Words by Shanice Stephanie
What started out as a documentary on rap music and it’s rise to global prominence has become an eight city tour. Back in 2012 director and interviewer Ice-T took us on a journey as he uncovered how rap has grown to dominate the world. Throughout the film you’ll see Ice-T interviewing a few of Hip-Hop’s most prominent talents, from founders, to rising stars, to legends. He exposes the roots and history of Rap and studies the mechanics of the music to reveal The Art Of Rap. The cast included Bun B, B-Real, Afrika Bambaataa, Joe Budden, Common, Chuck D, DJ Premier, Eminem, Lord Jamar, Dr. Dre, Doug E. Fresh, Royce Da 5’9, Lord Finesse, Kool Moe Dee, Nas, MC Lyte, and so much more.
In 2015 Ice-T launched his first Art of Rap tour and two years later it’s still going strong. This past weekend on November 4th the show made its debut at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, NY. This years line up included N.O.R.E, Rakim, EPMD, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick The Ruler, Mr. Cheeks, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah of the Wu- Tang Clan, The Sugarhill Gang, and Grandmaster Melle Mel and Scorpio. It was so refreshing to see the crowd mixed with people of all ages and races; parents, grandparents, millennials, old school high school crews dressed up in their best 80’s/90’s gear. It’s amazing to see everyone come together rapping along word for word, enjoying a night of good music, the energy was epic! Throughout the show many of the performers threw shade towards the industry’s current music state. Implying that the fans will be able to enjoy “real” music while getting a break from all of that “mumble” rap, and that’s exactly what they got. Big shout out to Ice- T for preserving The Art of Rap and providing a couple of hours of nostalgia for Hip-Hop lovers everywhere. You can also check out the documentary on Netflix if you have not already seen it.
