The Beat is a 2003 drama written and directed by Brandon Sonnier and was screened at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival . At 20 years of age , Sonnier was the youngest director to have a feature film debut at the Sundance Film Festival . The previous record was held by Robert Rodriguez for El Mariachi . With limited release on Showtime , Black STARZ , and Encore in 2005 , the film became an underground hip hop cult-classic , supported by a cast of internationally recognized rap artists such as Chino XL , Tak ( Styles of Beyond ) and Coolio , as well as Def Poetry Jam 's Steve Connell . The film 's star , Rahman Jamaal also wrote and produced the film 's hip hop soundtrack
2003 Sundance Film Festival
2003 Sundance Film Festival
The Beat (2003 film)