I was excited to see this
documentary existed and even more so, to attend a screening with a Director Q&A.
The director in this case being Ice-T, who was joined onstage prior to the
film by its two British Producers. The session didn’t prove too illuminating.
I was hoping for more insight about the background context of the film and the
filmmaking process, but as everyone was there for the film and time was
getting on it wrapped up after about 30 minutes.
The movie began promisingly,
if not predictably. Skyline/helicopter shots of New York in blown out colours
(the West Coast would get it’s mention in the last quarter). The silent flight
of the camera juxtaposed with the loud beats of the hip hop soundtrack. The
directors stated that the film contained ‘no archive footage whatsoever’. I’m still
unsure why this is. The repetitive nature of the visual is one of the major
failings of the piece. Two hours of the same format got tiring, until I
actually found myself losing focus on a subject I have loved for the last 25
years.
The film was ‘not about
Hip Hop culture or the history of rap.’ they said. But again, to be informative
to the layman, any documentary around this topic must surely cover as many of
its diverse and varied proponents as it can within the running time without
such restrictions? As a long time fan of the music I was gripped by much of what was on screen, but people wanting to discover something new, I feel might be left lacking.
On the point of omitting
certain subjects entirely, an acknowledgment by Ice-T that they had to leave a
lot of interviews on the cutting room floor made no real sense when even key
figures such as Bambaataa or even Rakim, were given a mere 5 minutes screen
time. While Grandmaster Cas featured prominently throughout due to – according
to the directors ‘the fact he let us into his home and had a great deal to say’.
I did enjoy most of the interviews and stories probably never before heard.
However there were so many missed opportunities from scene to scene that it
became frustrating to watch. It felt like hip hop 101; an introduction for the
uninitiated, rather than an intricate study of the artform’s various masters or
huge diversity of styles, that people were expecting.
Too much focus was also given
to the OG rappers of the 80’s, with some of the segments bordering on embarrassing.
Where in some cases they would state unequivocally how they were still on top
of the rhyme game (when in reality some are no longer recording).
Redman was caught for interview while shopping for trainers, yet no mention was made of EPMD,
under whom he came up into the rap game. And even when arriving on the West
Coast, it was down mainly to Snoop and Dre to offer opinions and advice –
rather than the film crew searching out a member of
Funkdoobiest or the Pharcyde – two of the key groups in hip hop’s 'original style'
category.
This is a film full of
highlights and low points, an oftentimes contradictory account on rap and rap only
according to its makers, yet featuring an interview with DJ Premier. And with
absolutely no mention of contemporary masters of the form like Saul Williams or
Aesop Rock, Black Thought or Reks, nor many of the standards such as De La, Kool G Rap
or Big L (who was merely among those credited in the ‘RIP’ end credits)
you can but hope that the question asked at the start of the night regarding a
Blu Ray disc with extra footage will become reality. There is a lot more to see and hear.