Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap

R

Released Jun 15, 2012

1h 50m

Documentary

Music

List

86%

28 Reviews

Tomatometer

77%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Ice-T travels coast to coast interviewing rap performers such as Q-Tip, Common and Kanye West to pay tribute to the musical art form.

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Peacock

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

It's an insider's celebration of the form, studded with straight-to-camera rhymesmithery from its best practitioners.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 22, 2012

Full Review

Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

The film is educative, entertaining, in almost all senses a blast. Your body is left in your seat while your soul is blown to the back of the auditorium.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 19, 2012

Full Review

Sherwyn Spencer

Little White Lies

Preaching to the choir, but that's no bad thing.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 19, 2012

Full Review

Joseph Walsh

CineVue

Achieves what it set out to do - to revaluate rap as an art form in its own right. However, it sadly fails to do so in an entertaining, visually-innovative or interesting manner.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 23, 2018

Full Review

Glenn Dunks

Trespass

Despite its relative shortcomings, the film is a must see for anybody like me who worships the golden era of hip-hop where the artists actually had something to say

Sep 8, 2013

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 5/5

Jan 22, 2013

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Audience Member

More a historical document than a documentary this is still required viewing for any Hip Hop fan. Ice T has basically sat down with everyone he loves in the genre and asked them to talk about rapping, display one of their own raps and also bust out a classic which influenced them. There is nothing more to this film, but if you're a fan of the art form you don't really need anything else.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

While the documentary wish they had a few more people in it

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The fact that Ice is friends with everyone makes a big difference as you can tell that the artist are being 100% real. The overall production value is top notch and the music is mind blowing. If you have never seen free styling seeing KRS and Eminem do it will blow your mind. Another thing that was cool was Kanye's interview.The documentary seems to run a little too long for this sort of subject matter. Perhaps if you're a die-hard fan of rap, you won't believe so. As an insightful look at the medium, it manages to wander into that sort of territory, but never does it gridlock itself to that area. It too manages to incorporate freestyles, jokes, old memories, and extensive interviews all in its runtime. On second thought, maybe it isn't too long at all.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

camille l

Avec The Art of Rap, Ice-T et Andy Baybutt n'ont aucune ambition narrative ni même aucun envie de raconter l'histoire du rap. Ce qui les intéresse ici, c'est le processus créatif du hip-hop, la manière dont les grands du genre écrivent et posent sur un beat. De témoignages en témoignages, en passant par des a capella de Nas, Grandmaster Caz, Kanye West (étrangement sympathique), Immortal Technique ou encore Doug E. Fresh, The Art of Rap est un film passionnant et très original. Ice-T et Baybutt ne sont jamais aussi bons que lorsqu'ils laissent la musique et le skill faire leur magie, sur des images d'hélicoptère de coucher de soleil à New York, Detroit ou Los Angeles. Il est dommage que la partie à Los Angeles soit beaucoup moins réussie que celle de New York. Heureusement, elle dure 3 fois moins longtemps.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ice-T is hosting a rap documentary and we get to know famous artist from the very beginning until more recent days. It's pretty informing and it tell you the basic story of each artists. They bust a few raps and let you in on some of their tricks and ways of making music, but it's rearly give away super interesting facts. We get to see people from Grandmaster Cas to Snoop, Melle Mel to Kanye and from B-Real to Q-tip. If you don't know anything about rap you will get a lot out of the flick, but if you know your history it won't bring much to the table. 5.5 out of 10 bars.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Outstanding.. hip-hop at its best..

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

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Ice-T

Director

Andy Baybutt

Director

Bun B

Actor

B-Real

Actor

Afrika Bambaataa

Actor

Yasiin Bey

Actor

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Synopsis

Ice-T travels coast to coast interviewing rap performers such as Q-Tip, Common and Kanye West to pay tribute to the musical art form.

Director: Ice-T, Andy Baybutt
Producer: Jorge Hinojosa, Ice-T
Distributor: Indomina
Production Co: Final Level Entertainment
Rating: R (Pervasive Language|Some Drug Content|Sexual References)
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 15, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $288.3K
Runtime: 1h 50m

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