Major Hip-Hop Artists Turn Up On “Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap” Soundtrack

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment will release the original motion picture soundtrack from Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap as a digital-only album available Tuesday June 12th.

An official selection at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, the new hip-hop documentary directed by Ice-T, is distributed by Indomina Releasing and opens in theaters Friday June 15th.

A hip-hop icon and insider, director Ice-T was granted unprecedented access to rap’s greatest artists. In his film, Ice-T takes his audience deep into the heart and soul of rap music in a revelatory documentary featuring the direct participation of a mind-blowing roster including Dr. Dre, Run-DMC, Kanye West, Chuck D (Public Enemy), Eminem, Nas, Ice Cube, Rakim (Eric B & Rakim), Snoop Dogg, B-Real (Cypress Hill), KRS-One (Boogie Down Productions), Redman, Doug E Fresh, Salt (Salt-N-Pepa), Afrika Bambaataa, Big Daddy Kane, Bun B (UKG), Chino XL, Common, DJ Premier (Gang Starr), Immortal Technique, Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs), Marley Marl, Dana Dane, Joe Budden, MC Lyte, Lord Jamar (Brand Nubian), Grandmaster Caz (Cold Crush Brothers), Kool Moe Dee, Lord Finesse, Melle Mel, Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest), Raekwon (Wu-Tang Clan), Ras Kass, Royce Da 5’9? (Bad Meets Evil), Treach (Naughty By Nature), WC (WC & The Maad Circle), Yasiin (formerly known as Mos Def) & Xzibit.

A groundbreaking musical film weaving together interviews and performances, Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap offers insightful, touching, and often funny revelations alongside classic raps, freestyle rhymes, and never before heard a cappella straight from the creators. Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap edifies and celebrates an original American artform that dances alongside rock & roll as the music of a generation and the authentic sound of the zeitgeist.

Covering The Art of Rap ‘s “Head-Bopping Premiere” at Sundance, The Hollywood Reporter’s Jay A Fernandez noted “a more bumpin’ crowd than Sundance usually sees…. Stocked with rap artists and hip-hop fans, the audience spent much of the documentary head bobbing and breaking into applause….The Documentary Premieres film, which was co-directed by Andy Baybutt and produced by Paul Toogood, takes a detailed look at how the best rappers of the last 30 years do what they do….elaborate(s) on their processes, their inspirations, their influences, their favorite rhymes and their philosophies about rapping’s place in the world of art. The movie intersperses urban imagery from stops in the South Bronx, Detroit, South Central, Harlem and L.A. with a huge sampling of hits from the last 35 years. Along the way, each rapper takes time to honor those who came before. Throughout the film there are multiple insights and a generous helping of laughs….what they focused on was the new, which materializes in freestyle raps that each of the subjects lets flow on-screen. During the Q&A after the screening, Ice-T said that from the beginning they wanted the raps to be ‘nothing you’ve ever heard before’ and found nowhere else but in the movie.”

Official Tracklisting – digital only soundtrack album
1. Ice – T – Freestyle (Live Acapella)
2. N.W.A – Straight Outta Compton
3. RUN-DMC – Sucker M.C.’s (Krush-Groove 1)
4. Eric B. & Rakim – Follow The Leader
5. KRS One – Freestyle (Live Acapella)
6. Big Daddy Kane – Raw
7. Nas – The World Is Yours (Explicit Album Version) – Explicit Content
8. Gang Starr – Full Clip
9. Immortal Technique – New Jack Hustler (Live Acapella)
10. Wu-Tang Clan – As High As Wu-Tang Get (Explicit Version) – Explicit Content
11. Das EFX – Real Hip-Hop
12. Melle Mel – Freestyle (Live Acapella)
13. Schoolly D – P.S.K. ‘What Does It Mean’?
14. Ultramagnetic MC’s – Ego Trippin’
15. Ras Kass – Bentleys & Bitches (Live Acapella)
16. Mantronix – King Of The Beats
17. Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock – It Takes Two – Explicit Content
18. Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force – Don’t Stop… Planet Rock (LP Version)
19. Lord Jamar – The Kid Magic (Live Acapella)
20. Q-Tip – Vivrant Thing (Club Mix)
21. MC Lyte – Cold Rock A Party
22. Public Enemy – Harder Than You Think…Just Like That
23. Grandmaster Caz – The Art of Rap (Live Acapella)