Customer Reviews

Beat Kings: The History of Hip Hop

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought that movie to get a better understanding, how Beat Procusers work, tick and what kind of gear they're using. Unfortunately the content of the interviews was more trash talking then serious discussions about the music and the business. The soundquality of the movie is just awful (especially music DVD's should provide a better standart of soundquality then a low low budget movie. Most interviews are recorded with the inbuild microphone of the camera, which doesn't do the job). More minus points gets the movie for beeing well short (about an hour), the DVD Menu's are as cheap as it gets.
For people who are willing to buy a serious Hip Hop/Rap/DJ documentary I would strongly suggest to buy the movie "Scratch" rather the the Beat Kings. Don't get blinded by the names appearing in the movie. Like I said, it's more of a bla bla bla. I give the movie only 2 Stars because of the Beatbattle as Bonus Feature, which is kind of a interesting contest, which was shorten to 15min... very said. Last but not least, the DVD case is useless as well. I watched the movie once, had to take a break every 10min, because I was getting a headache. As soon as think, "Jesus, that movie has to get better", the movie will be over. So my advice: Spend your money on a descent movie, that one is definitly not worth it.

This documentary does have top name producers in it.
The problem for me was it sheds very little light on how Hip Hop beats are made. The conversations are very general, and there is not enough in depth discussion on what equipment to use or beat making techniques. To give benefit of doubt to the film makers, maybe producers were not going to give up trade secrets on camera?
It might be good for novices but anyone who actually makes beats will be bored by this.

This DVD is a great inside look at the way producers put together creative concepts. Not just any producer, straight veterans. Those of us that know the sound of the Artists, the beatmakers, can appreciate the way they relay ideas and add to what one would have to already be innovatively thinking--an Artist would already have to be making beats to relate to what these veterans are communicating to the viewer. It is a must have for anyone seeking a career in production.

Peace and Respect,

JAW
www.plusworks.4t.com

I enjoyed this program. Good technical knowledge, although i agree with the other post that it is mainly for novices. However, everyone should know that it is not really about the History of Hip Hop. If you want a good DVD about the founders of hip hop and the history of how the music and culture came to be, you should check out Hip Hop Legends, also available on Amazon.Hip Hop Legends (Ws Dol)

Beat Kings is basically a movie on the history of some of the games best Hip-Hop producers, the history of some of them and what kind of machines they use in they're music.

The cool things this movie has is the conversations with the producers, even though some of them don't really go in depth with the producer, and they only shed basic light on what they did/do. Also shows some of the producers making beats, and talking about various machines.

Some of the bad things about the movie first of all is the length. Its only around 45-50 minutes long. It doesn't go that in depth, but for any hip-hop head I would recommend it since you could learn some things about producers that you didn't previously know.

Check it out, but if you decide not to, no worries because your not missing anything important.

3-3.5/5.

I had a lot of expectation about this one... for example, I thought I would see more in depth on how these amazing producers were using their equipment based on the previewings seen on youtube. I was expecting the producers to show how they deal with the mpc for example. They obviously did not have to reveal their secrets and formulas for making beats because artists like them come up with their own style and it takes a lot hard work to get there. Beat Kings speaks more about the hip-hop culture according to all the pioneers taking part in the DVD. I mean obviously they talk about the MPC and Sp 1200. But who does not know about those?

The Beat Kings is the first documentary(that I know of) about hip-hop production. As an underground producer, I found this movie very informative and interesting, as well as entertaining. It features tons of practical advice from the experts(Prince Paul, RZA, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, etc.) about the history and business of hip-hop production.