documentary /2012

Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap

dir. ice-t

Director1

Summary

Ice-T's directorial debut, a documentary built around long-form interviews with MCs about the craft of writing and performing rap. Subjects include Chuck D, Dr. Dre, Eminem, KRS-One, Nas, Rakim, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Q-Tip, Kool G Rap, Kool Moe Dee and Run-DMC. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

Hip-hop relevance

One of the rare hip-hop docs structured around technique rather than biography — emphasizing flow, breath control, rhyme schemes and on-the-spot freestyle. Functions as a curated oral history of the writer's craft from many of the form's defining MCs.

Key cast9

Subjects5

Linked moments 0

No moments anchored here yet.

External

Citations 2

  1. B
    Wikipedia — Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap Retrieved 2026-05-24.
  2. B
    RogerEbert.com — Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap — Roger Ebert review . Roger Ebert. Retrieved 2026-05-24.

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