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.

Photo Credit: thecomeupshow, via Flickr

If you want to show the world your stuff, KingIce.com has a contest on that you ought to know about. KingIce.com sells hip-hop jewelry and accessories, but they’re looking for some great, fresh rap beats. They’re offering a top prize of $1,000 in a contest you can find out more about on their website. If you’re looking to break into rap, or you’ve got some beats that the world should hear, put your best beats forward.

Sonic Producer Can Help

If you’re ready to make a statement in the rap world, Sonic Producer can help you get heard. Sonic Producer is a one-of-a-kind beatmaking software package that you don’t want to be without. Sonic Producer is with you all the way, whether you’re an experienced rap artist or just starting out. Sonic Producer has something for everyone.

Aside from its great features, like a 16-track built-in mixer, Sonic Producer comes with a full library of tutorial videos to show you not only how to use the program but also how to make the beats that people want to hear! It’s a great tool for beginners who want to stand out on the rap music scene.
Sonic Producer has everything you need. You don’t need to buy a lot of additional equipment or rent expensive studios to get professional sounding rap beats and recording capabilities. Sonic Producer is available for both the Mac and PC platforms, so you don’t have to buy more computer gear or miss out on such a great program!

Sonic Producer also comes with a large library of royalty-free samples that you can use with your raps. Royalty-free is the key when it comes to making rap beats. You can spend thousands of dollars licensing rap beats from other artists, but with Sonic Producer, you have a complete library available to you all the time and without having to pay additional fees to use them.

When you buy Sonic Producer, the video tutorial library and the library of samples are included in the price you pay for the software. The sample library alone may save thousands! Better still, you can do whatever you want with the beats – use them for your own personal sound, record them, sell them, distribute them or perform live using them. The sample library is yours!

Sonic Producer also lets you export your music to MP3 and distribute your sound around town. Sonic Producer is a stand-out product. Download your copy today!

Photo Credit: PhotoDu.de, via Flickr