dream hampton (stylized in lowercase) is an American filmmaker, producer, and writer. Her work includes the 2019 Lifetime documentary series Surviving R. Kelly, which she executive produced, and the 2012 An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, on which she served as co-executive producer. She co-wrote Jay-Z's 2010 memoir Decoded.
Early life and education Hampton was born to an African American family in Detroit in 1972, and has said she was named after Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.Andrew J. Rausch, I Am Hip-Hop: Conversations on the Music and Culture (Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011), p 83 . She stylizes her name in all-lowercase as a nod to author bell hooks. She studied filmmaking at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
Career Hampton has written for Vibe, Essence, Harper's Bazaar, The Village Voice, Detroit News, and Spin."The guest list: Dream fresh" , Vibe, 1998 Dec–1999 Jan;6(10):44. She co-wrote Jay-Z's 2010 memoir Decoded.
As a member of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, an African-American activist group inspired by Malcolm X's "Message to the Grass Roots" speech, hampton co-organized Black August, a benefit concert for political prisoners.Ayan Islam, "dream hampton's 'Black August: A hip hop benefit concert' documentary DC screening ", The Smugger, November 19, 2010. Her concert film about the event, Black August: A Hip-Hop Documentary Concert, premiered at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 2010."Art + Revolution: Honoring Black August! ", Lincoln Center website. In 2013, hampton directed Treasure, a documentary about the 2011 killing of Shelley Hilliard, a 19-year-old transgender woman, in Detroit. She made the short documentary We Demand Justice for Renisha Mcbride after organizing a protest over Mcbride's death.
Hampton was executive producer of Surviving R. Kelly, a 2019 documentary series about the decades of sexual-abuse allegations against R. Kelly. Page six reported that a Homeland Security agent had watched the series and started a federal investigation into the victims' allegations. After its release, Kelly was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and other crimes for an eventual total of 18 federal charges.
She has been a Visiting Artist with Stanford University's Institute for Diversity in the Arts and a Kresge Artist Fellow.
As of 2020, hampton served on the board of the advocacy group Color of Change.
Recognition Hampton's short film I Am Ali was selected for the 2002 Sundance Film FestivalI Am Ali , Sundance Institute Archives and won "Best Short Film" at the Newport Film Festival.
In 2015 she received a Richard Nichols Luminary award and Treasure: From Tragedy to Trans Justice Mapping a Detroit Story won Best Documentary at the BlackStar Film Festival.
In 2019 hampton received a Ms. Foundation Gloria Award and was named on the Time 100. She and Brie Miranda Bryant and Tamra Simmons, who worked with her on Surviving R. Kelly, were named to Variety's 2019 Power Women New York list.
Surviving R. Kelly received a Peabody Award. It received an MTV Movie Award for Best Documentary. It received a Rockies Award for "Program of the Year" at the Banff World Media Festival.
In 2023 she received a Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center Residency.
In 2024 she was selected by The New Museum as the Stuart Regen Visionary, for "individuals who have made major contributions to art and culture and who are actively imagining a better future".
Filmography Behind The Music: The Notorious B.I.G. (1997), associate producer I Am Ali (2002), director Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life (2007), executive producer Black August: A Hip-Hop Documentary Concert (2010), director QueenS (2012 music video) by recording artists THEESatisfaction An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012), co-executive producer The Russian Winter (2012), associate producer Treasure: From Tragedy to Trans Justice Mapping a Detroit Story (2015), executive producer We Demand Justice for Renisha Mcbride The War on Drugs is an Epic Fail (New York Times 2016) It's A Hard Truth Ain't It (HBO 2019), executive producer Finding Justice (BET 2019), executive producer Burial of Kojo (Netflix 2019), co-executive producer Surviving R. Kelly (2019), executive producer We Hold These Truths (2022), director Freshwater (2022), director Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop (2023), director, executive producer It Was All A Dream (2024), director
See also Black women filmmakers
References
External links official website dream hampton at IMDb