Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap

[D'z Nutz]

I was flipping through the US Netflix and came across this and ended up watching it tonight.

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It's directed by Ice-T and he goes around and talks to about 30 or so hip-hop artists about how they write music, how they got started, what inspires them and things like that. Anybody who enjoys hip-hop, and I'm not talking about that stupid Lil Wayne or black and yellow black and yellow shit, should find this enjoyable. Guys like me who grew up listening to these artists will appreciate it (I'm looking at you EK).

I would've liked to have seen Ice-T and LL reminisce about their battle.

[CompletelyNumb]

It's been on the Canadian Netflix for a while as well. Worth the watch I think. I really enjoyed it.

[LongCity]

Watching this now. Really don't like Ice-T at all. He's such a try hard now trying to act like a badass.

[RY213]

Originally posted by LongCity
Watching this now. Really don't like Ice-T at all. He's such a try hard now trying to act like a badass.

Lol Ice-T is far from being a try hard. He is a legend and has earned his stripes a long time ago.

[mrsingh]

Watched it a few weeks back, definitely enjoyed it!

[urrforce]

watched this the other day i really enjoyed it.

the q tip interview was great with the random pedestrians and shit lol

just curious though for some of you hip hop fans were there people missing from the documentary that you would have liked to have seen, or people that were in it that shoudnt have been?

[GS430]

Definitely checking this out when I get home from work.

Looks promising, thanks for the heads up.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by LongCity
Watching this now. Really don't like Ice-T at all. He's such a try hard now trying to act like a badass.

Haha are you serious? He's the same Ice-T as ever.



Originally posted by urrforce
just curious though for some of you hip hop fans were there people missing from the documentary that you would have liked to have seen, or people that were in it that shoudnt have been?

I felt it was missing:
Slick Rick
Biz Markie
The Beastie Boys
Roxanne Shante for her perspective as a pioneer female MC. Yeah, they had Salt and MC Lyte, but they were a little different.

Ice-T said he reached out to Jay-Z but they were filming while Beyonce was prego so he was hard to get a hold of.

I didn't think the south was very well represented either.

I actually thought Kanye looked a little out of place there and felt his "freestyle" was a little forced and rehearsed. He's a way better producer than he is a rapper, IMO.


I had a good laugh when Treach said “Alotta MCs say they don’t write their rhymes... and it sounds like it."

[03ozwhip]

been eyeing this for a while now, just havent gotten around to it, definitely on my watch list for tonight.

[Anton]

Really good documentary - really enjoyed Ice Ts rapping as they would show footage of the cities.


Originally posted by D'z Nutz


I actually thought Kanye looked a little2 out of place there and felt his "freestyle" was a little forced and rehearsed. He's a way better producer than he is a rapper, IMO.


Kanye's "freestyle" is a recent song of his so it was definitely already written when that filmed. I thought he was one of the worst in the entire documentary.

[D'z Nutz]

Haha it's not even recent! I looked it up and it's at least 2 years old.

UJ5EuypX9SQ

[urrforce]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz

I felt it was missing:
Slick Rick
Biz Markie
The Beastie Boys
Roxanne Shante for her perspective as a pioneer female MC. Yeah, they had Salt and MC Lyte, but they were a little different.



I had a good laugh when Treach said “Alotta MCs say they don’t write their rhymes... and it sounds like it."

i dont know the history of hip hop or go as far back as some of you seem to when it comes to "old school" so now im curious and will ask a question for the other end of the scale

yeah i know that lil wayne soulja boy and drake arent really admired by true fans of hip hop but they had common and eminem in the documentary were there newer artists that maybe should have been in it aside from those guys again just curious

trying to expand my hip hop library i guess

[Type_S1]

Originally posted by urrforce


i dont know the history of hip hop or go as far back as some of you seem to when it comes to "old school" so now im curious and will ask a question for the other end of the scale

yeah i know that lil wayne soulja boy and drake arent really admired by true fans of hip hop but they had common and eminem in the documentary were there newer artists that maybe should have been in it aside from those guys again just curious

trying to expand my hip hop library i guess

Eminem is a legend and is as true on the mic as you will find anyone. If you have not listened to his music you are missing out.

Common is far from making mainstream songs and raps like he is from the good old day. He is one of the best rapper still making music.

[urrforce]

Originally posted by Type_S1


Eminem is a legend and is as true on the mic as you will find anyone. If you have not listened to his music you are missing out.

