From Hollywood to Charlotte, this filmmaker wants to inspire others to ‘feel the beat’
Anyone who is a fan of 80s R&B/pop music surely would remember the group “Lisa Lisa & the Cult Jam.”
Think of the songs: “I Wonder If I Take You Home” to “All Cried Out Over You” to “Can Feel the Beat.”
Her lyrics combined with scintillating Afro-salsa beats and robust dance moves that captured a mood, a sentiment, a relatable moment during a young woman’s true but often unstable rapport with a paramour.
I can hear the melodies now. Such is the power of a “romance in yearning” or a “romance gone bad” type song. Lisa Lisa spoke to many of us.
But in case you don’t remember this band – it was four decades ago – now there’s a movie. It’s debuting Saturday, Feb. 1, to kick off Black History Month on Lifetime and is titled, “Can You Feel The Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story.”
The biopic focuses on the life of Lisa Velez, a.k.a. Lisa Lisa – a New York native with Puerto Rican roots – and how she skyrocketed up the music charts during the 1980s alongside superstars such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Prince, to name a few.
Cinema and music excellence aside, the real story for us in Charlotte is the film’s executive producer, Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd, who calls the Queen City home.
Byrd, 58, grew up in New York and spent some three decades in Hollywood as a casting director. She has sourced talent for films, TV shows and movies, short films, music videos and biopics, including “Stomp the Yard,” “Fruitvale Station,” “Sparkle,” “The Gabby Douglas Story,” “Being Mary Jane,” among others.
In recent years, Byrd has pivoted to bringing more stories to the big screen and television as an executive producer, screenwriter and even as a director. A special and unique connection drew her to this film project.
Among her biggest passions is inspiring a new generation of Black filmmakers, especially those with Black Girls Film Camp, previously reported in The Charlotte Observer. Read more about Byrd at charlotte.com.
Responses edited for clarity:
Q: What drew you to the ‘Lisa Lisa’ project?
A: The big deal started with my dad, because I loved Lisa Lisa. When I saw her music video, I was like, my God – she was a curvy girl like me. And my father came into the room and he said, “Hey, that’s Lisa.” And I said, “No, Dad, that’s Lisa Lisa.” And he was like, “That’s Lisa Velez, my student.” She was my father’s student at Julia Richman High School. I almost blew my top. I lost it. I was like, “Are you kidding me? That Lisa goes to school where you work? Can I go to school with you, Dad?
Later ... it was 2017. I’m watching Netflix and “Roxanne Roxanne” the movie, and I love the movie. I’ve been casting for 30 years and just opening up and expanding and broadening because there’s stories that I want to tell. And when I saw “Roxanne,” it put a battery in my back. And I’m like, “How do they do ‘Roxanne’ and not do Lisa Lisa?” I called my mentor and my mentor said to me, “It’s because it’s for you to do.” So, right then and there, I went to my Instagram. I’m still watching the movie, by the way, and I go into Instagram into the DMs ... and put this diatribe up of, “Hi, Lisa.”
Q: What makes Charlotte so special as a place to produce films or as a place of inspiration?
A: Charlotte has amazing locations. It’s a beautiful place. It’s a great place to ideate and create, but it also will be a great place to network and to make films. My focus really truly is to find and be found by the filmmakers and the dreamers. There are a lot of artists in Charlotte and we need and deserve an outlet. I am focused on becoming that .... one of the many people who are part of that outlet for artists. So I would say to the Charlotteans, keep dreaming. Know that this industry is very real. Let’s find each other and work together. And I’m here. A real one is here.
Q: Can you tell us more about your work with the Black Girls Film Camp, which the Observer previously wrote about, and why they inspire you?
A: I went to their events. I became a mentor to the young ladies. I spoke with them. I went to see their short films. I have given them professional feedback from an actual Hollywood casting director and producer. And they take it in. They understood the assignment. They asked me amazing questions — to be only 13- through 18-years-old. I have been working with them for the last four years.
Q: What is the best advice you can give them?
A: It takes cunning. It takes a giving heart. It takes a can-do spirit. But it also takes a lot of focus. I think that’s the challenge that young people have right now. They want everything right now. They want to be … on the cover of Variety right now. They want to be Ava DuVernay right now.
They’re learning to understand with all the mentorship that (founders Jimmeka Anderson and Sierra Davis) bring to the table. It’s 16 weeks of education. They start to learn and peel back and understand that you’re not starting at the bottom. You’re starting at the beginning. And the reasons why you go through the challenges and the trials and the tribulations are to fine-tune your instrument, your eye, your focus, your passion. That’s what they’re doing at Black Girls Film Camp.
You also have to excavate their mind … you have to actually pull back the layers and educate yourself on yourself, on the world, on the outside in order to tell strong stories from a different vantage point, not the same thing you’ve been seeing over and over again. And what do they need? A benefactor. They need and deserve a billionaire to come to their aid and say here you go: an endowment. When we are in the door, the types of stories that we come up with are valuable.
Q: Can you share a little bit about any upcoming projects that may involve Charlotte. NC?
A: I have an HBCU dance movie I have pitched that a few studios have loved and I’m working toward getting that made. It’s in the vein of “Stomp the Yard,” but it’s about the girl this time. And since there are so many HBCUs in North Carolina and especially around the Charlotte area, I would love to be able to shoot it on location.
This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 5:55 AM.
