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The Sundance Film Festival normally features independent films. Alongside the films, the festival also pays homage to the music that makes films so great. This year, the Celebration of Music in Film will feature hip-hop music for the first time in the festival’s 34-year history.

Top Hip-Hop Acts To Be Featured

Ice-T, Chuck D and Grandmaster Caz will perform at the Celebration of Music in Film. The performance is related to Ice-T’s documentary film, Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, which will also be featured at the film festival. The film will also showcase music from some of rap and hip-hop’s most enduring acts, including Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Ice Cube, KRS-One, Mos Def, Nas, and Snoop Dogg.

The festival will also feature live musical performances from artists whose music appears in films shown at the festival. This is the first year organized musical performances will be included. In the past, musicians performed at private parties that were related to, but not sponsored by, the Sundance Institute. This year, musical performances will be incorporated into the official festival program, with live performances from at least two artists per night.

Ice-T produced Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap to examine the musical genre. The film features interviews conducted by Ice-T with more than 50 rap and hip-hop artists who try to define what rap music is today and where it came from. The film tries to capture rap’s roots and share some musical history with a generation of rappers who may not understand the forces that brought rap music into the forefront.

In the film, Ice-T says that he had to make the film because rap made his life. Ice-T is just one more in a growing line of old-school rap artists who are concerned about the genre and where it’s headed. Dr. Dre, Eminem, Jay-Z and others have all expressed concern that today’s up and coming rap stars don’t understand what rap music is all about.

Ice-T is expected to perform in Park City, UT at the festival on January 21, and indicated in at least one interview that he may be joined by other rappers who are interested both in promoting the film and supporting Ice-T in his effort to preserve a bit of rap music’s history.

Ice-T had a significant career as a rap artist, beginning in the 1980′s. He also began his acting career at that time. In 2000, he appeared as a regular character on Law and Order, and has since concentrated primarily on acting. His most recent album, Gangsta Rap, was released in 2006.

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Four of the top new musical acts from 2011 deliver rap beats or hip-hop music to their growing cadre of adoring fans, according to Ace Showbiz. That’s a pretty neat answer to those who claim that rap music has lost its relevance somewhere along the way. Rap music is highly influential, and has been since it hit the music scene, and with at least 40% of the top acts being rap or hip-hop, rap music still has a long way to go.

Fresh Faces Dominate Fresh Music

The classic rappers are now the industry’s elder statesmen, as the second generation of rappers move into the music industry. Diggy Simmons is no exception. Son of Run DMC rapper Rev Run, Simmons is well on his way to his own claim to fame, hitting Ace Showbiz’s list at Number 3. Simmons isn’t new to the rap scene. He’s been self-producing and self-publishing his own music since 2009. 2011 is a breakout year for the young rapper, though. He hit the Billboard charts and peaked at number 21 with his first hit single, “Copy Paste.” He’s also received some professional recognitions from BET for his musical talent. He’s definitely on the “watch list” for 2012.

Entering the Ace Showbiz list at Number 6 is Tyler the Creator. Tyler the Creator – like Diggy Simmons – isn’t brand new to the rap and hip-hop scene. He broke in with Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them but that hasn’t stopped him from carving his own path to success. His major solo hit in 2011 was Yonkers – again a self-produced, self-published tune that stirred up a commotion by taking on B.o.B., Hayley Williams and Bruno Mars. The fuss was apparently worth it because the song hit number 9 on the Billboard Hotseeker chart and Tyler the Creator’s album, Goblin, hit the number 5 spot on Billboard’s Hot 200.

Mac Miller pulled a fast one on the hip-hop world by hitting the top album spot on Billboard’s Hot 200 with an independent label – Rostrum Records. That feat was first accomplished in 1995 by the Dogg Pound, and Miller’s Blue Slide Park is the only indie album ever to repeat that. Miller, at just 19 years of age, is certainly an artist to keep an eye on in 2012.

J. Cole rounded out Ace Showbiz’s list in the Number 10 spot. J. Cole had a lot of help from mentor Jay-Z, and it seems to have paid off for the young rapper – whose debut album hit the Number 1 spot. The top spot is a little more special because J. Cole is the first solo act to hit the Number 1 spot with his debut album since B.o.B. J. Cole was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2011.

The key takeaway here is that two of the four top acts of 2011 went the self-produced route. They are absolute proof that you can self-produce your own music and be highly successful at it.

If you’re into making rap beats, make your 2012 resolution one that includes self-producing your own music with Sonic Producer, one of the best music production software packages available today.

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Time Magazine recently named “The Protester” as its Person of the Year. The honor is a nod to the thousands of people across the country and around the world who have made their voices heard. This year, protesters have toppled at least three major Middle Eastern governments and have brought new energy to the political process in the United States. But what does Occupy Wall Street have to do with rap beats?

Rap Has A Place In Protests

Rap music mogul Russell Simmons thinks that protesting is a great way to make the common man’s voice heard and that the protests are giving life to a new kind of rap beat. In an interview with the Tri-State Defender, Simmons says that he supports protesters in their effort to draw attention to the special interests that seem to have lawmakers’ ears.

Simmons is no stranger to the political process, and has been involved in protesting laws that unfairly on unjustly target individuals while corporate crimes go virtually unnoticed. In addition, Simmons is now calling for campaign finance reform that eliminates third-party influence among elected officials. In the end, Simmons predicts an expansion of the OWS movement to encompass the majority of people who want to get back to the one-man, one-vote concept embraced by the Constitution in a way that ensures that corporations don’t wield too much influence over the outcome of elections.

Spoken word – a mainstay of rap music – is at the center of the protest movement. Rap music and rap musicians are using the OWS movement to build their own base of fans, expand their craft and get more people involved in making the voice of the common person heard.