Common is far from making mainstream songs and raps like he is from the good old day. He is one of the best rapper still making music.

no i have listened to eminem and purchased a couple of his albums in the past but what i was asking as well is there or were there any more recent rappers that maybe should have been on that list

like can we build a sort of honourable mentions lol that maybe some people (like me who isnt really up on hip hop) can look to for recommendations

for examples sake i looked into a few of the rappers that D'z mentioned and some is really good and some not up my alley and i spent a lot of time in the hip hop thread and that other one that had a ton of youtube videos and clips in it that was made more recently

[LongCity]

Originally posted by RY213


Lol Ice-T is far from being a try hard. He is a legend and has earned his stripes a long time ago.



Originally posted by D'z Nutz


Haha are you serious? He's the same Ice-T as ever.


Dead serious. Sure he's the same as ever but is that a good thing? You mature as a writer and an artist but he seems to be stuck from 20-30 years ago. He's making mainstream TV series and reality TV... And he still raps about running around shooting people in the streets. Starting "beef" with irrelevant "rappers" such as Soulja Boy. He's a 50 year old grown ass man who hasn't evolved and you guys like this? If he's so great why bother with a little punk like Soulja Boy?

[RY213]

Originally posted by urrforce


i dont know the history of hip hop or go as far back as some of you seem to when it comes to "old school" so now im curious and will ask a question for the other end of the scale

yeah i know that lil wayne soulja boy and drake arent really admired by true fans of hip hop but they had common and eminem in the documentary were there newer artists that maybe should have been in it aside from those guys again just curious

trying to expand my hip hop library i guess

Soulja Boy, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Drake etc are record company fabricated pop music, and were left out of the documentary because they are garbage...

[RY213]

Originally posted by LongCity





Dead serious. Sure he's the same as ever but is that a good thing? You mature as a writer and an artist but he seems to be stuck from 20-30 years ago. He's making mainstream TV series and reality TV... And he still raps about running around shooting people in the streets. Starting "beef" with irrelevant "rappers" such as Soulja Boy. He's a 50 year old grown ass man who hasn't evolved and you guys like this? If he's so great why bother with a little punk like Soulja Boy?

I was glad he made the comments he did about Soulja Boy. Back in the day if you were garbage you would be called out for it. Nowadays they call it hating, which is a load of bs. More rappers need to call out the bs, need more bigghostface's...

[FixedGear]

there are a number of folks from the last decade or so who are IMO noticeable absent.... folks from living legends, rhymesayers, def jux, to name a few. Slug should've been in there, so should've been The Grouch, maybe aesop rock and el-p too. Brother Ali, and eyedea if he was still around.

EDIT: also, digable planets, wtf.

[Type_S1]

Ohh gotcha.

J cole is someone I think is the next big thing for real hip hop fans.

Been listening to him for years and he is miles above anyone else.

[RY213]

Originally posted by Type_S1
Ohh gotcha.

J cole is someone I think is the next big thing for real hip hop fans.

Been listening to him for years and he is miles above anyone else.

No

[Markll7]

Originally posted by RY213


Soulja Boy, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Drake etc are record company fabricated pop music, and were left out of the documentary because they are garbage...

Man I wish there was a rep system so I could give you all my points.

For the most part I'm pretty tired of hearing how rappers used to struggle, I just fast forwarded to Eminem, Snoop and Dr. Dre lol. God I hope Detox comes out soon.

[C.NGUYEN]

some rappers im diggin nowadays are kendrick lamar, asap rocky, j.cole, and childish gambino

[Maxx Mazda]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
Haha it's not even recent! I looked it up and it's at least 2 years old.

UJ5EuypX9SQ

That's Gorgeous from Dark Twisted Fantasy.

[RY213]

Originally posted by C.NGUYEN
some rappers im diggin nowadays are kendrick lamar, asap rocky, j.cole, and childish gambino

Kendrick is the truth

[sexualbanana]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz


I actually thought Kanye looked a little out of place there and felt his "freestyle" was a little forced and rehearsed. He's a way better producer than he is a rapper, IMO.


Thank God, I'm not the only one that thinks that. I think his 'freestyle' is a mashup of a couple of his songs. I watched it a few weeks back, so I don't remember the specific songs, but they were unmistakably from his albums.

A noticeable absence was Talib Kwelli, though. And of course Beastie Boys.

Plus, as much as I like guys like Kendrick and J Cole, I don't think they belong in this group. At least not yet.

[sexualbanana]

Plus, the documentary reminds me (but is not as good)of the first couple minutes of Brown Sugar.

[03ozwhip]

i got sidetracked and watched FnF and FnF2 lol ill watch it tonight. ive seen every hip hop, hood movie and documentary that i know of except this one and i feel like im out of the loop now haha

even without watching it though, i ken tell you that people like Wiz, kendrick, A$AP etc wouldnt belong in this documentary yet, i think its more for the pioneers of hip hop. are the sugarhill gang or grandmaster flash in it?

