Grind & Glory

A conversation with Dave Yanofsky and Bryant Jow

(July 2007)

Interview by Adam McKibbin

Founded two years ago, Uth TV began providing their local UPN affiliate in San Francisco with original programming created entirely by youth.  Since then, they’ve relocated to the online world, and their ongoing content ranges from socially conscious documentaries to zany animated films.

While following a Bay Area hip-hop competition called Grind and Glory, the Uth TV crew realized that they’d discovered a topic - and a cast of characters - deserving deeper exploration.  Thus was born the powerful feature-length documentary Grind and Glory, hopefully coming soon to film festivals and schools near you.  The film follows a diverse group of finalists, showcasing their raw, heartfelt performances throughout the competition while stepping back to examine their personal stories and the circumstances that have compelled so many young people to seek out hip-hop as a desperate means of expression and escape.

What's the niche that Uth TV fills?  Aren’t youth already fairly well-represented on the Internet?  They certainly have a prominent voice on venues like MySpace and YouTube.

Dave Yanofsky (Uth TV Head of Programming):  Absolutely.  I think the Internet has clearly leveled the playing field for everybody who has something to say or a story to tell.  Our philosophy all along was that there was nothing that was specifically centered exclusively around youth.  If you’re a young person on YouTube, you’re going to be competing against hundreds of thousands of other folks who run the gamut.  We wanted to create a space that was youth-focused - that was for youth, by youth, and all original work - another difference from YouTube.  Young people are not allowed to put up clips of Family Guy and pretend it’s their own on Uth TV.  We wanted to create a space that they could take ownership of, without worrying about adult voices coming in to squeeze them out.

In the wake of the Don Imus firing, there’s been a lot of talk about sexism and racism in rap music.  But the artists in Grind and Glory are practicing a more socially conscious strain of hip-hop.  How do they manage to subvert that stereotype that’s being perpetuated in the mainstream?

Dave Yanofsky:  I think within our five artists, you do see a spectrum.  The Trunk Boiz are certainly part of the hyphy movement - I think they are less misogynistic and their lyrics are not violence-based, but it’s definitely what some would say more vacuous in lyrics; it’s all about going dumb and having fun.  You have Trinidad on the other end of the spectrum, and Mistreat and D.Nok and Sincere as well, who are really trying to infuse a message in their music.  I hope that, in some way, this film can show that those two things are not mutually exclusive.  You can have young artists who are making people dance and move at the same time that they’re making them think and explore their behavior.

Bryant Jow (Director of Photography, Grind & Glory):  These youth are caught in this transitional phase.  They’re trying to find their own voice.  It’s interesting to see how they bring in the music around them, but also tell their own stories, and bring a more conscious message with them.

Dave Yanofsky:  They’re being bombarded with one type of music, and they’re trying to figure out how to incorporate those elements on MTV, VH1 and BET while staying true to themselves.  A lot of these kids are trying to make it, and they see one model:  50 Cent and The Game.  I think it’s very much to their credit that they’re still able to find a conscious message.  As D.Nok says, he doesn’t want to go to sleep without his soul.  That’s the line that I think stands out among all of it.  These kids are hip-hop heads, they live and breathe music, but they’re not going to sell themselves out just to make a dollar.

Did you have any difficulties with access?  There’s an exploitation line that can be easy for documentarians to cross if they’re not conscientious.

Bryant Jow:  We had footage of a really young child holding a shotgun, and the aunt in the family would not let us keep that footage without the blur filter over the baby.  Even getting to the point where we could film that kind of footage, it takes time with the people to gain their trust to make sure that we’re not trying to exploit their lives - we’re trying to tell this story.

Dave Yanofsky:  There are concentric circles, and our first point of access was with the performers themselves - and a lot of them are trying to hustle and get their names out there, and they saw this as a potential vehicle.  That initial point of entry was relatively easy.  But when you start to expand out into their communities and families, you can encounter some resistance - and that’s where the individual performers were our advocates, and they would say “Hey, this is really important to me, can you cooperate?”

What are the distribution plans for your film?  How can people find it? 

Dave Yanofsky:  I’m pretty confident we can get it in theatres and some high-profile outlets here in the Bay Area, but I personally think it’s a national story.  A lot of the stories that are happening in this film have tremendous relevance for young people all over the country - and internationally as well.  We want to pull out some of those themes and have the film be a catalyst for a much deeper conversation about the issues.  We’re reaching for the stars in terms of distribution, but we’re also keeping our eyes on the prize and trying to use it as a social tool for change and awareness and discussion.