First of all as a massive hip hop fan, this is a dream ride down the roads of hip-hop with behind the scenes anecdotes that delight. The basic argument of this four-part documentary is to narrate the history of hip-hop from underground to mainstream. The musical roots, the dance and turn-table magic are fascinating to the lover of record scratching, bboy breakin, and MC rhyme. To learn the names of the movers and shakers, to see the faces, to get a little glimpse of the record industry behind early hip-hop is important and fun for the fan.
Although race isn't a main drive behind the storyline, the black roots of hip hop are emphasized again and again, sadly, in a uniform way that doesn't show the international and bi-racial heritage of many of the first artists. There is a strong nod to the Latino pioneers, but no spotlight shined their way. I would have loved to hear about the Haitian influence in hip hop and the early rappers recording in French. Who knew the co-founder of Def Jam records was a white college kid with a gift for baselines and producing beats? The documentary includes the names and faces of many of the early movers and shakers. And although it seems to be trying to steer clear of polemical race arguments, the issue of race is a central part of the narrative, but the diversity and subtlety is underdeveloped.
Despite all the well-researched history and interviews with hip-hop pioneers, if the point of the documentary is to narrate how hip-hop moved from Brooklyn streets to rappers who are bigger than pop-stars, it lacks intellectual honesty by not even mentioning some of the most famous artists who helped move rap into mainstream culture. To absolutely ignore DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, MC Hammer, and Vanilla Ice reveals a bias that says, "Let me tell you the story of real rap. And even though we are framing our conversation in terms of rap becoming popular culture, we're going to ignore the biggest cultural icons in rap history." Of course it can't all be said, but aside from the Beasty Boys and Run DMC, sadly nearly all the early mainstream breakouts like Salt- n-Peppa, the Fat Boys, Tone Loc, Young MC, Kid n Play, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Digital Underground, and Rob Base who paved the way for the Hip-Hop Evolution weren't mentioned.
The documentary hits the nail on the head when it marks the Chronic as a turning point in the widespread appeal and appreciation for or at least fascination with hip hop, but for the mainstream kids who had been on the hip-hop edge for a long time, it's sad to hardly see any of the songs that we recorded off the radio—because our moms wouldn't let us buy them—make it into the documentary. More than just nostalgia though, the mainstream kids who were buying NWA and gangster rap had already bought into the rap genre the year before listening to "Parents Just Don't Understand." And the mainstreams kids listening to the Chronic could recite every line from the title song to The Fresh Prince of Bellaire.
Despite the glaring absence of a few key pieces in the Hip Hop Evolution, this documentary is a must see and was an enormous aid with regards to writing my essay and creating my Hip Hop pioneers film trailer.