NPR Morning Edition: Ice-T Gives a Hip-Hop Lesson in the art of Rap by Sarah Beth Knott

Ice-T Gives A Hip-Hop History Lesson In 'The Art Of Rap' : NPR

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Ice-T Gives A Hip-Hop History Lesson In 'The Art Of Rap'

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June 14, 2012 - DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Let's hear, now, about a documentary with quite a soundtrack. The hip-hop artist Ice-T wants you to think about the art of making rap music. ICE-T: This film isn't about the money, the cars, the jewelry, the girls. This film is about the craft what it takes to write a rap, what goes on inside the head of the masters. GREENE: Ice-T has come a long way since the time 20 years ago, when his lyrics to the song "Cop Killer" sparked a huge, national controversy. He has a new documentary out that took him from Harlem and the South Bronx to Detroit and South Central, Los Angeles. NPR thanks our sponsors

Ice-T talked to artists like Doug E. Fresh, Ice Cube, Snoop Dog, Run DMC. And he focused on how these artists go about creating rap lyrics and beats. Ice-T joined us from member station WABE in Atlanta. Good morning, and thanks for talking to us.

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ICE-T: Hey, thanks for having me, man. It's cool to be here. GREENE: You said that this was a film that you just had to make because, as you put it, rap music saved your life. Can you explain that? ICE-T: Well, you know, before rap came along, I was, actually, actively in the streets; getting in trouble, doing the wrong thing. My father died early. My mother died early. I started hanging with the gangs. I'm on the streets; I'm committing crimes. And the music came along, and this music just took me on a different road. I mean, now you see me, I'm on television. I'm on "Law & Order"; I'm playing the cops. I mean, if it wasn't for rap - that was my first step into the legitimate world. Now, people look at me like oh, I love him; he's so respectable. (LAUGHTER) ICE-T: You know, I was a pretty bad person early in my life. GREENE: Rap, there's a lot of - I mean there's a lot of anger that you can hear. Was it a way to express the anger and frustration of, you know, a tough life on the streets? ICE-T: Well, rap is rock 'n' roll. Rock is when you push the buttons in the system; when you say, I'm not going along with what you're saying. That's rock, whether it's done with guitars, or it's done with just beats. So rap is rock - and there's anger in rock. There's anger in punk. It's a real voice, uncensored, and you will hear anger when you uncensor the voice.

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=154962021[6/18/2012 11:43:35 AM]

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Ice-T Gives A Hip-Hop History Lesson In 'The Art Of Rap' : NPR

GREENE: Let's talk about the creation. You do call rap an art, and I wanted to play one clip of what rapper Big Daddy Kane told you in the film.

