The film THE BALLOT OR THE BULLET follows the rap group A-Alikes over the course of the three months leading up to the 2008 Presidential Election. Each party has built their platform on the theme of "change", a given, regardless of who wins the presidency.
THE BALLOT OR THE BULLET addresses more specifically what type of change individuals want to see in America, with a scalpel or hatchet. Framed around performances of the four songs from THE BALLOT OR BULLET soundtrack, the film is document of A-Alikes' own take on current events as well as that of their contemporaries in entertainment and activism. In such a time of anticipation, hope or resignation, A-Alikes speak with figures such as CHUCK D, JOY BRYANT, ILYAHSAH SHABAZZ, ROSA CLEMENTE, M1, UMI, MELVIN GIBBS, DIVINE FROM THE DEY, SHADIA MANSOUR, and IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE,asking the question, "How do oppressed peoples gain freedom, through participation in a system, or through violence?".
