How do you move on when it seems like your best years are behind you? This is the case for John, Malik, and James: former members of a ’90s hip-hop group that fell apart, wrecking their friendship.

John (Southland’s Dorian Missick), the neurotic, down-on-his-luck, quiet one with the gift of rhyme and a love of day-shift strippers, is unable to face the fact that his cousin James (The Wire’s Gbenga Akinnagbe), once a ladies man, is now gay and living with his boyfriend, Eddie. Both have tried to forget their semi-successful past which is forever clouded by a life-changing accident.

Malik (Third Watch’s Darien Sills-Evans), the weed-smoking DJ who came up with the beats, has trouble letting go of what could have been and stays on his quest for creating the perfect mix, in spite of not having a real job.

When the gay son of an exec at their former record label (Zachary Booth of Frameline36’s Keep the Lights On) attempts to bring them together to write a book on his father, James begins to question his commitment to Eddie, John must learn to trust himself not to fail, and all three are forced to settle old scores. Set against the backdrop of the country’s “Yes We Can” attitude on Election Night 2008, along with the seminal aspects of hip hop in the lives of its characters, Neil Drumming’s robust directorial debut explores forgiveness, growth, and the need to confront deferred dreams.

— ANGELIQUE SMITH

AT&T Audience Award Text Voting Code: F102