IFFK: ‘Beef’ is a rare cut of honest hip-hop filmmaking | Movie Review

Underdog artist stories have a tried-and-tested formula that works because of strong, catalytic ingredients. Such narratives often begin with a struggling artist held back by personal and systemic barriers. Then, it throws in an unsupportive parent, a money-hungry industry rep, and a tough yet loving teacher whose loyalty to the craft comes in her own way.

Although Ingride Santos’ ‘Beef’ (Ruido) (2025) follows this safe recipe, its story is far from bland. Charged with a fiery soundtrack, honest acting, and an unpretentious love for hip-hop, it is an homage to music dramas like 8 Mile that celebrate the small wins of independent artists.

Santos’ debut feature film follows 20-year-old Lati’s journey as an aspiring freestyle rapper in Spain. While it makes many nods to Marshall Mathers’ biographical drama, it still exists in its own world with its own set of unique struggles. Lati is a black, immigrant, Muslim woman who does not fit into conventional beauty standards, living in a world that is increasingly intolerant of minority communities. Clearly, and for good reason, she has beef with the world around her. But the salt added to these wounds is her personal identity crisis, being a second-generation immigrant of Malian descent. The crisis deepens when her mother decides to take her late father’s body back to their homeland. Lati’s fight to create a space for herself in the world of hip-hop is against these barriers. 

From the time of its godfathers Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa, the hip-hop community has been a found family. But today, it is plagued with industry-orchestrated exclusivity. Commercial success in the genre is often only guaranteed if you play by corporate rules. In the shadow of such an industry, Beef is more Little Simz and Noname than Ice Spice and Cardi B; raw and real. Unlike a ‘Gully Boy’ whose world was sanitised by star value, ‘Beef’ features Latifa Drame, a real rapper, in the lead role alongside fellow debutante Judith Álvarez, who plays Judy, Lati’s hardskinned mentor with a heart.

The story of ‘Beef’ may not be fresh, but its honesty is rare. It is true to its characters, their story, and most importantly, their music. The soundtrack features a variety of female Latin hip-hop artists, including lesser-known musicians like La Kala. Lati and her family’s Mali identity shines through Lobi Traoré’s ethereal desert blues. Like Judy says in the film, "you can love or hate your ‘hood, just don't ever invent it."

At a time when hip-hop’s origins are virtually forgotten in the face of increasing commercialism, sex appeal and gang glorification, ‘Beef’ reminds us that the heart of the movement lies in struggle and authenticity; a struggle to preserve your place in history when the world is constantly trying to erase it.