Drumline is a 2002 American film directed by Charles Stone III. The screenplay, which was inspired by The Southwest Dekalb High School Drumline (SWD), was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Shawn Schepps. The story is about a young drummer from New York, played by Nick Cannon, who enters the fictional Atlanta A&T University and bumps heads with the leader of his new school's drum section. Leonard Roberts, Zoe Saldana, and Orlando Jones co-star.

The film opened to highly positive reviews with most critics liking the energy and playing of the musical bands in the film. It was a success at the box office, earning over $56 million in the U.S., and almost $1.2 million in foreign markets.

The story concerns Devon Miles (Cannon), a teen who has just graduated from high school in New York City. Upon graduating, Devon heads to Atlanta, Georgia to attend the fictitious Atlanta A&T University, a historically black college that takes enormous pride in its marching band. Devon was personally invited to attend on full scholarship by Dr. Lee (Jones), head of the band, for his prodigious talents. The A&T band separates itself from its competitors by requiring all members to read music, by focusing on various styles of music rather than what music is currently popular on the radio, and by dedication to the teamwork emphasized "one band, one sound" concept. The band has a preseason that is similar to an athletic team's induction in that it is very physically and mentally difficult. It challenges all recruits to push themselves past what they previously thought were their limits. At the end of preseason, the musicians audition for spots on the field, and Devon is the only freshman to make P1, the highest level player. While going through his rigorous process, Devon also finds time to romance an upperclassman dancer, Laila (Saldana).

A drumline is a section of percussion instruments usually played as part of a musical marching ensemble. High school and college marching bands, drill and drum corps, drum and bugle corps, indoor percussion ensembles are some of the examples of a "drumline."

Drumlines use the term "battery" to refer to the drumline. The battery is the drum section that marches on the field as a group. The battery usually consists of snare drums, bass drums, tenor drums, and cymbals. In the past, marching timpani were common before the adoption of the front ensemble, as were marching keyboard percussion instruments such as glockenspiels and xylophones. A relatively small number of bands, mostly at the college level, continue to field such traditional marching keyboard instruments; however, most bands have phased out their use. Marching steel pans are rarely part of drumlines due to issues with volume and durability.^{[citation needed]} In modern marching band and drum corps- snares, tenors, bass drums, and sometimes cymbals march on the field and are generally referred to as the battery, while the pit (or front ensemble) is stationary in the front of the field. In other cases, marching units may place the pit in the back or behind the band because the band may be too small for them to station the pit in the front. Sometimes, the front ensemble may have a certain position on the field in order to create a desired visual effect.

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects. The process of filmmaking has developed into an art form and industry.

Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating – or indoctrinating – citizens. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue into the language of the viewer.

Films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see the flickering between frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a psychological effect called beta movement.

Moses Barrett III (born July 22, 1973), known by the stage name Petey Pablo, is an American rapper from Greenville, North Carolina.

Born in Greenville, North Carolina, Barrett spent five years in prison for a 1993 armed robbery and on his release moved to New York City, where he met Black Rob and Busta Rhymes, and, according to legend, was signed by the A&R director of Jive Records after hearing him rapping in a club bathroom.

After a few guest spots, his first solo single was "Raise Up" in 2001 at the age of 28, produced by Timbaland, followed by debut album Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry the same year. "Raise Up" was helped by rotation on MTV and heavy play on urban radio, reaching number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Rap Singles Chart.

The release of his second album, Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry, was delayed until 2004. Lead single from the album, the sexually-explicit "Freek-a-Leek" was another major success, reaching #7 in the Hot 100, although little chart success followed. In 2005 Petey Pablo formed a relationship with Suge Knight, but never signed an official contract with his former label Death Row Records.