| Drop the Beat | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Noel S. Baker Vance Chapman |
| Directed by | Paul Fox Daniel Grou |
| Starring | Mark Taylor Merwin Mondesir Ingrid Veninger Michie Mee |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Janis Lundman Adrienne Mitchell Suzanne Chapman |
| Producer | Susan Alexander |
| Cinematography | Jérôme Sabourin |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Back Alley Film Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBC Television |
| Release | February 7, 2000 – April 9, 2001 |
Drop the Beat is a Canadian television series produced by Back Alley Film Productions that 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]
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.
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.
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]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Public Nuisance" | Unknown | Unknown | February 7, 2000 |
| 2 | "Life Sentence" | Unknown | Unknown | February 14, 2000 |
| 3 | "Battle Royale" | Unknown | Sudz Sutherland | February 21, 2000 |
| 4 | "Superstar" | Unknown | Unknown | February 28, 2000 |
| 5 | "Image Is Nothing" | Unknown | Unknown | March 13, 2000 |
| 6 | "Rapped Out" | Unknown | Unknown | March 20, 2000 |
| 7 | "Caught" | Unknown | Unknown | March 27, 2000 |
| 8 | "1 Night Stand" | Unknown | Unknown | April 3, 2000 |
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Roti Boy" | Unknown | Unknown | October 2, 2000 |
| 2 | "Belly" | Unknown | Unknown | October 9, 2000 |
| 3 | "Palya Position" | Unknown | Unknown | October 16, 2000 |
| 4 | "Payback" | Unknown | Unknown | October 23, 2000 |
| 5 | "Break 'n Enter" | Unknown | Unknown | November 6, 2000 |
| 6 | "Deja You" | Unknown | Unknown | November 13, 2000 |
| 7 | "Girlz Night Out" | Unknown | Unknown | November 20, 2000 |
| 8 | "Fallen Hero" | Unknown | Unknown | December 4, 2000 |
| 9 | "Trigger Man" | Unknown | Unknown | February 5, 2001 |
| 10 | "Connections" | Unknown | Unknown | February 12, 2001 |
| 11 | "Shaka" | Unknown | Unknown | February 19, 2001 |
| 12 | "Katalyst" | Unknown | Unknown | February 26, 2001 |
| 13 | "One of the Boys" | Unknown | Unknown | March 5, 2001 |
| 14 | "Trippin" | Unknown | Unknown | March 12, 2001 |
| 15 | "Doing Good With Evil" | Unknown | Unknown | March 19, 2001 |
| 16 | "Sabotage" | Unknown | Unknown | March 26, 2001 |
| 17 | "Rage" | Unknown | Unknown | April 2, 2001 |
| 18 | "Choices" | Unknown | Unknown | April 9, 2001 |
