Review of Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012) by Aslyn E — 19 Sep 2012

Ice-T educates all those who dismiss hip hop as mindless vulgarity. Featuring many legends of the game it's a reminder of the graft and talent that only true MC's (not people like Flo-rida) command.

Its particularly relevant these days with hip hop being mainstream and overloaded with garbage rappers (like Flo-rida). Essentially just a series of interviews with genre legends what makes it shine is Ice-T's chemistry with his peers.

They obviously know and respect him for the most part and are so much more open than in the usual magazine and tv interviews. Each rapper spits a freestyle with Eminem, Kool Mo Dee and Joe Buddon being my top picks.

Like the title suggests, this doesn't really look at rap as a whole, it's about the lyric generating processes that the greats practice maybe I'm being greedy but I would have loved to see the artists elaborate more on their journeys and overall specific impacts on hip hop but this is nit picking really.

Also, with so many top rappers on show, the absence of Jay-Z is a glaring omission but I'm sure they tried to get him. It's great from start to finish and should be compulsory viewing for any hip hop fan.