[EK 2.0]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz


It's directed by Ice-T and he goes around and talks to about 30 or so hip-hop artists about how they write music, how they got started, what inspires them and things like that. Anybody who enjoys hip-hop, and I'm not talking about that stupid Lil Wayne or black and yellow black and yellow shit, should find this enjoyable. Guys like me who grew up listening to these artists will appreciate it (I'm looking at you EK).

I would've liked to have seen Ice-T and LL reminisce about their battle.


Thanks for thinking of me man...

I saw this a bit ago and I have to say I did really enjoy it. Lots of stories and history I felt was lacking...as well as some artists that should have made the list for sure. Although it is tough to say for sure if it was scheduling, or time constraints or what that caused artists to me passed over, or just not included...

Kanye...as much as I admire what he can do when motivated shouldn't have been on that list at all...he has some amazing one liners, and verses...but he's not at a level that can be incorporated into that group...

Talib was missing that made me sad...Mos (Yasiin) was there but some blackstar would have been cool haha...

The dirty south was lacking...that was kind of sad, they (well all corners of the US) have their own flavour, style, history and it would have been nice to highlight some of that...

The Beastie Boys should have been included as well...but with MCA's illness and passing perhaps that was the reason they were excluded...

Overall...I thought it to be great...Ice T still as crip as ever haha...Dub C...I was kinda hoping for one of his trademark c walks haha...

For those that did enjoy this documentary also on netflix (Canadian one for sure, but I'm confident it's also on US netflix as well) check "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest"...I mean if you are an ATCQ fan haha...but there is also some good history in that one as well...

[Clever]

Snoop's freestyle was pretty weak compared to the others as well, not just Kanye's. You can tell who the real lyricist are in this documentary, I did enjoy it, definitely took me back. It was good to see KRS, Caz and Melle Mel still spitting rhymes.

[JordanEG6]

Originally posted by urrforce


yeah i know that lil wayne soulja boy and drake arent really admired by true fans of hip hop but they had common and eminem in the documentary were there newer artists that maybe should have been in it aside from those guys again just curious

trying to expand my hip hop library i guess

Common is as Hip Hop as Hip Hop gets. Nevermind stuff with GOOD Music or anything recent, have a listen to his Common Sense older albums like Can I Borrow a Dollar?, Ressurection etc., it's heavy stuff.

"I Used to Love H.E.R." still is a timeless classic.

Eminem's substance and lyricism, paired with delivery is still one of the best today. Newer artists aren't even close to that. I wasn't even a huge Em fan, but still thinks he deserves to be thrown into that pool of artists IMO.

[Supa Dexta]

Anyone notice how big T was next to Em? And then how big Dre was next to T?

[03ozwhip]

:werd: Dre was fucking jacked in this movie, em looked seriously cracked out though, wow.

[SOAB]

So i've been trying to find a torrent copy of this movie cause but can't seem to find one. anyone help a brotha out?

[Supa Dexta]

I used piratebay :dunno:

[JordanEG6]

Originally posted by Anton
Really good documentary - really enjoyed Ice Ts rapping as they would show footage of the cities.

Kanye's "freestyle" is a recent song of his so it was definitely already written when that filmed. I thought he was one of the worst in the entire documentary.


Originally posted by D'z Nutz
Haha it's not even recent! I looked it up and it's at least 2 years old.


I thought he was kind of out of place too, but he wasn't the only one recycling lyrics. There were a few on there that I've heard before or at least sound very familiar. Still very good though.

They are missing a bunch that I would have liked to see. Some of which have been mentioned already. Royce da 5'9" tho?! :nut:

[vtec4life]

What do you guys think about Nelly? and T.I.?

In regards to Kanye - Graduation is top 3 for my fav albums

[Supa Dexta]

omg.. ^

I'd rather have appearances by jay, outkast, nas, dmx, missy, bone thugs, maybe even fresh wes.. etc (If I missed any of them in the movie - I dont know I watched it in a few sittings.)

[JordanEG6]

^^ Nas was in it.


Originally posted by vtec4life
What do you guys think about Nelly? and T.I.?

In regards to Kanye - Graduation is top 3 for my fav albums


I wouldn't consider them Hip Hop. More like Club Hit and Ring Tone rappers, IMO. Isn't really a terrible thing, but they hadn't produced anything totally iconic (or even true to Hop Hop) for anyone to even consider them in the same pool as the artists in this film.

