DVDiculous: Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap

I heard about this documentary Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap from an interview by the director rapper/actor Ice T. It is about the beginning of hip hop with the people who started it and its growth ever since then. Of course it starts off in New York where he interviews guys like Big Daddy Kane, Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, Dana Dane, Marley Marl and Melle Mel. This is just a small example of the guys he talked to. He spends time with them on the streets and in the studio seeing their notepads and what type of environments they want to write in.

Hearing about the kinds of places and moods rappers need to be in to write is awesome. Some like Snoop Dogg says he has to be high and have good looking women around. Immortal Technique says that he exercises and almost starves himself to get into the mind frame to write. Some guys require silence. When Dr. Dre is interviewed he talks about how Tupac would just walk into the studio, hear a beat, record the song, and fifteen minutes later ask for another beat.

In Los Angeles Ice Cube is asked how he defines his style and he calls it street knowledge. Letting the streets know how the government feels about them and letting the government know how the streets feel about how they’re being treated. Dr. Dre talks about his producing style and Ice T mentions that with the rappers he talked to that worked with him say that he is not their friend and when you’re in the studio with him you’re there to work. Dre says that in the twenty some odd years he has been making music he’s taken only two weeks off. His protégé Eminem is also interviewed and it is cool hearing him talk about Treach from Naughty By Nature’s style making him quit before he even started by how amazing his style is.

I have barely scratched the surface of what this documentary is about. Hearing about how the pioneers of rap got started and even who their influences are. It makes me surprised that I never decided to rap. Oh, one quick story about KRS One. He talked about how he never tried to rap but went to a rap battle and some guy dissed his clothes and he got up there and beat him. Even if you’re not a fan of rap you should watch this.