Avaliações do Metacritic

An extremely interesting insight, proving that rap music is an art form in its own right.

The Art of Rap was made by a hip-hop fiend for hip-hop fiends. I fit the description, and it's difficult for me to approach the film as an outsider. But if novices can make it through the barrage of interviews with artists they don't know, they'll learn plenty about a craft still grossly misrepresented by the mass media.

Ice-T delivers a love letter to hip-hop with Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.

An insightful film about the creative talents that have made hip-hop an original, enduring American musical tradition.

This is a film that does sweat the technique, with at times illuminating and spirited results.

The interviews are often revealing and funny. And much of the music is tremendous.

T's formulaic interview style gives the proceedings a bit of a student-project vibe - perhaps understandable for a guy who clearly thinks artists should always be open to learning more.

The general takeaway, occasionally swaddled in pot clouds and boisterous laughter, is that verse-slinging requires serious thought and planning.

The faces and voices are endlessly compelling as they talk about what inspires them to lay down beats and recall the early days in New York. Ice-T, disentangled from acting, makes himself a fine focal point.

Freestyle, funny but finally just too repetitive, Ice's affectionate home-movie needed someone to structure it into a deeper documentary.