Film
September 16th 2009
All in the family
Two Winnipeg brothers attempt to overcome tragedy and attain ‘baller status’ with their music in new documentary
Brakada is a new documentary that profiles the titular hip hop duo as they work on their new album.
BRAKADA
Directed by Randall Mauricio, 2009
Plays at Cinematheque Friday, Sept. 18 and Saturday, Sept 19 at 9 p.m., as well as Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.
Sometimes tragedy kills creativity as much as it inspires it, but the arts don’t always pay the bills. Local rappers Mitchell and Michael Francisco (a.k.a. Lasing and Mikal) of Brakada use it to drive their upcoming album, a last effort to make it big in the music industry.
Director Randall Mauricio follows their journey in this documentary, which is playing at Cinematheque this weekend as part of the theatre’s Hip Hop Saved the Day: Three Musical Portraits program, alongside Technology Stole My Vinyl and Life from 95 (The Making of “Live from ‘95”).
Derived from the slang for bro and the Filipino barkada – meaning family and unity – “Brakada” means a lot to these brothers who are back from a hiatus after their mother’s unexpected death.
Experiencing domestic violence as children and raised by a single mother, their setbacks and background-inspired lyrics highlight the film.
Changes within the group include recent additions Tim Short (manager), Lee Roy Jarlega (producer) and Jon Pascual (promotions) who are constants in their rented basement, which has been converted into a recording studio.
The interviews have the group speaking about everything from their not-always-easy lives to what it was like opening for artists like Naughty by Nature and Fatman Scoop. Also included is footage of DJ Jazzy Jeff enjoying their act.
Short, Jarlega, Pascual and the Francisco brothers stress the importance of pursuing your dreams, no matter how risky that may be. Jarlega quit his job working for a major insurer while the Francisco duo both receive professional incomes as an aerospace technician and contractor.
Still, both have big musical ambitions. Even after the Manitoba Film and Sound Board rejected their $8,000 grant they forge ahead in their quest to “make it” – which they define as earning their living by doing what they love and never having to worry about money.
At one point in the film, Mitchell compares this to being a pro athlete.
“That’s baller status,” he says. “They play a sport that they love and they are living through doing what they love. We’re just trying to do it with hip hop.”
Director Randall Mauricio presents not just the making of an album, but the motivation and life experience behind it.
This review appeared in Volume 64, Number 03 of The Uniter, published September 17th 2009.
