris
    • Matt
    Jin Au-Yeung
    Jin Au-Yeung
    • Jin
    • (as Jin Auyeung)
    La Daniella
    • Tomboyish Latina
    • (as Daniella De Jesus)
    Azealia Banks
    • Coco
    Jas Anderson
    • Thug 1
    Bryan Burton
    Bryan Burton
    • Shy Nerdy Guy
    Ryan Metcalf
    Ryan Metcalf
    • Male Jock
    • Director
      • RZA
    • Writer
      • Nicole Jefferson Asher
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews10

    5.51.2K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    10jeanmarccamilleri

    Loved it

    Love this film, azealia is pure talent and has great potential.
    7uberdonkey6

    Formulaic plot doesn't spoil a great film

    So.. any film that starts with a rap battle is an instant turn-off for me. But this is neither a story of how life is tough in the streets, or how women are strong. Like step up movies, there is quite a formulaic plot, but unlike those films, the acting is great.. natural and simple. The lead is a good actress. The poetry and rap is good, and really gives body to the film. There is a real love of the content shown by the writers and director. I thought it was touching and made me realise myself that I was missing poetry and needed to keep expression and feeling in my life. Some famous faces in there, and erm, it just seemed to fit together well in a very satisfying way. I wanted to give it an 8, but it just doesn't have the intrigue that could be created with a better storyline. If you like art and have feelings of some type, watch the film.
    7trdsun718

    This movie deserves more eyeballs

    A nice flick about a young upcoming female rapper finding out that words have meaning and power. This is a love story about the art of spoken words. The cast did a great job. Azelia Banks was good to a degree for her first starring role but Jill Scott knocked it out the park. I didn't know RZA was this good at directing a love story, it flowed seamlessly. Btw RZA should have cast Jeremie Harris to play him in Wu-Tang An American Saga, they looka like.
    7RosanaBotafogo

    Reading a book can change what you know, reading a poem changes who you are" beautiful...

    It tells the story of a female rapper who enters a university and joins a poetry class. Although the classes don't improve her lyrical skills as expected, they do spark a passion for the ''poetry beat'' in her.

    Forced and convenient, and with a lot of music Which is to be expected, a lot of hip hop, a simple and cute little film, a charming little novel, and empowered women fighting for their space in hip hop, mixing poetry and music, suffering misogyny and prejudice , however, a light and pleasant movie to watch... "Reading a book can change what you know, reading a poem changes who you are" beautiful...
    8eridsteele

    A solid film

    Brilliantly directed and acting was very well-done. Jill Scott and especially Azealia Banks were outstanding in their performances. Hope to see more of Ms. Banks in future films! Her talent and charisma really shines through. The only major downside of the movie was probably the romance which happened very suddenly and spontaneously, as there was not enough development between the two characters and it seemed a tad unconvincing. Aside from the romance and a semi-predictable plotline, the movie makes for an enjoyable quick watch and is definitely worth checking out.

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965)
    Musical

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Azealia Banks cancelled parts of her tour to have time to film the movie.
    • Soundtracks
      Get That Work
      Written by Chief WaKil (as Mansa Wakili), Cheapshot (as Colton Fisher), Jason Rabinowitz, James Katalbas and Jaron Lamot

      Performed by Icy Black

      Courtesy of The Math Club

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    FAQ13

    • How long is Love Beats Rhymes?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 1, 2017 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • It Doesn't Have to Rhyme
    • Production companies
      • Codeblack Films
      • Lionsgate
      • Spoken Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 46m(106 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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