“The Art of Rap” Film Review

This past Wednesday evening I settled comfortably in an armchair at the Trotter Multicultural Center to see the film Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap. The event was hosted by the student organization Hip Hop Congress, who supplied the perfect atmosphere for movie watching, complete with a roaring fire and popcorn. Having seen the trailer for the film, and feeling blanketed by this wonderful atmosphere, I was excited for the movie to start. About an hour and a half later I exited Trotter, disappointed and barely entertained.

Ice T’s debut documentary film seeks to uncover the methodology and praxis of Hip Hop through a series of interviews with the genre’s pioneers and founders. Instead, the movie turned out to be a cycle of three different elements: large, panning shots of city skylines to establish the scene, a freestyle or a cappella verse performed by a prominent rapper, and Ice T answering his own interview questions. I was struggling to decide whether or not the film was a documentary centered around the evolution and culture of Hip Hop, or an autobiography on Ice T’s life. In the most annoyingly frustrating way, Ice T would offer an answer to his own question before the interviewees could begin speaking, or else, after letting them speak for a moment, connect their responses to his own career. This is a shame not only because few people on the planet actually care about Ice T’s responses to these questions, but also because this movie does succeed in accessing some of the most pivotal and esteemed artists in the Hip Hop world, yet Ice T does not allow them to elaborate. Aside from his interviews with Nas, Eminem and KRS-One, I feel as though I did not gain any understanding of the rappers’ artistic processes and developments.

Interviews range from strictly freestyles to extensive conversations, and from backyards in Beverly Hills to the streets of Brooklyn. A number of artists write a short rap on camera, displaying their abilities to extemporaneously create a verse; while others, like Kanye, choose to perform some of their most well known pieces. Each rapper Ice T interviews discusses either the first moment they entered the Hip Hop world or how they get in the mood to create music. Yet, through all of this, I do not feel connected to the artists in any way; the intimacy a one-on-one interview like all of these is supposed to grant is lost on screen. I gain no insight into the lives of some of my most favorite and idealized artists on the planet, and it is because of this that I scoff at this movie. It is a shame that Ice T wastes these valuable connections by talking over his interviews and asking moronic questions.

The ridiculous melodrama of the film does not help its success, either. Every single interview is preceded by an extra-long shot of a city- an effect that is compelling maybe when used once or twice in a film. However, its overuse, combined with the absurd shots of Ice T silhouetted against a sunset as he says things such as “To me rap was always one of two things; I was either out to drop some knowledge, and give the streets some game, or it was straight up combat.” The simple fact that he says this in the final scene of the movie proves that its subject matter is heavily skewed towards his own life, more so than Hip Hop’s.

This film is irritating because Ice T prefaces it by stating that its purpose is to expose the true art in this art form. Yet it barely scratches the surface, and too much emphasis is placed on artists’ individual experiences, rather than the essence of the culture. Also, some key Hip Hop legends, including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Black Thought, Lauryn Hill and 9^th Wonder were all missing from the repertoire. A documentary on Hip Hop seems incomplete without these voices. I also wish he allotted more time to the interviews with Q-Tip, Common and Nas. These are rappers who have the most knowledge to offer on Hip Hop (not to mention the intelligence to articulate it well) and they only spoke for a couple minutes.

To conclude, next time you decide to film a documentary, Ice T, spend less time answering the questions you yourself ask, and more time listening to the artists who have more to offer on the subject. And definitely spend less time changing your outfits- you look flat out foolish in some of these scenes.