Rap as a musical genre took over the music scene in the late 70’s/early 80’s and over the years, the most awesome hip hop documentaries have managed bridge the gap between social classes and cultural identities by telling the stories of urban poets. As hip hop’s popularity increased amongst the masses, the lyrically rich sounds oftentimes caused controversy and moral judgement from those living in a different social reality. However, the documentary makers on this list focused on the message behind the music and showed the audience that the world of emceeing, B-boying, DJing, and graffiti-writing had so much more depth to it than assumed.
As the decades passed and the genre crossed the boarders of the US, more and more artists appeared on the scene and legends started to form. What had started out as a form of protest against social stigmas and racism, transformed into a billion-dollar industry. If you want to know who the world’s richest hip hop artists are, check out one of our previous articles, but if you’re interested in learning about rap titans and the impact this genre made on our current culture, indulge in the most awesome hip hop documentaries. Here are a few of them.
5. Style Wars (1983)
Director: Henry Chalfant, Tony Silver
One of the first documentaries to grab film critics’ attention was the cleverly named Style Wars. The film, which follows several graffiti writers through their tagging endeavour on subway trains and in the Bronx, does an excellent job at narrowing in on the urban aspects of a music genre. The focus on B-boying, as well as graffiti art, showcases the changes in New York City’s social landscape at the time, when hip hop battles took over the streets instead of gang wars. The movie is so well executed that its 70 minutes earned both directors an Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
4. Freestyle: The Art of Ryhme (2000)
Director: Kevin Fitzgerald
Most Eminem fans know that the Detroit rapper’s roots were in freestyle emceeing, which means mounting a stage to battle another MC by rapping to a beat with improvised lyrics. Kevin Fitzgerald, also known as DJ Organic, steers his camera lens towards this resurgent hip hop movement in the late 90’s, which acted as a counter initiative to the increasingly commercial rap industry. The documentary has a gritty feel, capturing freestylers like Juice, Supernatural, and Medusa showing their talent on street corners and club nights.
3. The Freshest Kids (2002)
Director: Israel
Almost two decades after Style Wars’ first glance into the world of B-boying, Israel returned to the world of fly street dance with a new mission: to shine a light on how money and fame had changed the foundations of hip hop. In The Freshest Kids, the director interviews members of Rock Steady and the New York City Breakers – who are mostly in their 30’s – on the renaissance of hip hop’s foundations and the cultural shifts experienced in the genre. With a retrospective mood, the original B-boys take us through their personal experience with the music, what dancing meant to them and how the times have changed.
2. Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (2006)
Director: Michel Gondry
This one is a particular treat for hip hop fans, as it follows Dave Chappelle around while he puts together his dream concert, in the style of an old school 1970’s block party. The film switches back and forth between the concert and its preparation, but the real magic definitely happens on stage: Erykah Badu, Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, The Roots, The Fugees and a very young Kanye West all showcase their talents, making Dave Chappelle one very happy man.
1. Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012)
Director: Ice-T, Andy Baybutt
One of the most awesome hip hop documentaries ever made is certainly Ice-T’s Something from Nothing. Why? Well, for starters it features almost every big name in the industry as interviewees giving their opinion on what it means to write and compose a rap lyric that’s powerful and inspires the audience. But what’s even more compelling is that this film captures a secret that every hip hop fan wants to know: what lyrics by other artists their favourite rappers wish they had written themselves. The answers are truly revealing and the concept of hip hop as a tight-knitten community becomes evident throughout the whole movie.
