Kickstarter Campaign (Radical: The Documentary)
Miles Marshall Lewis Launches Kickstarter Campaign for French Hip-Hop Documentary
The Bronx native wants to raise $25,000 by April 11.
A Bronx-born writer wants to bring the story of hip-hop in France across the globe. Miles Marshall Lewis is a 49-year-old hip-hop critic. Over the years, his work has appeared in publications like the New York Times, Essence, GQ, and Billboard. In 1999, Lewis served as music editor for Vibe Magazine.
From 2004 to 2011, Lewis lived in Paris. As a French resident, he published two books and wrote about his experiences as a Black expatriate. Along the way, he began directing his latest project. Today, he's asking the Internet for a little help bringing the dream to life.
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Radical: The Savoir Faire of French Hip-Hop chronicles the genre's spread throughout Europe. Lewis interviews the many editors and music journalists from France's Radikal magazine.
"Radikal gave me a crash course in the African-descended French rappers who made up the soundtrack to my seven years living in Paris," Lewis wrote. "With my roots in hip-hop media, I wanted to tell the story of French hip-hop through the lens of Paris's most popular rap magazine."
The documentary will chronicle the rise and fall of the magazine in the wake of the pivot to digital content. Lewis is asking for a total of $25,000 by April 11. As of Wednesday, backers had pledged over $19,000 in donations. Donate to the campaign here. According to Lewis, funds will benefit an editor, an American director of photography, music licensing fees for the French rap music in the film and a translator for English subtitles.
