Hustle and Flow 93.5: How Reza Dahya went from FM radio to film with hip-hop drama Boxcutter

Director Reza Dahya used to work at Flow 93.5 FM, Canada’s first Black-owned radio station.

REZA DAHYA/SUPPLIED

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When he was a host and producer at Toronto’s now-defunct Flow 93.5 FM radio station in the mid-aughts, Reza Dahya spent most of his waking hours exposing the city to the most exciting hip-hop artists of the moment. It wasn’t just a pleasure, it was a responsibility he took seriously.

So when the moment arrives late in Dahya’s feature directorial debut, Boxcutter, in which his hero, an aspiring Toronto rapper named Rome (played by Ashton James), gets the opportunity to finally share his music with his trusted friend Jenaya (Zoe Lewis), the film refuses to let the audience actually hear the beats. Instead, we can only imagine how talented Rome is or isn’t as we watch the two characters silently bop their heads to the tune, the music loudly pumping through their earbuds but completely silent to everyone else.