About the Film

Riding high after a city council election victory against 36-year incumbent Pat O’Connor, former battle rapper and son of Guatemalan immigrants Andre Vasquez prepares to take office as 40th Ward Alderman.

At a pivotal moment in Chicago politics — with the election of the city’s first openly gay, Black female mayor and the most diverse city council in history — the democratic socialist and community organizer must learn to balance his family life and constituent promises with his goal to change Chicago’s corrupt political establishment from the inside out. 

A film by Melissa Hovanes, Prime Time: A Rapper Battles the Machine is a portrait of a community organizer fighting for change.

In the News


Prime Time is an official selection of the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival

Prime Time: A Rapper Battles the Machine will screen in-person for the first time at the 7th annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival.

Prime Time premieres at the American Documentary and Animation Film

Prime Time: A Rapper Battles the Machine premiered virtually at the 9th annual AmDocs film festival.

Prime Time is selected as a Student Academy Award Semi-Finalist

Prime Time: A Rapper Battles the Machine advanced to the semifinal round of the 47th annual Student Academy Awards. It was one of 93 films to receive this honor, out of nearly 1500 total submissions.

Prime Time wins a Chicago/Midwest College Emmy

Prime Time: A Rapper Battles the Machine won the Chicago/Midwest Student Emmy for Long Form (Fiction and Non-Fiction).