The Breaks Season 1 Premiere: Hip Hop Thy Name is Knowledge
posted by Brian Johnson | April 6, 2017 | In Arts and CultureAfter the immeasurable success of recent hip-hop influenced films and television projects such as the biopic Straight Outta Compton along with the smash hit Empire and the Netflix series The Get Down, there is definitely a growing interest in these types of stories and for this new exciting TV series.
The Breaks started airing its first season on February 20 on VH1. It follows the acclaim and high ratings of the TV movie with the same title that served as an introduction to the story of this show. This series was extremely anticipated, and it did not disappoint starting off where the TV movie had concluded.
The show is created by Seith Mann and Dan Charnas.
The story centers around three best friends who all have an extreme passion for hip-hop music as it starts emerging as a major music movement in the 1990s that mainstream America is not aware of yet, and they see the rise of hip-hop and the unstoppable and standout force it would become within the music industry.
DeeVee played by Tristan Wilds is an aspiring DJ/producer who lives with his father (played by Method Man from the Wu-Tang Clan) who dropped out of school to pursue making music with his “artists.” Nikki Jones is played by Afton Williamson who wants a career in hip-hop music and is aiming to work for a music executive named Barry Fouray (played by Wood Harris), while she focuses on getting a position to recognize unmatched talents within potential artists. David played by David Call is Nikki’s boyfriend from college and wants to be a program director on the radio and promote hip-hop music as he sees it as art.
The episode starts off with DeeVee finally finding a rapper named Ahm (played by Antoine Harris), who just so happens to be a street gangster dealing with shady motives, but he is intelligent, focused and DeeVee’s next chance to make it big. Nikki is now Fouray’s personal assistant and aims to get Ahm signed by Fouray while DeeVee deals with the tension of being associated with Ahm and new characters are introduced into the story.
The Breaks successfully manages the element many television series and especially movies are missing: depth. This show displays the intricate history of hip-hop and how record companies strive to make it the way it was, the pressures of business, marketing, music making and solidifying an image to a wider audience with underdog music.
Finally fans of the TV movie have been waiting for a year for this new show to come out and The Breaks delivers with authentic vibes of the ‘90s, dynamic acting, a cool soundtrack, excellent messages and promotes a diverse and sophisticated cast which all makes an amalgamation for a show that is ready to take over America’s Monday night with solid ratings.
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