Love Beats Rhymes

Love Beats Rhymes is an American musical drama film directed by RZA. The film stars Azealia Banks as a 25-year-old female rapper from Staten Island, New York who wants to pursue a music career. The film also stars Lorraine Toussaint, Jill Scott, Lucien Laviscount, MC Jin, Hana Mae Lee, and Common. The film was released on December 1, 2017 by CodeBlack Films and Lionsgate.

Cast

 * Azealia Banks as Coco Ford
 * Lorraine Toussaint as Nichelle, Coco's mother
 * Common as Coltrane, Coco's mentor
 * Lucien Laviscount as Derek
 * Hana Mae Lee as Julie
 * Jill Scott as Professor Dixon
 * John David Washington as Mahlik
 * MC Jin as Con Da Don
 * Monna Sabouri as Muslim Girl
 * Mary Christina Brown as Sapphire
 * Jeremie Harris as Matt
 * Caleb Eberhardt as Reasons
 * Esperanza Spalding as Herself

Production
On May 26, 2015, it was announced that Azealia Banks will be making her feature film debut in Coco directed by Rza and produced by Lionsgate. Lorraine Toussaint, Common, Jill Scott, Hana Mae Lee, and Lucien Laviscount were also cast. Filming began in New York City in late May 2015 in Wagner College, Staten Island and concluded in late June 2015. An initial March 11, 2016 release date was pushed back to a date still undetermined. When referring to the film in a June 2016 interview, RZA told Rolling Stone that "Coco is done. It's in Lionsgate's hands now. Movie companies have to figure out the best time to put their movies out. So I don't know if it'll be this year or next year."

Release
On October 11, 2017, Lionsgate released a trailer for the film, now with the new title Love Beats Rhymes and a new December 1, 2017 release date in selected theaters and video on demand formats.

Critical reception
Love Beats Rhymes has received mixed reviews, with critics praising Banks' performance while criticizing the plot. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 50% approval rating based on 8 reviews.

Home media
The film was released on DVD on January 2, 2018.