Anyone catch this docu directed by Ice-T on Vh1? Apparently it was released in selected theaters this summer but will be out on DVD on Sept. 18th. Vh1 has been airing as part of it's "Rocks Docs" special.

Caught it last night and it seemed to be interesting, sort of. I mainly was excited to see some of my favorite rappers from the past freestyle and speak on the genre of rap, how they were influenced, how they wrote their lyrics, what advice to give to those now, etc. The only thing that irked me a little was how little time was spent on each interview, each interview lasted probably at the most 3-5 minutes, if that. Some were as little as 2 minutes I think, but why so much time was spent on Eminem's part is beyond me. I think he was the only one who got about 10 minutes air time. If they were going to spend that much time on him, then it should been more in depth with everyone else too, but go figure. I was shocked to see how great Redman looks now, he looks better now than he's ever did, perhaps he's either stopped smoking weed, or has cut back on it. Q-Tip looked a bit rough, a little gaunt, unless he's been in the gym, but his face looked smaller than usual. It was kind of funny how Ice-T kept flagging random people away from the camera when he was interviewing folks on the street. "Umm get away, nothing for you to see here, we working, keep on moving, thank you".

[Edited 9/14/12 5:49am]

missfee said:

Anyone catch this docu directed by Ice-T on Vh1? Apparently it was released in selected theaters this summer but will be out on DVD on Sept. 18th. Vh1 has been airing as part of it's "Rocks Docs" special.

Caught it last night and it seemed to be interesting, sort of. I mainly was excited to see some of my favorite rappers from the past freestyle and speak on the genre of rap, how they were influenced, how they wrote their lyrics, what advice to give to those now, etc. The only thing that irked me a little was how little time was spent on each interview, each interview lasted probably at the most 3-5 minutes, if that. Some were as little as 2 minutes I think, but why so much time was spent on Eminem's part is beyond me. I think he was the only one who got about 10 minutes air time. If they were going to spend that much time on him, then it should been more in depth with everyone else too, but go figure. I was shocked to see how great Redman looks now, he looks better now than he's ever did, perhaps he's either stopped smoking weed, or has cut back on it. Q-Tip looked a bit rough, a little gaunt, unless he's been in the gym, but his face looked smaller than usual. It was kind of funny how Ice-T kept flagging random people away from the camera when he was interviewing folks on the street. "Umm get away, nothing for you to see here, we working, keep on moving, thank you".

[Edited 9/14/12 5:49am]

I want to hear from Rakim.. hold up.. Redman's in it? What's he look like?

JasonWill1980 said:

missfee said:

Anyone catch this docu directed by Ice-T on Vh1? Apparently it was released in selected theaters this summer but will be out on DVD on Sept. 18th. Vh1 has been airing as part of it's "Rocks Docs" special.

Caught it last night and it seemed to be interesting, sort of. I mainly was excited to see some of my favorite rappers from the past freestyle and speak on the genre of rap, how they were influenced, how they wrote their lyrics, what advice to give to those now, etc. The only thing that irked me a little was how little time was spent on each interview, each interview lasted probably at the most 3-5 minutes, if that. Some were as little as 2 minutes I think, but why so much time was spent on Eminem's part is beyond me. I think he was the only one who got about 10 minutes air time. If they were going to spend that much time on him, then it should been more in depth with everyone else too, but go figure. I was shocked to see how great Redman looks now, he looks better now than he's ever did, perhaps he's either stopped smoking weed, or has cut back on it. Q-Tip looked a bit rough, a little gaunt, unless he's been in the gym, but his face looked smaller than usual. It was kind of funny how Ice-T kept flagging random people away from the camera when he was interviewing folks on the street. "Umm get away, nothing for you to see here, we working, keep on moving, thank you".

[Edited 9/14/12 5:49am]

I want to hear from Rakim.. hold up.. Redman's in it? What's he look like?

He's in the 4th picture I posted.

I'm gonna check this out. I think this is the documentary that stirred a lil controversy because supposedly it didn't feature any(or many) Rappers from the dirty south. People thought it was because of the Beef that Ice had with Soulja Boy.

Although i disagree with a lot what Ice T has to say(in his personal life) the fact is he's a real smart dude. His books The Ice Opinion and ICE: A Memoir are pretty good reads.

[Edited 9/14/12 22:58pm]

This ought to be pretty good if Ice is doing it because he's kinda the Elton John-Keith Richards of rap....he's very much up on the history and trends of the movement. He's always kept his knoweldge current and yet understands how it all fits together in the larger context. He's always a great interview subject.

