Drop the Beat

Drop the Beat was a Canadian television series produced by Back Alley Film Productions, which aired on CBC Television in 2000 and 2001.[1] A short run dramatic series, the show was one of the first television series in the world centred around hip hop music and culture.[1]

Drop the Beat
GenreDrama
Written byNoel S. Baker
Vance Chapman
Directed byPaul Fox
Daniel Grou
StarringMark Taylor
Merwin Mondesir
Ingrid Veninger
Michie Mee
Country of originCanada
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producer(s)Janis Lundman
Adrienne Mitchell
Suzanne Chapman
Producer(s)Susan Alexander
Running time30 minutes
Production company(s)Back Alley Film Productions
Release
Original networkCBC Television
Original release2000 –
2001

A spinoff of the earlier CBC teen drama series Straight Up,[2] the show starred Mark Taylor as Jeff and Merwin Mondesir as Dennis, the hosts of a hip hop show on CIBJ-FM, a fictional campus radio station in Toronto, Ontario.[3] Michie Mee also starred as Divine, a rapper who was part of Jeff and Dennis' crew, and Ingrid Veninger played the station manager. The supporting cast also included Arlene Duncan, Vanessa Ford, Jennifer Baxter, Jason Harrow, Shamann Williams and Omari Forrester.

The use of a campus radio station was a deliberate reflection of Canadian reality — until Toronto's Flow 93.5 hit the airwaves in early 2001, Canada did not have any radio stations dedicated specifically to urban music.

Production

As a tie-in to help promote emerging hip hop musicians, the series released a soundtrack album in conjunction with the first season, featuring artists such as Maestro Fresh Wes, Infinite, Frankie Ano, Bahamadia, Ja Rule, Black Child, Choclair, Rahzel, Jully Black and Erykah Badu.[4]

The show was also released as one of the first "interactive" dramatic television series on WebTV.[5] Viewers on that platform could call up character biographies, post messages on an interactive user forum, or buy the soundtrack album through embedded sales links.[5]

Episode directors included John Greyson, Paul Fox, Daniel Grou, Eleanore Lindo, T. W. Peacocke, Frances-Anne Solomon and Sudz Sutherland.

Awards

The series received two Gemini Award nominations for Best Dramatic Series, at the 15th Gemini Awards in 2000[6] and at the 16th Gemini Awards in 2001.[7] Sutherland received a nomination for Best Writing in a Drama Series in 2000 for the episode "Battle Royale",[6] and Taylor received a nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 2001.[8]

Episodes

Season one
# Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Public Nuisance"TBATBAFebruary 7, 2000 (2000-02-07)
2"Life Sentence"TBATBAFebruary 14, 2000 (2000-02-14)
3"Battle Royale"TBASudz SutherlandFebruary 21, 2000 (2000-02-21)
4"Superstar"TBATBAFebruary 28, 2000 (2000-02-28)
5"Image Is Nothing"TBATBAMarch 13, 2000 (2000-03-13)
6"Rapped Out"TBATBAMarch 20, 2000 (2000-03-20)
7"Caught"TBATBAMarch 27, 2000 (2000-03-27)
8"1 Night Stand"TBATBAApril 3, 2000 (2000-04-03)

Season two
# Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Roti Boy"TBATBAOctober 2, 2000 (2000-10-02)
2"Belly"TBATBAOctober 9, 2000 (2000-10-09)
3"Palya Position"TBATBAOctober 16, 2000 (2000-10-16)
4"Payback"TBATBAOctober 23, 2000 (2000-10-23)
5"Break 'n Enter"TBATBANovember 6, 2000 (2000-11-06)
6"Deja You"TBATBANovember 13, 2000 (2000-11-13)
7"Girlz Night Out"TBATBANovember 20, 2000 (2000-11-20)
8"Fallen Hero"TBATBADecember 4, 2000 (2000-12-04)
9"Trigger Man"TBATBAFebruary 5, 2001 (2001-02-05)
10"Connections"TBATBAFebruary 12, 2001 (2001-02-12)
11"Shaka"TBATBAFebruary 19, 2001 (2001-02-19)
12"Katalyst"TBATBAFebruary 26, 2001 (2001-02-26)
13"One of the Boys"TBATBAMarch 5, 2001 (2001-03-05)
14"Trippin"TBATBAMarch 12, 2001 (2001-03-12)
15"Doing Good With Evil"TBATBAMarch 19, 2001 (2001-03-19)
16"Sabotage"TBATBAMarch 26, 2001 (2001-03-26)
17"Rage"TBATBAApril 2, 2001 (2001-04-02)
18"Choices"TBATBAApril 9, 2001 (2001-04-09)

Soundtrack album
  1. Saukrates, "Drop the Beat" (4:06)
  2. Kardinal Offishall, "Husslin'" (3:43)
  3. Ja Rule, Black Child and Caddillac Tah, "4 Life" (4:24)
  4. Rahzel, Jully Black and Choclair, "What You Do to Me" (4:19)
  5. Erykah Badu and Rahzel, "Southern Gul" (3:07)
  6. Marvel, "Red Light District" (3:57)
  7. Infinite, "Addicted" (3:36)
  8. Common, "Dooinit" (4:12)
  9. Rascalz, "C-IV" (3:18)
  10. Bahamadia and Frankie Ano, "Droppin' Gems" (4:14)
  11. Mathematik feat. Dub-Ill, "Illmath (Weapons)" (3:19)
  12. Canibus, "100 Bars" (4:58)
  13. Kardinal Offishall and Thrust, "The Chosen Are Few" (3:22)
  14. Maestro and Infinite, "We Came Wid It" (3:24)
  15. Ivana Santilli and Natcha, "New World" (4:21)
  16. Lil' Troy feat. Fat Pat, Yungstar, Lil' Will, Big T and H.A.W.K., "Wanna Be a Baller" (5:55)
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References
  1. "TV show puts spotlight on hip-hop". Sudbury Star, February 9, 2000.
  2. "CBC finds a home for good and bad of the hip-hop scene". Ottawa Citizen, February 7, 2000.
  3. "Yo, big up -- CBC goes hip-hop urban". The Globe and Mail, February 7, 2000.
  4. "Drop the Beat becomes a CD: Canada's first hip hop TV show releases soundtrack". National Post, March 7, 2000.
  5. "Interactive TV arrives, a decade late, and turns out to be another sales job". National Post, February 10, 2000.
  6. "Complete list of Gemini nominees". Toronto Star, September 20, 2000.
  7. "Gemini show sinks to new levels". Ottawa Citizen, October 30, 2001.
  8. "LaFlamme among nominated eyeing a Gemini tonight". Waterloo Region Record, October 29, 2001.
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