When sampling, hip-hop producers look for a break (a section without any lyrics or words) in a song to loop over and over and make an entirely new beat. Producers will spend hours listening to tracks, searching for a break on songs from the most obscure and hard to find records to sample and loop and put their own spin on it.

loops&breaks is a comedy that tells the story of Devin, juggling his dreams of being a hip-hop producer and his responsibilities as a father. On the night when he has maybe the biggest studio session of his life, he finds out he has to take care of his son for the night. He ends up bringing his son with him to the studio session and unwittingly brings him into a world of illicit, illegal behavior. Now, he has to choose between being a Dad and being a musician.

My father's name is Amiri Gamble, he was the one who first introduced me to hip-hop. He introduced me to hip-hop at a young age. Maybe too young if you ask certain people. I was five and he'd have MF DOOM and Madlib's album Madvillainy playing while he cut my hair. He'd play Gang Starr's Step in the Arena while we were driving from school. He took me to my first concert: Kanye West in Atlanta, just after The College Dropout came out. I was maybe five or six. We were way in the back and he put me on his shoulders just so I could be able to see. My dad foisted hip-hop on me when I was barely sentient, and it stuck. It stuck hard. Hip-hop is a huge part of my life and has shaped me as a person and artist and I do not think that would be so, if not for my father.

My Father is a musician himself. Over his nearly three decade long career, he has collaborated with the likes of Tribe Called Quest and 9th Wonder. For years he and his long-time friend Mervin Jenkins AKA Spectac have been releasing music together, my father primarily playing the role of producer. Some of my father's sonic influences are: De La Soul, J Dilla, Madlib, Common, DJ Premiere, Yasiin Bey, and countless others. He loves that old school 80s and 90s sample heavy, boom bap style of rap and hip-hop. To him that's when rap music had soul, when it had a real message.

(This video was directed by me btw)

This film is loosely based on the weekends I'd spent with my Dad. When I was younger, I never knew what would happen when Dad picked me up. It might be a chill weekend where we stay at home the entire time, or you might end up randomly shooting a music video in a public park without any permits or in a studio with an up and coming rapper working on a tape. My father was the model for how exciting an artistic life can be and this film is based on his story.

Hip-hop began with a literal riot. First there was DJ Kool Herc playing "breaks" in music at parties over and over using his turntable. Then it grew more widespread in 1977 when during a blackout, New York musicians from all over the five boroughs smashed glass storefronts and stole turntables and all became DJs and MCs literally at the same time. Now, it is the biggest genre in the world. It went from being barely even considered music at its inception to now being an art form held in the highest regard all over the world by so many different cultures. This film is about how Hip-hop has evolved and the technology behind that evolution.

The MPC is one of the most important pieces of technology in rap music. The history of rap music cannot be told without it. The MPC or the MIDI production center allowed for rap artists to take the best parts of all their favorite things: their favorite songs, their favorite movies, their favorite tv shows and smash them all together on a song, creating a beautiful mosaic. The MPC allowed for the practice of sampling to bloom and then explode within rap music to the point where sampling is now practiced regularly in basically all genres. The MPC plays a huge role in this film. It is the most prized possession of the protagonist Devin and he almost loses it.

I am an MFA candidate at Howard University and loops&breaks is my thesis film. loops&breaks is the perfect culmination of all the study I've done apart of Howard's filmmaking program. During my time at Howard, I have learned theories on black representation in film that have permanently not only how I approach filmmaking but how I approach life in general. Howard University is the only historically black college with a grad film program and it is an honor to be a part of it and one day be counted amongst its alumni.

The best way to describe the tone of loops&breaks is "serio-comic." There is plenty of levity and great jokes, but it's all supported by grounded character dynamics and story. You'll laugh but you'll also feel. I love films that break your heart and then make you laugh two minutes later. Films like Little Miss Sunshine (2006), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Love Jones (1997), and Do the Right Thing (1989) just to name a few. Films like these serve as the tonal inspiration for loops&breaks.

loops&breaks will visually reflect the very intimate, very personal nature of the story. The films that inspired me to make these films are themselves very intimate and personal. Films like Charle's Burnett's Killer of Sheep, the Safdie Brother's Daddy Longlegs, Dee Reese's Pariah. Though these films I've listed come from filmmakers of completely different background, the all have plenty in common once you start really These are films where one can tell that the filmmaker is telling a story that is almost ripped straight from their own lives. They all have nearly the same visual aesthetic. They all have a very spontaneous, rock & roll, independently made esthetic to them. They all come from filmmakers who at the time of the film's production were all, like me, very early in their careers. They all have a The filmmakers all used tight frames with shaky handheld camera shooting style. They all used high contrast lighting with warm color.

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