The legendary Ice-T brings his feature directorial debut to the 2012 Documentary Premieres section: With co-director Andy Baybutt, SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP delves into the influences and creative process of hip hop.
Sundance Program Description:
Hip-hop didn’t invent anything . . . hip-hop reinvented everything.—Grandmaster Caz
Visually luscious and drenched with the big beats of classic cuts and freestyle rhyming by some of the masters of the music, SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP is a performance documentary about the runaway juggernaut that is hip-hop. At the wheel of this unstoppable beast is Ice-T. The practitioner/filmmaker, with codirector Andy Baybutt, takes us on a personal journey into the asphalt roots of the music that saved his life.
This film is not about stardom, bling, or beef; it’s about craft and skill—what goes on inside the minds and erupts from the pens of rap legends. Ice-T travels from coast to coast, engaging intimately with the likes of Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, Nas, Mos Def, Eminem, Chuck D, KRS-One, Run-DMC, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg. What emerges is a mighty soul tribute to the original American art form that brought poetry to a new generation.
Some Background:
Ice-T began performing hip hop in the 1980s, becoming one of the key figures in developing and popularizing gangsta rap. Early in his career, he pursued a parallel acting career, and has appeared in numerous films and TV series, including Sundance alum NEW JACK CITY (1991) and LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, where he has been a cast member since 2000. Co-director Baybutt has been directing and producing TV documentaries, often about music, since the late 1990s – this marks his first theatrical doc.
Why You Should Watch:
Given Ice-T’s stature, it should come as no surprise that he is able to get access to pretty much anyone in the history of hip hop he’d like with whom he’d like to talk. Interviews with everyone from Eminem to Mos Def, Snoop Dog to MC Lyte, and many more in-between pepper this history lesson on the enduring genre. What’s truly refreshing about the doc is that, perhaps in large part due to Ice-T’s presence as their on-camera interviewer and peer, these artists largely bypass the stereotypical rapper braggadocio to instead speak from an authentic and often gleeful place about their craft and what it has brought to their lives.
More Info:
For screening dates and times at Sundance, click the link in the first paragraph.
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