Something from Nothing: the Art of Rap

Rap pioneer Ice-T is our guide for this fascinating documentary about a controversial form of music that still struggles to receive its proper due. Just don't expect a film littered with music videos extolling the excesses of guns, gangsters and bling (though the language is salty, to say the least). Ice-T's mission (as co-director and interviewer) is to explore the craft, skill and mechanics of rapping, to get behind the usual bluster, and in this he's aided by anyone who is anyone in the rapping firmament - Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Public Enemy's Chuck D, to name but a few. Ice-T himself is a refreshingly laid-back interviewer, as he travels across the USA extracting humorous and insightful anecdotes from his stellar cast of urban rhymers. There's a moment when one rapper bemoans the fact that jazz and blues have more respect, but this terrific piece of work proves rap is an art form that's every bit as deserving.