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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