As for Graduation. Really? I actually thought Graduation was mediocre at best. College Dropout and Late Registration were WAY better and more in tune with what he SHOULD have became as a rapper. If he stayed on track after those two albums, I wouldn't have minded him being in this documentary.

[finboy]

Good film, it seems like they just asked a lot of rappers to spot one of their verses, some decided to freestyle (nas delivered some stuff from distant relatives, I HIGHLY recommend that album). I noticed the lack of beastie boys as well but I think they were dealing with more important things. What I found weird was going to dre for opinion on 2pac and not snoop, anyone who knows the background on that should find it a little strange.

[finboy]

Originally posted by JordanEG6

As for Graduation. Really? I actually thought Graduation was mediocre at best. College Dropout and Late Registration were WAY better and more in tune with what he SHOULD have became as a rapper. If he stayed on track after those two albums, I wouldn't have minded him being in this documentary.

QFT!!!

With his background he should have been a much more conscious rapper, I blame it on him hanging out with jay-z

[FixedGear]

Originally posted by Supa Dexta
omg.. ^

I'd rather have appearances by jay, outkast, nas, dmx, missy, bone thugs, maybe even fresh wes.. etc (If I missed any of them in the movie - I dont know I watched it in a few sittings.)

yea wtf -- how can they not include outkast in that?

and as I said earlier, there are sa number of "underground" artists that have highly influential in the last 10-15 years, and who were totally disregarded.... which makes me suspect that T is somewhat out of touch with modern hip hop.

[vtec4life]

What do you guys think about the Game?

[03ozwhip]

Originally posted by finboy


QFT!!!

With his background he should have been a much more conscious rapper, I blame it on him hanging out with jay-z

LOL uh-oh, shit just got real.


Originally posted by FixedGear


yea wtf -- how can they not include outkast in that?

and as I said earlier, there are sa number of "underground" artists that have highly influential in the last 10-15 years, and who were totally disregarded.... which makes me suspect that T is somewhat out of touch with modern hip hop.

really? outkast? they werent iconic nor were they game changers, if anything, i would say they were way out to lunch in that crowd. i dont think ICE-T is out of the loop with hip hop, i think that he probably thinks what REAL hip hop/rap used to be, is now dead and isnt worth being part of that documentary and for the most part, i agree with that, with respect to very few artists these days.

there are very few MC's that i think were missing from this movie(alot that wre mentioned already in here) and i believe everyone except Royce da 5'9" should be there because they were all game changers and had serious roots to hip hop. Royce was just a filler because he was at eminems studio at the time.

i will say that alot of the guys in the movie while they deserve to be there, have totally fallen off and i wont listen to their new shit because its terrible, and these are the guys i grew up listening to and still listen to, but only their older stuff when they werent "fake".

[JordanEG6]

Originally posted by FixedGear


yea wtf -- how can they not include outkast in that?

and as I said earlier, there are sa number of "underground" artists that have highly influential in the last 10-15 years, and who were totally disregarded.... which makes me suspect that T is somewhat out of touch with modern hip hop.

I guess Ice-Ts focus and direction was geared more towards the roots and major influences in Hip-Hop. Any "underground rapper" in the past 10-15 years and even Outkast, don't really fit that mold. Which is why I thought Kanye was out of place.

I do agree they were missing a bunch like Biz Markie, De La Soul, Beastie Boys (Probably because of Adams death), Talib Kweli, MC Rob Base, DJ EZ-Rock and Method Man, are a few that should have been there before Ye.

[sexualbanana]

Originally posted by JordanEG6


I guess Ice-Ts focus and direction was geared more towards the roots and major influences in Hip-Hop. Any "underground rapper" in the past 10-15 years and even Outkast, don't really fit that mold. Which is why I thought Kanye was out of place.

I do agree they were missing a bunch like Biz Markie, De La Soul, Beastie Boys (Probably because of Adams death), Talib Kweli, MC Rob Base, DJ EZ-Rock and Method Man, are a few that should have been there before Ye.

It's unfortunate that I think you're right because when you're talking about the roots and influences of hip hop, it's hard not to have this conversation without input from someone like Questlove, who knows so much about the seeds of hip hop (and really music in general), that he's almost like its unofficial historian.

Instead, the focus was mostly on the rappers themselves (which isn't necessarily wrong or bad), and tried to show their connection on a more personal level. I would think it's hard to ask guys like Soulja Boy, Drake, and Nicki Minaj what their influences were and not get an answer like Lil Wayne, when I think the answers there looking for were guys like Funky 4+1, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Sugarhill, Beastie Boys, etc.