Life and Lyrics (2006) - Synopsis
In the multicultural mix of modern London loyalties run deep and rivalries can run deeper still. Both are tested when Danny Lewis (Ashley Walters), DJ D-Biz to his fellow members of The Motion Crew, falls in love with the cousin of their most hated rivals, the violent and arrogant Hard Cash Crew.
Tensions are brewing in the weeks leading up to the Mic Masters competition, as the two crews seem destined to be on a collision course to the finals. Things are complicated further when Danny meets the mysterious, beautiful Carmen (Louise Rose). She is a nice middle class girl, who seems to be doing the right thing by reading law at university rather than pursuing her youthful singing ambitions.
Danny glimpses the world she comes from, and doubts whether he could ever fit into it, despite the powerful feelings they soon share for each other. The fact that she is related to Cash Flow, right hand man to Hard Cash Crew’s leader Money Man (Karl Collins), complicates things even further.
The affair puts loyalties within Danny’s crew to a severe test. There are some lines that you just don’t cross and even worse, they can see that Carmen is distracting him from his skilful mixing, something which with commitment could one day make him a music producer. His oldest friend, rapper Fable (Chris Steward) is particularly angry at becoming just an afterthought in the life of the man he regards as a brother. When matters come to a head, Danny sees no other option but to break up with Carmen.
Stung by this, Carmen agrees to sing with Money Man’s crew at the Mic Master finals, an event where crews take on each other in a fast and thrilling battle of freestyle rapping and mixing. It’s a final chance for Danny and crew to beat their rivals and make it big. But Danny’s relationship with Carmen has set off a devastating chain of events that will ultimately decide the fate of everyone involved.