Self-publishing music has never been easier than it is today. With great tools like Sonic Producer, you can start producing your own rap beats today. Sonic Producer is a remarkable computer program that allows you to build and distribute your own royalty-free rap beats using your personal computer.

Whether you use a Macintosh or a PC, Sonic Producer has you covered. You simply download the software and Sonic Producer’s outstanding video tutorials can help you get moving in the right direction fast! You don’t need any special equipment to get started. Use the computer you’ve got and download a copy of Sonic Producer. Sonic Producer comes with a library of royalty-free music, which you’re free to use and distribute. When you’re done making your beats, you can export them to MP3 and distribute them to your friends and fans. You can even sell the music without paying a dime in royalties. Don’t wait! Get your rap career in gear today!

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The 2012 Grammy Award nominations are out and many of the usual rap music suspects have been nominated for consideration. The award ceremony is set to air in February, and the nominations feature some classic rap artists against the industry’s young guns, along with a few surprises.

Something For Everyone

In the Best Rap Performance category, the nominees are:
• Black and Yellow – Wiz Khalifa
• Look At Me Now – Chris Brown
• Moment 4 Life – Nicki Minaj and Drake
• Otis – Jay-Z and Kanye West
• The Show Goes On – Lupe Fiasco

No major surprises but it’s notable that given the “Collaboration” category below, the Best Performance nods include two collaborations.

Speaking of working together, the nominees in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category are:
• All of The Lights – Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie
• I’m On One – DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne
• I Need A Doctor – Dr. Dre, Eminem and Skylar Grey
• Motivation – Kelly Rowland and Lil Wayne
• Party – Beyonce and Andre 3000
• What’s My Name – Rihanna and Drake

Recognizing standout rap music songs is one thing you can count on from the Grammy Awards. The 2012 nominees for the Best Rap Song are:

• All of The Lights – Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie
• Black and Yellow – Wiz Khalifa
• I Need A Doctor – Dr. Dre, Eminem and Skylar Grey
• Look At Me Now – Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes
• Otis – Jay-z and Kanye West
• The Show Gees On – Lupe Fiasco

The Kid Cudi nomination is a little unusual, given that Kid Cudi announced that he was leaving rap behind back in 2010. I guess he hasn’t gotten around to that, yet.

These nominees are a little disappointing, since these nominees were all recognized in either the Best Performance or Best Collaboration categories. There’s a lot more to rap music than just these tunes. The nominating committee could have done a better job on these categories.

Finally, the nominees for the Best Rap Album are:
• Lasers – Lupe Fiasco
• My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West
• Pink Friday – Nicki Minaj
• Tha Carter 4 (IV) – Lil Wayne
• Watch The Throne – Jay-Z and Kanye West

This list is also a little disappointing. There’s no nice way to say this: Lasers just doesn’t belong in this category. Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy definitely holds up to the hype and is poised (fairly) to win the category, but Pink Friday, which is mostly a C-level effort, ends up being, on the whole, only marginally better than the long-awaited Tha Carter IV, and not quite as good as Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne. The nominations leave out some more worthy contenders like Saigon’s The Greatest Story Never Told, Phonte’s Charity Starts At Home, All 6′s and 7′s by Tech N9ne and Royce da 5’9″ Success is Certain. Even Drake’s Take Care ends up being better than everyone nominated, except Kanye’s Fantasy.

If you’re thinking that you can do better than most of the nominees here, and you’re into making your own music, check out Sonic Producer and get your rap career in high gear!

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Iconic rap music artist Heavy D died unexpectedly on November 8 in Los Angeles. Heavy D, whose given name was Dwight Arrington Myers, collapsed as he was returning to his Beverly Hills home. He was rushed to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he died. Prior to his death, the rapper had complained of breathing problems and was diagnosed with pneumonia.

Unique Style Earned Heavy D A Place In Rap History

As Heavy D, Myers was among the most recognizable rap music acts of the 1980′s and 1990′s. His style was a mixture of reggae and swing, and his lyrics were free from profanity. Myers was the lead artist in the group Heavy D and The Boyz and first charted with their debut album, Living Large. The group recorded a total of five albums between 1987 and 1994, only the first two of which included Troy Dixon (Trouble T-Roy), who died following an accident in 1990. Eddie Ferrell (Eddie F) is the co-founder of Uptown Records, the label on which Heavy D and The Boyz released their albums.
After the fifth group album, Heavy D went on to a solo rap career, releasing four more albums, the last of which, Love Opus, debuted in 2011. Heavy D also performed live for the first time in 15 years at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards in October. Myers demonstrated that rap music artists could succeed with unique styles and approaches to lyrics. While many of today’s rap music artists rely on the shock of foul language, Heavy D’s lyrics were always clean, yet engaging.
Myers also worked as the president and CEO of Uptown Records, and was instrumental in the development of Mary J. Blige. Myers also hired Diddy Combs early in his musical career. Uptown Records, renamed Uptown Entertainment folded after Myers left the organization to pursue acting opportunities.
In addition to his work as a music producer and recording artist, Myers also made guest appearances on several television series, an off-Broadway play, had a recurring role on Boston Public, and occasionally acted in motion pictures. His last appearance on the big screen was in “Tower Heist,” released in the US just four days before Myers’ death. Myers also provided the theme music for several television shows, including In Living Color and MADtv. He also made guest appearances for Michael and Janet Jackson, BB King, and appeared in the video for One More Chance by Notorious B.I.G.
Myers was nominated for Grammy awards in 1992, 1995, 1997, and most recently in 2009, and also received four nominations for Soul Train awards, winning Best Rap Album in both 1988 and 1990.

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