I quite like Ice T because he's managed to take just enough talent in all areas and make a great hustle out of it. The fact that he acknolwedges this makes me like him even more.

I am a bit puzzled if he included NOTHING about the South, but I'll wait until it's out to have any opinion there.

JoeyC said:

I'm gonna check this out. I think this is the documentary that stirred a lil controversy because supposedly it didn't feature any(or many) Rappers from the dirty south. People thought it was because of the Beef that Ice had with Soulja Boy.

Although i disagree with a lot what Ice T has to say(in his personal life) the fact is he's a real smart dude. His books The Ice Opinion and ICE: A Memoir are pretty good reads.

[Edited 9/14/12 22:58pm]

It sure didn't. I would think if he could include Nas, Kanye, Common, Mos Def and Redman, he surely could have included Scarface, Outkast, Master P, or Cee Lo. Who knows, maybe he'll do a part 2 to this or something.

I watched this at the movie theater and I absolutely loved it. First of all, because I´ve been following Ice-T´s career since day one (yes, since the very early 80s....his first maxi single was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis after they had left the time). And second, because I know Ice is very smart and a true Hip Hop head since the very beginning of Hip Hop....he´s not only a Westcoast legend but he´s been down with NYC since the days of the Zulu Nation, he´s an original member of the Zulu Kings (with Melle Mel) and he really knows his stuff, so I knew this documentary would be great, and indeed it really is.

The reason why he gave Eminem so much screen time is probably because Eminem is one of the most talented rappers ever, and because he´s turned into a huge pop phenomenon and this makes this docu more attractive for the younger crowds. Personally, I´m not really an Eminem fan but I know that he´s mad talented.

Plus he´s really cool in this docu, he raps one of Ice-T´s really old songs from the "Breakin" soundtrack ...."Reckless"....now that is something only the diehards know.

Snoop is also really funny and cool here and he raps Ice-T´s all time classic "6 N tha Mornin", and I was actually quite surprised when Eminem and Snoop did that because I love those old school Ice-T songs...Rhyme Pays is among my all time favorite albums. Too bad that Ice-T´s music career became a joke after a while.

I have an old interview on VHS from the late 80s (1989) where Ice mentions Prince´s beef with WB....mind you, this was in 1989!

Ice is one of the smartest, most articulate rappers and historians of the Hip Hop culture. I never understood why he would constantly overdo his "pimp and gangster" image to the point of looking ridiculous.

The reason why he didn´t include the Dirty South has probably more to do with personal connections than his beef with Soulja Boy.

The premiere night of this documentary was more expensive than the regular screenings because it included a live broadcast from London where Ice, Melle Mel, Ghostface , Raekwon and Chuck D. did a Q&A with the audience and answered a bunch of questions, and when Ice was asked why there weren´t more women than just Salt and MC Lyte in it he said that they were either too busy (like Queen Latifah) or they were not really that close to him, and his criteria for choosing those people in the movie had a lot to do with who´s in his telephone book and who is not.

Some people also complained that Jay-Z was not in it, and he gave the same answer and said something like "Your favorite rapper may not be in this movie, but your favorite rapper´s favorite rapper definitely is."

And I think that is part of the reason why he neglected the South because apart from the 2 Live Crew, Ice never really had a lot to do with the South in the past, and I know he´s usually namedropped EVERYBODY under the sun in his liner notes for his albums, except most rappers from the South (he mentioned them but not that many).

The beef with Soulja Boy may have played a part but I don´t really think so.

All in all, the Q&A was a great addition to the documentary, and it was good to see Raekwon and Ghostface Killah on stage with Melle Mel and Ice-T. The legendary British rap crew Hijack who used to be on Ice-T´s label in the early 90s came on stage as well, but they came across as washed up has beens and didn´t have their original DJ on stage (but pretended it´s him when it wasn´t him ...and they thought their performance rocked but it didn´t ).

Go and watch this documentary or buy or rent the DVD and support it, this is true Hip Hop in its purest form.

Ice-T may be many (bad) things, but when it comes to Hip Hop and respect for the true art form and culture, you can´t find anyone who is "realer" than him.

PS: Ice-T also said that they had more than 70 hours or more of recorded material and it was very difficult for him to choose the right material for the interviews shown. And it was tough for him to decide how much they´d use, hence the short interviews. They will probably add the bonus material to the DVD later on. And he talked a bit about the financing, the most expensive scenes (the helicopter shots) etc. etc.

