Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

mrmetox Biz Markie, Talib Kweli, Meth, RZA, GZA, Ghost, MOP, Busta, Lauren Hill, Slick Rick, Outkast, EPMD, Everlast, LL, Jay Electronica, Lupe, Jay-Z, Eric B, Beastie Boys, Flav, Ren, Too Short, Boo Yaa Tribe, De La, Jungle Brothers, Das EFX, DMX, King Sun, King Tee, The Roots. These are just some of the names that don't feature in this wasted opportunity. I love Ice T but he's missed a trick here in my opinion, really not taking in some people who for me would be glaringly obvious to speak to about the origins and art of Hip Hop and how it has grown and shaped the genre. In addition it's almost criminal for me that he spoke to people like Rakim, Ice Cube, Chuck D etc for literally seconds, while indulging others who are arguably less deserving for ages while they freestyle, pontificate in stupid faux-philosophical mode and reel off almost entire songs from their back catalogues. Not disrespecting Kanye but did he warrant a full song, when time might have been better spent talking to Erick Sermon, Black Thought, Mike D, or Big Boi, for example? Also, not too many (if any) mentions of the impact made by Guru, MCA, B.I.G, JMJ, etc. The interviews were also pretty lame and cosmetic, and had little in the way of structure. Many simply pandered to ego, rather than unearthing some fascinating insight. Surely more time with Chuck D & Rakim would have produced this. Or delving deeper into the inception of NWA with Cube, rather than listening to Snoop offer cringe worthy nonsense dressed up as prophetic advice. Was really looking forward to this but ultimately felt a bit let down. I guess there would always be someone left out that would cheese people off, but this should have been much better.

bob the moo I was quite looking forward to this film, having been away when it made its very brief appearance into UK cinemas. The film presents itself as a documentary on rap music in light of how massive it has become as a genre and, as a fan of some aspects of hip-hop, it was something that interested me. In reality it isn't actually a documentary so much as it is a very loose celebration of the genre and those involved in it from the start. Ice-T presents, directs and various other roles and the whole film is him chatting with fellow artists about their first introduction to the music, their thoughts on it, favourite lines and so on. There appears to be no real structure other than what has been put in afterwards and as a result the value of the film is limited.If you are looking to learn about hip-hop as a genre of music and how it grew and developed then this is not the film to come to. Conversely, if you are already a fan of the music and know your history then this film will offer the same to you as it appears to have offered to Ice-T – a chance to shoot the breeze with lots of artists all talking with passion about the music they love. This is where the film works best and it is not a good thing that it does so. Even fans of the music will struggle with some of the ways time is spent here because it feels padded at times and also some of the artists don't really have a great deal to say. The interviews are quite weak in terms of their direction and I did get the feeling that they had not been particularly well prepared for and that the film was relying on the subjects to just be good. Luckily some of them really are but of course this trust also means that at times the contributions aren't worth a great deal other than the name of the person involved.As much as I love him, Q-Tip was one such example; it was great to have so many names involved but it would have been better to have had fewer and make more use of them. The credit for the many, many artists involved rests with Ice-T but unfortunately as presenter he is unable to draw the best from his subjects. Indeed he often seems too fond of himself and there are multiple slow-motion walking shots of him along with far too many obvious helicopter cityscapes. He is not bad per se, but at times he gets in the way of his own film and some of this selection of material seems to speak to his ego rather than the content of the film.There is plenty here for older fans of the genre though, but this is different from it being a good film, because it really isn't that good. As a documentary it offers little and it really does need the viewer to already be in the right place to watch it. As a fan of the music and the culture, I liked it, but I would be lying if I said it were a good film in and of itself.

rgblakey Few styles of music have caused as much uproar as Hip Hop. Over the years there have been controversies, fights, and even death all in the name rap music. While not all is directly responsible, the feuds and storytelling in this music has led it to garner some attention that it may not always have wanted. Rap icon Ice-T steps into the director's chair for Art of Rap, his love letter to an industry that has defined a culture as well as numerous generations.Art of Rap ignores the feuds and controversy and instead takes on the history and influence told through the new and old generation that have brought it to prominence. Featuring an all-star cast of some of the greatest to ever grab the mic including Run DMC, Treach, Snoop Dog, Eminem, B-Real, Dr. Dre, Doug E Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, Melle Mel and countless others tells the story of hip hop through the eyes and voice of those that help create it. This film not only gives the music the respect it deserves, it also gives voice to the young and old members of this unique world to showcase their beginnings as well as influences in the industry. This isn't just a long documentary story of rap, but instead a series of interviews with Ice-T the pioneers of the industry that shows the intelligence and passion that these individuals truly have for this art.In a world of pop music and unoriginality, this film takes an inside look at hip hop while giving it the respect it deserves. You don't have to be a fan of the music to recognize the talent that built it. The innovators and creators struggled to create this industry and use their pain and talent to tell their stories like no other creating an industry that doesn't always get the respect it deserves, but rest assured will never go away. Whether you love rap or not, you should sit down and experience this film to let these icons in the music industry to have their voice.http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-dallas/bobby-blakey

teddunsten This was a pretty good documentary, lots of nice insights and interviews...I checked it out because I have that book which is similar, "How to Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC" which came out a few years ago and they interviewed many of the same rappers for that. In my opinion, that book goes into a lot more detail than this documentary, because it's wall-to-wall quotes and a lot more subjects are covered, but it was cool seeing a documentary that touched on some of the same topics.Where it lacks actual extended discussion on writing rhymes, this doc makes up for it with quite a few interesting moments on screen -- most of the rappers kick a verse or two and they often go on tangents and happen upon some interesting topics even if they aren't really about the "craft" of rap, as the title suggests.Well worth watching if you're a hip-hop fan, and a nice companion to the "How To Rap" book.