Dear Byron Hurt,

I would like to let you know that I enjoyed watching your documentary Beyond Beats and Rhymes. Your documentary was well made and it included good and educational information. As a teenage girl who listens to hip-hop I could relate to what you said in the documentary. You made me think about a lot of issues that I hadn't thought about before. I never thought about the negative messages that hip-hop can give or how degrading it is towards women. I never paid attention to what the lyrics were saying about women I just heard the beat behind it. Now I think more about what a song is saying and the way it is hurting women.

Also, I thought a lot about the way hip-hop was before and I think it should go back to the old days. Now, I don't listen to hip-hop as much as I used to because it's becoming repetitive and negative. One way to solve the problems you mention in the movie would be going back to the way hip-hop used to be, making it more positive and less commercial. Having a more positive hip-hop would improve many of the issues like the way women are portrayed and the view of masculinity. I think you accomplished your goal because you made me and other youngsters think about these issues and that's the first step towards a change. I would like to as you: Do you think there will be a change? What can we do to make this change happen? Again, I enjoyed your documentary and I thank you for making it.

Sincerely,
America Zepeda