Slam Details

An unusual film about the redemptive power of poetry, with a small-time drug dealer discovering his true calling courtesy of an arts course he signs up for while in prison. Back on the outside, he becomes a leading light of Washington's black rap-poetry scene. Preachy but powerful, the film makes extensive use of hand-held cameras to give it a genuine feel of the real. Performances are in-your-face and convincing but, even though the “rapetry's” pretty good, the subject matter won't appeal to all tastes.

This eschews the clichés of gangsta rap to find a new slant on African-American experience. In the wrong place at the... read more on Time Out