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(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP") more ICE-T: What's the difference between a rapper and an MC? BIG DADDY KANE: Well, a rapper is, you know, someone that rhymes. I mean, you can consider Dr. Seuss a rapper. ICE-T: Right. BIG DADDY KANE: You know, that's someone that rhymes, you know? You rhyme cat with hat, you know, then you can be considered a rapper. MC is someone that either has that party-rocking skill or that lyrical skill. ICE-T: Right. BIG DADDY KANE: Doug E. Fresh, Busy B... (LAUGHTER) GREENE: I don't know if Dr. Seuss would love every bit of the rap that you guys make. But I guess I wonder, I mean do you consider you and other MCs poets? Is that the art that we're talking about? ICE-T: Really, when you say the word MC, people don't even really know what that word means. See, back in the day - I'll give you a little, quick history lesson. GREENE: Yeah, give it to us. ICE-T: Back in the day, DJs found out, with the use of a mixer, that they could play the breakdown of a record. That's the part where the record goes (Singing) Get down, do-dum, do-dum, do-dum. And they usually - there's no words over the break. When you're at a club and the breaks happens, that's when you try your best moves. That's when you dance the best. So the hip-hop DJ found out that since that's the best part of the record, why play any other part of it? So before you know it, the DJs are spinning Steve Miller Band. They're playing Aerosmith. You know, I used to have my DJ play Black Sabbath, like (Singing) Dun-dun, do-dun, dun, boom-ta, boom-boom-ta-boomboom. OK, the kids that really danced off it were called break dancers. That's what breaking means, the dancing off the break of a record. Now, the DJ is doing this incredible thing. He hands the mic to somebody and says, tell them how great I am. (LAUGHTER) ICE-T: That's an MC, a master of ceremonies. Now, the MC would say hey, the DJ is good but you know, I'm kind of fly. And he slowly stole the show, and he's supposed to be rapping about the DJ. So when we say a rapper, a rapper can say a rhyme. But an MC can rock a party, you know? And I guess you consider us poets. I would say competition poetry - or verbal gymnast, because a lot of the great poetry doesn't rhyme. GREENE: Here, rhyming is always important. ICE-T: Here, rhyming is essential. GREENE: The evolution of your life was kind of - I thought - captured in a New York Times Book Review, when you came out with a memoir last year. They said you've gone from robbing people to rhyming for them; from singing about killing cops, to playing a cop on camera. And you, of course, on "Law and Order: SUV," as Fin. And I guess I wonder, being a cop on screen so often, and looking back to "Cop Killer" 20 years ago - I mean, what do you reflect about? ICE-T: I mean, honestly, I've never been a cop hater. You know, when I was breaking the law, the

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=154962021[6/18/2012 11:43:35 AM]

Ice-T Gives A Hip-Hop History Lesson In 'The Art Of Rap' : NPR

cops were the opponent. I just thought I could outsmart them. Anybody who speeds thinks they can outsmart the cops. So at that time, you know, I was breaking the law. I knew what the law was; I was breaking it. Why am I mad at the police? "Cop Killer" was a song about brutal police. It was a year before Rodney King, and I was living in the world where the cops were snatching people out the car, beating their (BLEEP). So I was like, what if somebody went on a binge after y'all, after the brutal cops. How would you feel about that? GREENE: I want to play one more clip from Big Daddy Kane in the movie. (SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP") ICE-T: If you were going to personally train a rapper to be great - you met a new cat - what would be the first lesson you'd give him? BIG DADDY KANE: Well, the first thing I would try to teach him - the very first thing would be originality. You know, say - I think that is so important because it's like it is - whenever you're following a trend, trends come and go. ICE-T: True. BIG DADDY KANE: So, when that trend is gone, you're gone. You're basing your career on a banging beat and a catchy hook. So you know what you just did? ICE-T: What did you do? BIG DADDY KANE: You just made your producer a star. GREENE: And I - that last bit right there - you just made the producer a star - I guess I wonder, what is rap and hip-hop today? Is it less about lyrics; and is it more about the beat, and the producers getting more attention? ICE-T: Yeah. Truthfully, you know, a weak rapper can hide behind a lot of production. And that's why, in the film, we didn't have them rap with music. We always did the a cappella version so you can actually hear the lyrics. I think all music - not just rap - has fallen into this very diluted, delusional state, where everyone's singing about money and having cars, and having all this fun; when really, people are losing their homes. You've got the Wall Street situation, the sub-prime situation. You've got a black president. We've got wars. We've got unemployment. But the music doesn't reflect that. And I challenge anybody to show me a music that's on the radio that reflects that. GREENE: Ice-T, thank you so much for talking to us. ICE-T: Church. GREENE: That's rap musician Ice-T, speaking to us from member station WABE in Atlanta about his new documentary, "Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap." (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) GREENE: This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm David Greene. RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: And I'm Renee Montagne. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Copyright ÂŠ 2012 National Public RadioÂŽ. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=154962021[6/18/2012 11:43:35 AM]

Ice-T Gives A Hip-Hop History Lesson In 'The Art Of Rap' : NPR

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Bass Geisha (BassGeisha) wrote: Thank you very much for a full transcript of this awesome interview. Cheers to NPR not Censoring its web or radio presence! Monday, June 18, 2012 11:35:49 AM Recommend (0) Report abuse

