Carmen: A Hip Hopera

Carmen A Hip Hopera is a 2001 musical film produced for television by MTV and directed by Robert Townsend. The film stars Beyonc Knowles in her debut acting role predating her theatrical film debut in Austin Powers in Goldmember, Mos Def, Rah Digga, Wyclef Jean, Mekhi Phifer, Da Brat, Joy Bryant, Jermaine Dupri and Lil Bow Wow. It is based upon Georges Bizets 1875 opera Carmen, set in Philadelphia and Los Angeles in modern times, and features a mostly original hiphopRampB score in place of Bizets opera.

Carmen Brown Beyonc Knowles is a seductive, aspiring actress who mistakenly causes trouble everywhere she goes. She gets involved with Sgt. Derek Hill Mekhi Phifer, who is engaged to the cocktail waitress, Caela Reagan GomezPreston. At Lous Bar, Carmen gets into a fight with a jealous woman. Hills superior, Lieutenant Miller Mos Def orders Hill to bring Carmen to jail. Carmen tries unsuccessfully to seduce Hill, but she convinces him to let her stop at her apartment to put her mothers ring in a safe place so it does not get stolen in jail. There, she puts on lingerie and wins him over. He is caught in the morning with Carmen nowhere to be found by Lieutenant Miller who is now revealed to be a crooked cop, who brings Caela with him as he arrests Hill. Caela slaps Hill and tells him she hates him.While in jail, Hill cannot stop thinking about Carmen. She writes him a letter, and he shares his obsession with cellmates Jalil Lil Bow Wow and Pockets Jermaine Dupri. While Hill is in jail, Carmen meets the famous rapper Blaze Casey Lee at a nightclub, The Spot. He wants to bring her to Los Angeles, but succeeds only in bringing her best friends. Carmen promises to meet them in LA once Hill is out of jail. Unfortunately, Hill is facing a year of probation once he gets out. However, after he gets into an argument with Miller, he punches him in the face after calling Carmen a silly hoe, he and Carmen flee to Los Angeles. However, Carmen is unaware of the incident. ........

Source: Wikipedia