The art and music show Art, Beats + Lyrics is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a brand new documentary.
The film, simply called “Art, Beats + Lyrics,” tells the story of the show from its inception in 2004 as a local urban art show in Atlanta to its status as a music and art tour that travels all across the country. The art show, presented by Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, aims to bring together people of all cultures, ages, and ethnicities through the lens of music and art.
The film uses the lens of the show’s founder Jabari Graham and curator Dwayne “Dubelyoo” Wright to tell the story, as well as the preparation for the 20th anniversary tour, starting in Miami. Director Bill Horace said before he was approached to pitch for the film, he hadn’t heard of Art, Beats + Lyrics. The fact that he didn’t know much about it is what drew him to the project. He had always been a fan of counter culture documentaries, citing 1983’s “Style Wars” as an inspiration for this film.
“I was kind of like, why haven’t I heard of this? It was just right up my alley, right up all my friends’, my circle’s alley,” Horace said about Art, Beats + Lyrics. “It was one of the things where I was like, this is a niche, but underground and really popular thing. And those are the types of documentaries I like to watch.”
After seeing Horace’s pitch for the film, Wright said he was “heads and shoulders” above the rest.
“He had a vision that aligned with what we were trying to do, and it looked great,” Wright said.
The documentary features history about the art scene in Atlanta and the South, particularly the connection between the Civil Rights movement and the rise of Black art. Horace interlocks those historical threads with the perspectives of three artists who participated in the show.
The film might be framed by those three artists – Shawn Stewart, Sydney James and Lisette Correa – but the heart always links back to Graham and Wright and how their paths led them to Art, Beats + Lyrics.
“Ultimately, the story is Jabari and Dub,” Horace said. “But in order to know … the impact they’ve had on their community, and on artists, it’s also Lisette’s and Stu’s and Sydney’s, because they’re a reflection of Jabari and Dub in that way.”
Graham worked for UniverSoul Circus early on in his career, but when he was unexpectedly laid off, he was forced to pivot. Out of that pivot came the first Art, Beats + Lyrics show at Little Five Points, where he met Wright. After that show, the two linked up to take on Art, Beats + Lyrics together, agreeing that Graham would take on the business side while Wright would curate the show and work with the artists.
“The scope and the journey of it was the most interesting thing to me,” Horace said. “I think personally, the most inspiring [thing] was the ups and downs of it. You know, there was so much uncertainty at different points.”
Wright said that he and Graham got the opportunity to be very involved with the documentary and collaborate with Horace through every stage of production, from helping to set up interviews to the editing process. He said he hopes people walk away from the documentary inspired.
“I hope people come away inspired, and feel that … as a creative person, as a business person, whatever you do, you can bet on yourself,” Wright said. “You don’t have to have the normal path that people think that you should take to get where you may want to go.”
“Art, Beats + Lyrics” is now streaming on Hulu.
This article has been updated to include a mention of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, which helps put on the Art, Beats + Lyrics art show.