A very nice and articulate, smart person. But he´s always been like that from day one as far as I can remember.

PS: Ice-T also said that they had more than 70 hours or more of recorded material and it was very difficult for him to choose the right material for the interviews shown. And it was tough for him to decide how much they´d use, hence the short interviews. They will probably add the bonus material to the DVD later on. And he talked a bit about the financing, the most expensive scenes (the helicopter shots) etc. etc.

A very nice and articulate, smart person. But he´s always been like that from day one as far as I can remember.

This clip here contains the answer to some of your questions...get it right from the horse´s mouth.

I don't have VH1

So did he profile Luke Campbell? If he has nobody from the South that would just be tho Luke alone could make up for some of the neglect. Let's face it, he was the original mouth from da South!

Still I wanna see this doc, but I'll probably get it on DVD for the extras.

KoolEaze said:

Hiya MissFee (waves)...I don't have VH1, so did they show the whole doc there or just snippets of it?

brooksie said:

brooksie said:

So did he profile Luke Campbell? If he has nobody from the South that would just be tho Luke alone could make up for some of the neglect. Let's face it, he was the original mouth from da South!

Still I wanna see this doc, but I'll probably get it on DVD for the extras.

That´s not what I said. I said 2 Live Crew were among the few rap crews from the South that Ice-T knew on a personal level, more so than any other crew.

To be honest, I don´t even remember whether Luke Campbell was or wasn´t in the documentary. There´s such an overwhelming number of rappers in it that I really don´t remember. I never cared about Luke anyway, maybe that´s why.

The whole thing was on Okayplayer last night but you should all still get the DVD.

KoolEaze said:

missfee said:

KoolEaze said:

That´s not what I said. I said 2 Live Crew were among the few rap crews from the South that Ice-T knew on a personal level, more so than an y other crew.

To be honest, I don´t even remember whether Luke Campbell was or wasn´t in the documentary. There´s such an overwhelming number of rappers in it that I really don´t remember. I never cared about Luke anyway, maybe that´s why.

The version I saw on Vh1 did not show him interviewing Luke.

Then he wasn´t in it. I really don´t remember and even if he had been in it, I wouldn´t know and wouldn´t remember because he´s not that important to me.

But the whole documentary is pure gold. Everyone who´s even remotely interested in the history of REAL HipHop should go and watch this movie. It´s brilliant.

Hey MissFee I can't wait to see this. You got me all excited about it. It sound like it'll be less dry than the old VH1 doc "And Ya Don't Stop" and I loved that one, so this one oughta be killer, esp if he gets seriously into the rap LA scene which is where my head is at the mo.

KoolEaze...ain't nobody saying you said all that, I just wanted to know if anyone from the South was profiled at all. Whether we like Luke or not (I don't actually) he's still the South's OG....the Ice T below the Mason-Dixon line, if you will.

brooksie said:

Hey MissFee I can't wait to see this. You got me all excited about it. It sound like it'll be less dry than the old VH1 doc "And Ya Don't Stop" and I loved that one, so this one oughta be killer, esp if he gets seriously into the rap LA scene which is where my head is at the mo.

KoolEaze...ain't nobody saying you said all that, I just wanted to know if anyone from the South was profiled at all. Whether we like Luke or not (I don't actually) he's still the South's OG....the Ice T below the Mason-Dixon line, if you will.

It´s all good man.

2 Live Crew actually started on the Westcoast but later became the epitome of Miami Bass style after they moved to Florida.

I remember those early 80s records on California labels when they first came out. The Revelation and What I Like were strictly Cali.Maybe that´s why they were closer to Ice than the rest of the Florida dudes.

But then they moved to FL.

KoolEaze said:

This clip here contains the answer to some of your questions...get it right from the horse´s mouth.

"Sometimes medicine doesn't taste good"... Gotta love Ice-T when he checks folks.

Thanks for posting these vids, it makes me appreciate the film even more.

Honestly, I didn't have an issue at all with Jay-Z not being interviewed...until you mentioned on this thread, I didn't even think about Jay, not at all.

I wasn't offended at all by the representation of female MC's only being Salt and MC Lyte. Ice-T is right when he says that for every 10 male rappers there's only 1 female rapper. Besides that, if he called Lil' Kim to interview her and she didn't return the call, then that's on her. I think that Salt and MC Lyte represented the view point of female MC's very well.

