Documentary on Flint hip-hop artists wins an Emmy

The film explored the legacy of Mc Breed and Bootleg of the Dayton Family

click to enlarge Ira "Bootleg" Dorsey. - Jason Howard
Jason Howard
Ira "Bootleg" Dorsey.

On Saturday, June 11 the documentary Breed & Bootleg: Legends of Flint Rap Music won a Regional Emmy award in the Topical category.

The film explored the legacy of Mc Breed and Bootleg of the Dayton Family, along with the musical impact they had on the city of Flint. The film, which screened as part of the Detroit Free Press Freep Film Festival in 2020, was directed and produced by MSU film professor Geri Alumit Zeldes.

"The Regional Emmy is a nod to the production quality of the film and universality of its narrative that casts a bright light on the contributions of MC Breed and Ira 'Bootleg' Dorsey to Midwest rap music history," Zeldes says via email.

With help from a Michigan Humanity Council grant, in 2018 Zeldes began to build the film as a retrospective into simply Flint hip-hop music as a whole, but an interview with Dorsey changed her perspective.

"He's the one that pointed to MC Breed as being the godfather of Flint rap music," she previously told Metro Times. "Breed and Bootleg were friends. They were pioneering their own different kinds of rap music."

You can read more at Metro Times' 2020 feature on Breed & Bootleg: Legends of Flint Rap Music.

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About The Author

Kahn Santori Davison

Kahn Santori Davison is from Detroit, Michigan. He's a husband and father of four and a self-described, "Kid who loves rap music." He's been featured on Hip-Hop Evolution and Hip-Hop Uncovered. He's also a Cave Canem fellow, author of the poetry book Blaze (Willow Books), a recipient of a 2015 Kresge Literary...
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