The New Step (Early Dubstep & Grime Documentary) (2003)

One of the posters over at Grime Forum kindly threw this up on Youtube the other day.

Originally aired in 2003 on BBC Radio 1, and featuring interviews from Plastician, Oris Jay and even a then 17 year old Benga, it gives an interesting insight into the birth of 8 bar/early Grime and Dubstep. Highlights also include challenging Benga to make an 8 bar riddim in 10 minutes on Music 2000 for the Sony Playstation.

It's great to look back on the scene in 2003, and to see how it's developed over the past 10 years.

Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap

 

 With the exception of classics such as Wildstyle, The Freshest Kids, Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme, or even the UK's own Pioneers documentary, there are very few Hip Hop features that have been worth watching, or at least given a detailed insight into the culture.

Directed by Ice-T, Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap follows the journey of rap through its progressive eras to shed light on its growth into a globally dominating force. With appearances from Eminem, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, Nas, KRS-One, Snoop Dogg and Doug E Fresh to name a few, this looks like it'll be an interesting and solid documentary.

The film is currently slated for a June 15 release in the US. Check below for a few teasers...

Real Scenes: Bristol (Video)

Resident Advisor have just started a short series of videos, focusing on various cities/music scenes. Kicking things off with a feature on Bristol's Dubstep and House scenes, this video includes interviews with the likes of Pinch, Peverelist and Appleblim, as well as Hyetal and Julio Bashmore. The filming and editing on this is superb.

Oh, I didn't even know until watching it that Rooted Records has sadly closed its doors too. It's crazy to think that when I lived there in '02 to '05, there were a whole wealth of record spots throughout the city. Sad times.

Via Bass Music

Stussy - J Dilla Documentary (Parts 1, 2 & 3)

Here are all three parts to Stussy's documentary on J Dilla's life in Los Angeles...

You check out the Stussy website for the full feature.

"ZIG" Season 3 - Teaser 1 (Video)

Tonytruand is back with another season of "ZIG", which focuses on the battle scene. This time around it's the 2008 DMC World Championships; the same year in which Fly won the showcase, and my boy Switch won the Battle For World Supremacy for the first time. Expect to see a lot of turntablist action, interviews, and random afterparty antics.

"Bad Meaning Good" UK Hip Hop Documentary (Video)

"Bad Meaning Good appeared on the BBC back in 1987 and has gone on to become a seminal document of the fledgling London Hip Hop scene. Shown here in its entirety, it features Tim Westwood, as well as key fingers in the scene at the time. Check out a baby faced Trevor Nelson!"

Sipho's beatboxing was way ahead of its time!