Very interesting to hear that the financing came from London for this film. I wouldn't had ever thought that. The question of who threw the financing behind this project did cross my mind as I watched it too.

KoolEaze said:

The reason why he gave Eminem so much screen time is probably because Eminem is one of the most talented rappers ever, and because he´s turned into a huge pop phenomenon and this makes this docu more attractive for the younger crowds. Personally, I´m not really an Eminem fan but I know that he´s mad talented.

Plus he´s really cool in this docu, he raps one of Ice-T´s really old songs from the "Breakin" soundtrack ...."Reckless"....now that is something only the diehards know.

Snoop is also really funny and cool here and he raps Ice-T´s all time classic "6 N tha Mornin", and I was actually quite surprised when Eminem and Snoop did that because I love those old school Ice-T songs...Rhyme Pays is among my all time favorite albums. Too bad that Ice-T´s music career became a joke after a while.

And I think that is part of the reason why he neglected the South because apart from the 2 Live Crew, Ice never really had a lot to do with the South in the past, and I know he´s usually namedropped EVERYBODY under the sun in his liner notes for his albums, except most rappers from the South (he mentioned them but not that many).

The beef with Soulja Boy may have played a part but I don´t really think so.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Eminem is a bad rapper or that he shouldn't had been featured, its just that as I was watching, it seemed as if his segment got highlighted more so than the other rappers interviewed. I get your point, but I still feel the same, if Eminem got an indepth edit, then the others interviewed should had too. It's not a big deal, just an observation.

As far as the whole Ice-T "pimp" image overplayed, I always thought that the reason why he put such emphasis on the pimp persona was because at one point before he started rapping that he was actually a real pimp. Is that not true?

Personally, I don't think a beef with Soulja Boy would had caused Ice to hold a grudge against ALL southern rappers...I'm thinking maybe he just hasn't associated with them well enough (since he said that the ones interviewed were the ones in his phone book). I mean I know for sure we weren't going to see him interviewing Speech from Arrested Development I just had to throw that in for laughs.

missfee said:

KoolEaze said:

The reason why he gave Eminem so much screen time is probably because Eminem is one of the most talented rappers ever, and because he´s turned into a huge pop phenomenon and this makes this docu more attractive for the younger crowds. Personally, I´m not really an Eminem fan but I know that he´s mad talented.

Plus he´s really cool in this docu, he raps one of Ice-T´s really old songs from the "Breakin" soundtrack ...."Reckless"....now that is something only the diehards know.

Snoop is also really funny and cool here and he raps Ice-T´s all time classic "6 N tha Mornin", and I was actually quite surprised when Eminem and Snoop did that because I love those old school Ice-T songs...Rhyme Pays is among my all time favorite albums. Too bad that Ice-T´s music career became a joke after a while.

And I think that is part of the reason why he neglected the South because apart from the 2 Live Crew, Ice never really had a lot to do with the South in the past, and I know he´s usually namedropped EVERYBODY under the sun in his liner notes for his albums, except most rappers from the South (he mentioned them but not that many).

The beef with Soulja Boy may have played a part but I don´t really think so.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Eminem is a bad rapper or that he shouldn't had been featured, its just that as I was watching, it seemed as if his segment got highlighted more so than the other rappers interviewed. I get your point, but I still feel the same, if Eminem got an indepth edit, then the others interviewed should had too. It's not a big deal, just an observation.

As far as the whole Ice-T "pimp" image overplayed, I always thought that the reason why he put such emphasis on the pimp persona was because at one point before he started rapping that he was actually a real pimp. Is that not true?

Personally, I don't think a beef with Soulja Boy would had caused Ice to hold a grudge against ALL southern rappers...I'm thinking maybe he just hasn't associated with them well enough (since he said that the ones interviewed were the ones in his phone book). I mean I know for sure we weren't going to see him interviewing Speech from Arrested Development I just had to throw that in for laughs.

Ice always used the pimp/hustler angle because that was indeed true of him like his NoCal counterpart Too $hort. He was more of that than the traditional gangbanger like someone like Eazy or DJ Quik. Ice is no studio gangsta (he's a Crip), by no means. He just choose to emphasize the hustling/pimping part of the game rather than repping the gang stuff.

LOL...I have to get his books and give them a read. This convo is really making me interested in his story.

BTW MissFee....I was jammin' out to Shorty today!