IN CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH SHOWTIME(R) TO PREMIERE "WORD IS BOND" ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16 AT 10 PM ET/PT

New Documentary Which Explores The Transformative Power Of Lyrics In Hip-Hop Featuring Interviews With Nas, Big Daddy Kane, and Anderson .Paak

LOS ANGELES - February 9, 2018 - In honor of Black History Month, SHOWTIME will premiere the documentary, WORD IS BOND, on Friday, February 16 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on-air, on demand and over the internet. Directed by Sacha Jenkins (Burn Motherf*cker, Burn!, Fresh Dressed) the film explores the transformative power of lyrics in the world of hip-hop. What was born on the streets of the South Bronx has now taken root globally, and the young poets of New York have helped to spawn regional dialects everywhere. To watch and share a clip from WORD IS BOND, go to:

Through dynamic archival footage, in-depth interviews and verité excursions with artists like Nas, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Jadakiss, Tech N9ne, Rapsody, and Anderson .Paak (among others), the film illustrates the many dimensions that hip-hop poetics occupy, examining the writing process, inspirations behind the music and why lyrics are so important to the artists as well as the hip-hop masses. WORD IS BOND takes us on a trip - from the parks of the South Bronx to the top of the pop charts.

WORD IS BOND is directed by Sacha Jenkins and executive produced by Jenkins, Peter Bittenbender and Alma Lacour on behalf of Mass Appeal.

SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Apple(R), Roku(R), Amazon, Google, Xbox One and Samsung. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Hulu, YouTube TV, Sling TV, DirecTV Now, Sony PlayStation(R) Vue and Amazon Channels. The network's authentication service, SHOWTIME ANYTIME, is available at no additional cost to SHOWTIME customers who subscribe to the network through participating providers. Subscribers can also watch on their computers at www.showtime.com and www.showtimeanytime.com.