Credited cast: | |||
John David Washington | ... | Mahlik | |
Common | ... | Coltrane | |
Lorraine Toussaint | ... | Nichelle | |
Arjun Gupta | ... | Naveen | |
Method Man | ... | Ref | |
Lucien Laviscount | ... | Derek | |
Hana Mae Lee | ... | Julie | |
Jill Scott | ... | Professor Dixon | |
Daniella De Jesús | ... | Tomboyish Latina (as Daniella De Jesus) | |
Jeremie Harris | ... | Matt | |
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Azealia Banks | ... | Coco |
Craig muMs Grant | ... | MuMs da Schemer | |
Jin Au-Yeung | ... | Jin (as Jin Auyeung) | |
Jas Anderson | ... | Thug 1 | |
Mary Christina Brown | ... | Sapphire |
When struggling rapper Coco (Azealia Banks) enrolls in a poetry class, she thinks her rhymes will impress her teacher, Professor Dixon (Jill Scott). Instead, Dixon challenges Coco to seek real meaning in her lyrics, setting her on a journey of discovery that takes her through rap clubs and poetry slams, leading her to find her true voice - and true love - in this uplifting movie costarring Lucien Laviscount. Written by Lionsgate
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.