Ice-T takes his Hollywood talents in a different direction and steps behind the camera to meld his background in hip-hop with the film world in the release of his newest endeavor.
by Michael Menachem
ap mogul, actor and icon Ice-T adds director to his resumé with Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, a new documentary from Indomina Releasing. From The Sugarhill Gang’s classic “Rapper’s Delight” to Run-DMC and Aerosmith’s groundbreaking collaboration on “Walk This Way,” there has never been a project that illustrates the creation of rap like this. Ice felt strongly about making this film because, as he says in the opening, “rap music saved my life.”
Ice-T, born Tracy Marrow, wanted to showcase the craft and veer away from the money, girls and material aspects of the culture. From the South Bronx to the West Coast and everywhere in between, rap changed the world, and Marrow captures the inspiration behind many artists with never-before-seen interviews and original verses from some of the genre’s best. In the film, Big Daddy Kane describes how “a rapper is someone that rhymes – you could consider Dr. Seuss a rapper,” while Eminem mentions how he wakes up in the morning and words just fall out: “What I love about rap is that it feels like puzzles, words are like puzzles.” Marrow takes the audience on a journey and captures candid responses from his peers that a journalist would be hard-pressed to uncover.
YRB: At the beginning of the film, Grandmaster Caz speaks to rap’s timeless, almost omnipresent, effect on hip-hop culture saying, “Hip-hop didn’t invent anything, hip-hop reinvented everything.” What is your reaction to this?
Ice-T: I think every once in a while the culture or the world just gets reinvented. I think back in the ‘60s, the hippies reinvented the world. I think hip-hop did it. I think rock n’ roll did it, and hip-hop was the second wave. There’ll be another one soon.
YRB: Do you think the explosion of electronic music could be the next wave?
Ice-T: You know, it possibly could be. I just played with Public Enemy in Detroit. We both come out the clubs. There’s probably going to be an ill reemergence of electronic. A big rapper just redid “Reckless,” Prodigy used Kool Keith [and The Ultramagnetic MCs’ “Give The Drummer Some”] for “Smack My Bitch Up.”
YRB: How did the conversations start when you reached out to rap’s greatest, from trailblazers like KRS-One, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre to the new generation of stars like Kanye West and Eminem?
Ice-T: When I started doing the movie, I had an idea to do a film to ask different questions. I’ve got 15 questions, not about your girls [or] money. I asked about the craft. Every single person said yes. The problem was logistically getting people from L.A. and London at the same time. It took two years to nail everyone down. I’m still shooting Law & Order too. Everybody’s doing you a favor and there’s no money in documentaries, so everyone’s doing it for the love and you can’t push it on anyone. They ‘re just doing it for the love. Once the camera got there, we just talked for two hours. There’s not one person in this film that I don’t have a personal relationship with. I just called my friends. From being in the biz over 20 years, I know these people. Eminem said, he’s like, ‘Whatever you need, just let me know, Ice.’
YRB: What is it like directing a documentary?
Ice-T: I did every interview in the film. Directing a documentary is like driving a boat. I didn’t want anyone to say anything they’ve already said or rap anything they’ve already rapped. We never thought we’d get a theatrical release. We shot 52 rappers and we had 30 people waiting. We had a five-hour cut. I didn’t want it to be like a VH1 movie where you see these little snippets. You may not see your favorite rapper, but you’ll see your favorite rapper’s [favorite] rapper. We start with Melle Mel and Grandmaster Caz, Rakim, Dre, Ice Cube, B-Real… It went to Sundance and that’s when it got picked up by Indomina. I know Sundance is artsy. I wanted to make a movie that would be respected. The people love it and say it’s better and better. We’re out here in the big game. We don’t have Avengers money. We’re promoting the movie by letting the critics see it first. Our real press will hit two weeks before the movie. We’ve already won; we’ve already outdone ourselves. Can this documentary do a Michael Moore category? Will Ice-T get a motherfuckin’ Oscar on this shit? I can’t wait to see Ice up there fuck everybody, just to prove the power of hip-hop.
YRB: What was the greatest thing you’ve ever learned or heard Afrika Bambaataa say about hip-hop?
Ice-T: Bam, when I was first starting my thing, you know, was more or less telling me the essence of the Zulu Nation, that we’re all going in the same direction, so why compete? We should all work together. We can all work together and push each other. The Syndicate was a group of groups with a common goal and that’s why we weren’t being in L.A. The only feud was a family feud between N.W.A. that everyone kind of stayed out of. Bam was a gang member, he was a powerful member in the Black Spades, but he was about peace. You better not say anything that’s not positive. He’s like the super-god of hip-hop.
YRB: Salt from Salt-n-Pepa is interviewed in The Art of Rap also. Where do you think women fit into the mix of rap and hip-hop? Why is it particularly difficult for women to break in, and what do you think of some of the newer artists?
Ice-T: The thing about rap is that it’s definitely difficult because it’s an aggressive format. It’s competitive. The girls had to tread the line of being strong but not too strong and not become too masculine – whether it was Salt and Lil’ Kim to Nicki Minaj… She took the pop lane, she’s on tour with Britney Spears and more power to her. Hip-hop is kind of aggressive and a more male-oriented sport, so to speak. You gotta remember, girls buy rap, guys download it. Girls follow a guy, but if it’s a girl they’re kinda funny about a girl they would follow. Even my wife, Coco, has difficulty getting women to like her. Some of the greatest rappers are female: Lauryn Hill, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah… It’s not that easy. If they pull it off, all the respect in the world.
YRB: You had a particularly tough childhood, overcame difficult years with the law and then turned it all around after the army to become one of rap’s most storied performers and leaders. Then, you moved on to film and TV. Why create a movie about rap now?
Ice-T: It’s just like where I’m at. I have the ability to. When I was just rapping that’s all I could do. I have a little knowledge about film now. I want to direct movies, I want to direct features. I’ve always done very visual music. I wanted to try to work with someone I’m most familiar with to see if I could pull it off. The R.I.P. list, it’s incredible. Let’s do it before these people are gone. The best way for hip-hop to be documented is by someone who’s in it.