Keith Klapperich (KeithKlapperich) wrote: I guess its really no wonder I grew up in the 90s into the early 21st century listening to music from the 60s-80s, I think Ice-T really hit it on the dot how music doesn't portray a realistic picture of our society today. Even though I'm not really into it, I think hip hop and rap have a lot of potential if they can get past being watered down with profanity and unrealistic, and often misogynistic, pictures of life. I think a lot of it also has to do with how you deal with and portray that anger he said is in the uncensored voice Saturday, June 16, 2012 9:51:37 PM Recommend (1) Report abuse

Chad Covey (ccovey007) wrote: Ice-T is legit, as is NPR Music. Long live online music. Friday, June 15, 2012 11:39:19 PM Recommend (1)

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=154962021[6/18/2012 11:43:35 AM]

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Ice-T Gives A Hip-Hop History Lesson In 'The Art Of Rap' : NPR

K Holmes (kwillie) wrote: To Mr. Grosstackle: Also to Linda Wilson and Michael Kegan: I am not particularly a fan of Rap / Hip Hop, thus I am not weighing in to defend it. Still, Mr. Grosstackle's implication(s) regarding just one infamous composition in the early career of Ice-T only demonstrates intolerance on your part. The song is in no way is indicitive of what he is all about today, and If you listened to all of his words in this story, you may have realized that the song was a reaction to police brutality going on all over the country, and particularly indemic in L.A. at that time. The song slightly pre-dates the Rodney King incident, so it wasn't written as a reaction to it, just to what was regularly happening on the streets. He has not apologized for the song in as much as admitting that many feared for their safety from the very people entrusted to protect them. You likely never could relate to this type of fear. And to Linda and Michael, your extreme reaction to this topic clearly speaks volumns. So to paraphrase Mr. Grosstackle's line; "way to keep it classy". Friday, June 15, 2012 4:27:08 PM Recommend (1) Report abuse

lawrence renyer (notlikely) wrote: Ice Tea on a hot summer's day. It doesn't get better. Know what I say? Now keep it tight! Friday, June 15, 2012 11:40:22 AM Recommend (1) Report abuse

GERTRUDE! F (doodahdippity) wrote: I forgot, Ice T is the man! Friday, June 15, 2012 9:41:20 AM Recommend (1)

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GERTRUDE! F (doodahdippity) wrote: Alright, for all the rap haters who decided to come on here just to talk nonsense, rap is music. If you are judging based on pop rap, you clearly aren't as smart as you try to convey on NPR message boards. You want rap that uses "real instraments", check out The Roots. You want rap with minimal profanity, check out KRS-One and Blackalicious. And if you still don't like it, fine. At least have some courtesy and go spew your ignorance on yahoo. Friday, June 15, 2012 9:40:39 AM Recommend (14) Report abuse

Mark P (KarlPopperFan) wrote: Hip hop/rap: lots of profanity, little use of musical instruments. Don't believe me? Listen to the top 10 rap/hip hop songs on Billboard's charts. Friday, June 15, 2012 7:40:04 AM Recommend (1)

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Rebecca Hansbrough (spidergirl24) wrote: Ice-T reveals he is a Hip-Hop artist with a diverse range of musical tastes and culturally aware of the role music plays in communicating the issues of the time. If you want to know about this country's history, listen to the balladeers and artistic rebels of that time. I completely agree that so little of music says anything about what's really happening in society and world in general. Welcome to the age of crass commercialization where reality TV rules over great productions - Comedy Central means more than evening news and YouTube is platform for legal exploitation. Friday, June 15, 2012 2:28:57 AM Recommend (5) Report abuse

Raoul Ornelas (rlupodimare) wrote: Add Ice-T to the Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Justin Bieber, Tiny Tim Christmas, Elvis Castello Christmas album. Friday, June 15, 2012 2:07:37 AM Recommend (2) Report abuse

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Ice-T Gives A Hip-Hop History Lesson In 'The Art Of Rap' : NPR

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