Beat This: A Hip-Hop History
Encyclopedia
Beat This: A Hip-Hop History is a 1984 BBC
documentary film
about hip-hop culture, directed by Dick Fontaine
. The cast includes Afrika Bambaataa
, DJ Kool Herc — the film includes footage from Herc's original dance parties — The Cold Crush Brothers
, Jazzy Jay
, Brim Fuentes, and The Dynamic Rockers. It is narrated by Imhotep Gary Byrd. Originally part of the Arena
television series, it was among the first crop of documentaries about hip-hop.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about hip-hop culture, directed by Dick Fontaine
Dick Fontaine
Dick Fontaine is an English documentary filmmaker, currently head of documentary direction at the National Film and Television School .Fontaine was one of the founders of Granada Television's World in Action series. He has made numerous films on African American music and other closely related...
. The cast includes Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
, DJ Kool Herc — the film includes footage from Herc's original dance parties — The Cold Crush Brothers
The Cold Crush Brothers
The Cold Crush Brothers is a hip hop group that formed in 1979 in the Bronx, New York City, New York, alongside other early hip hop acts.-Formation:...
, Jazzy Jay
Jazzy Jay
Jazzy Jay born in Beaufort, South Carolina, United States, November 18, 1961), also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay, is a pioneering American hip hop DJ and producer. He has collected roughly 400,000 records.-Background:...
, Brim Fuentes, and The Dynamic Rockers. It is narrated by Imhotep Gary Byrd. Originally part of the Arena
Arena (TV series)
Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. It has run since 1 October 1975, and over five hundred episodes have been made. Arena covers all manner of subjects, from profiles of notable people such as Bob Dylan to the Ford Cortina car...
television series, it was among the first crop of documentaries about hip-hop.