Lionsgate x Punchlines: Pairing Battle Rap and Boxing to Promote Creed II

Role: Social Media Producer, BET (2016 to 2024); Producer of this series

Timeline: 2018

Headline result: A branded digital series for Lionsgate that moved from YouTube to BET Music and became a regular weekend program.

The challenge Lionsgate wanted to partner with BET on a digital series promoting Creed II. It had to feel innovative and fun, not like an ad.

The idea Our team was tasked with pitching concepts. I had long followed the battle rap scene and saw the parallels with boxing: larger-than-life personas, fans studying an opponent's past battles, and the preparation before a bout. I pitched hosting battle rap matches inside a boxing gym.

Our director of photography, Kevin Spence, loved it, and together we planned to keep the cameras in constant motion, echoing how the fight scenes were shot in the first Creed.

What I did

• Pitched the concept and, once Lionsgate approved it, found a boxing gym in Philadelphia.

• Cast the battle rappers, choosing matchups with real rivalries and online tension to give the battles stakes, and negotiated their rates.

• Booked two battle rap legends as judges and scheduled the shoot.

• Opened each episode with a monologue from Michael B. Jordan connecting battle rap to boxing, followed by his introduction of the two matches: Reed Dollaz vs. K Walker and E. Ness vs. Bones Brigante.

Results

• Lionsgate loved the series and still promotes it.

• It was created for YouTube, then upstreamed to BET Music as a regular weekend program.

• The battles were highly regarded within the battle rap community.