Last night (19th July) saw the European premiere of Ice-T’s homage to the spoken word of the street, 'Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap', at the Hammersmith Apollo in London.
The premiere was attended by co-director and narrator, Ice-T, along with other contributors Melle Mel, Chuck D and Raekwon, and 4 all joined together on stage after the show to go through a lively Q&A with London's assembled hip-hop heads. After this wrapped up it was time to start the rapping, including Melle Mel taking the crowd through sing-along versions of 'The Message' and 'White Lines' , Chuck D fighting the power, Raekwon being joined by fellow 'Wu Tang Clan'-er, Ghostface Killah, and Ice-T reminding everyone he was the 'O.G. Original Gangster'.
The film itself is a fascinating journey through America's rap hotspots, going coast to coast, with a quick detour to Detroit, and meeting a 'who's who' of the rap fraternity. Ice-T waxes lyrical with the originals, the innovators and the new wave of artists inspired by their lyrics and beats, to find out what makes them tick, leading Ice-T to remark "if you’re favourite rapper is not in the movie then you can bet your favourite rapper's favourite rapper is!" in the post show Q & A. Featured in the film are Dr. Dre, Melle Mel, Run-DMC, Kanye West, Chuck D (Public Enemy), Eminem, Nas, Ice Cube, Rakim (Eric B & Rakim), Snoop Dogg, B-Real (Cypress Hill), KRS-One, Redman, Doug E Fresh, Salt (Salt-N-Pepa), Afrika Bambaataa, Big Daddy Kane and many, many more.
Sony Music are releasing the superb original motion picture soundtrack. Exclusive material includes 7 freestyles and live acapella performances taken from the movie itself. The album is released on 16th July, full tracklisting below. You can buy the soundtrack here...
1. Ice-T – Freestyle (Live Acapella)
2. N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
3. RUN-DMC - Sucker M.C.'s (Krush-Groove 1)
4. Eric B. & Rakim - Follow The Leader
5. KRS One – Freestyle (Live Acapella)
6. Big Daddy Kane - Raw
7. Nas - The World Is Yours
8. Gang Starr - Full Clip
9. Immortal Technique – New Jack Hustler (Live Acapella)
10. Wu-Tang Clan - As High As Wu-Tang Get
11. Das EFX - Real Hip-Hop
12. Melle Mel – Freestyle (Live Acapella)
13. Schoolly D - P.S.K. 'What Does It Mean'?
14. Ultramagnetic MCs – Ego Trippin’
15. Ras Kass – Bentleys & Bitches (Live Acapella)
16. Mantronix - King Of The Beats
17. Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock - It Takes Two
18. Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force - Don't Stop...Planet Rock
19. Lord Jamar – The Kid Magic (Live Acapella)
20. Q-Tip - Vivrant Thing
21. MC Lyte - Cold Rock A Party
22. Public Enemy - Harder Than You Think… Just Like That
23. Grandmaster Caz – The Art Of Rap (Live Acapella)
