Rhymes And Reasons: The Racialicious Review of The Art Of Rap

June 18th, 2012 by Arturo

But the best case for another installment is made in the moments Ice cedes the mic: it’s Joe Budden who offers up a poignant slice of what Ice calls “the B-side of the game”; it’s Grandmaster Caz who name-checks Roxanne Shanté and other luminaries in an opening freestyle covering the entirety of the hip-hop era; and it’s Kanye West who nails the connection between his pop stardom and the art form that led him to it. At its best, Ice and The Art succeed in their mission to honor the greats of hip-hop’s past. Now it’s time to take stock of the game’s future.

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Posted in black, community, hip hop, movies, music | 8 comments

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  • Jcat80

    I feel like they missed the mark by not speaking to or about Black women as a subject of  Hip Hop(love vs. misogyny), and Black women’s involvement in Hip Hop (from the empowering to the overtly sexual and occasionally degrading).  Perhaps Ice T’s involvement in this flick prevented an honest and positive discussion regarding Black women… This is not based on his choice for a wife (human blow-up doll Coco… Eyeroll). This is based on his anti-Black women tirades of the past (I’m thinking of his participation in Good Hair, in particular).

    Black women are told too often that they should just be quiet for the greater good… We shouldn’t  diss hip hop because we’re picking on our brothers who are themselves oppressed. We shouldn’t diss White feminism because we’re all in this together blah blah blah. I’m not saying that Black women should only support that with which we are involved, but we should definitely stop supporting that which injures and disrespects us… either overtly or covertly. 

    I am officially not interested in seeing this documentary… Which sound like the same narcissistic point of view hip hop always self-congratulates itself with. 

  • laromana

    I agree wholeheartedly with your comments, Jcat80.  I’m sick of hearing ANTI-BW BM in the entertainment/music world brag about their success when they’ve achieved it via DEMEANING/DEGRADING ANTI-BW HATE.

    These ANTI-BW BM are quick to forget that ALL BM owe BW  their lives and ALL due respect.
     
    BW are not OBLIGATED to support ANTI-BW BM (the ONLY race of men who PUBLICLY CONDONE/PROMOTE the trashing of the humanity, dignity, and femininity of their SAME RACE women) or their so called “art” .

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Derek-Vandivere/650258206 Derek Vandivere

    I don’t know why this bugs me so darn much, but the Tupac thing WAS NOT A HOLOGRAM. It was a 19th century magical trick using plain old projection and CGI.

  • jen

    I was hesitant to watch it as soon as I saw that Ice-T was the director behind this documentary. As much as I love hip-hop, watching his relationship with his wife play out in real life is painful, and obviously indicative of his attitudes towards women. I figured he would pay lip service to female MC’s, but you can see where his beliefs are at and  I’m not surprised they come through in this film. I’ll probably check out the parts that get the most traction, but I think I would be throwing things at the movie screen if I went to watch the whole thing.

  • Grace

    After reading this, I found an interview of Ice-T. For a small part of it, he talks about the dearth of female rappers in his film. He says that he called everyone in his cell phone contacts, including Salt, Latifah, Lil’ Kim, and I think De Brat. He said that everyone he contacted, from Kanye to Salt, said yes, but it was hard getting everyone to actually make the film (schedules and whatnot). My whole thing is, why couldn’t he reach out to folks who AREN’T in his contacts, regardless of gender? It’s an excuse that many folks with privilege use to justify the lack of folks who aren’t just like them. And it’s just that–an excuse, not a legitimate reason.

  • http://twitter.com/HIPSDC HIPS, Inc.

    I was and still am in my feelings about the South’s absence (aside from Bun B) from the film. Also, Dr. Dre and DJ Premiere were producers that they covered (Kanye and Q-Tip were interviewed too, but not about production), but no Rza, Pete Rock, Pharrell, Timbaland… It was very Dr. Dre/Aftermath heavy. However, with all of what was missing, what was there was good, especially the New York part. Seeing the originators get some praise was well worth my $10. Women were absent. I am not shocked or surprised by that. I can’t imagine that Ice-T cares about misogyny in hip-hop or shedding light on it. It’s Ice T everyone…come on. Are we really expecting that from him? 

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  • http://xicanosblog.tumblr.com/ Mateo Montoya

    This documentary seems to be a great (re)presentation of the positive aspects of rap and seems to recognize rap as a valuable mode of expression, reflection, and (re)presentation for urban black communities.  This is a far cry from the early critiques of rap as a “mysogenistic” form of “musical minstrelry” like that of bell hooks.  Here is a link to my critique of bell hooks’ narrow and degrading critique: “‘Duped’ by deficit discourse”: Xicano’s critique of bell hooks’, “Gangsta Culture—Sexism and Misogyny: Who Will Take the Rap?” http://xicanosblog.tumblr.com/post/11857729014/duped-by-deficit-discourse-xicanos-critique-of