There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.«
– Maya Angelou

Lapse of Honour is a film about several things: the impact your upbringing has on who you are and who you become, the fact that we all need an identity or a sense of belonging, and also the choices we make when we are under pressure with limited resources. Rayna Campbell’s film is part of the history of British social realism and the exciting contemporary black British cinema. The film is set in Manchester and tells the love story of Eve, a teenager with big dreams of becoming a rap artist, finding herself pregnant with boyfriend Tom.

the game is full of angry teens / doing music for passion / an just to get a salary / tip toeing over the edge / and now ’m balancing / coz music is my art / so come and check my gallery / I’m feelin like Martin Luther / because I have a dream / and now my bank account shows me / figures that I haven’t seen / people know my name in Greece / I called it vaseline / they’re saying that the fire / I’m gonna light em up / gasoline

These lyrics are from the beginning of the film where Eve is rapping in her bedroom. Eve’s character is a collaboration between Rayna Campbell and Lady Leshurr. Leshurr has been writing lyrics since she was six years old. Since then she has been singing and rapping, inspired by listening to and supporting other female rappers like Nolay and Lioness. A born performer and natural lyricist, she was part of the underground scene, and at age 16 released her first mixtape titled Needle in a Haystack, a project that she managed and funded herself. She is best known for her Queen’s Speech series of freestyles, which went viral in 2015. She is a lyricist, an artist, musician, rapper and integral to the UK’s grime scene. Leshurr’s Queen’s Speech EP 7 is included my music video programme (p. 111). (Noor Afshan Mirza)