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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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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There are rappers and then there are rappers. There seems to be no end to the ways in which rap music finds its way into the hearts, minds and cultures of the world. Rap music has played an important role in the “Arab Spring” protests in the Middle East, but its audience stretches farther than that. Rap music may have originated in the United States, but you’d be hard pressed to find a country or culture that hasn’t put its own spin on rap.

Where The Rappers Are

Rap music has an almost universal appeal, and it doesn’t seem to flinch, even in some pretty out-of-the-way places. Earlier this week, AP ran a story about Adil Omar, a Pakistani rapper who was discovered online by Cypress Hill as a 16-year-old creating self-produced music in his bedroom. Four years down the road, the enterprising rap artist’s music will be featured in a Pakistani movie, and his fan following is growing.

That’s hard to do in Pakistan, where Islamic fundamentalists have gone as far as to bomb stores in which Omar’s music is sold. You’ll also find rap music at the heart of the Arab Spring protests, largely because the music has the ability to reach a young audience.

The idea of self-publishing music was far-fetched even as little as 10 years ago. Today, you can find some excellent software tools to help you put together your own rap beats, make your own songs and get your own music published. What’s the interest in self-publishing music? For many musicians, the ability to get their music out is important.

Under the old scheme, a musician had to catch the attention of a music publisher in order to make music available to the people. The music publisher took the lion’s share of whatever was sold. In the process, they created a very unpopular system that not only screens new artists and prevents them from being heard, but they also took the artist’s ability to be compensated for his or her work.

Today, you can self-publish music using a computer and a great software package like Sonic Producer. With Sonic Producer, you’ll get a professional sounding mix and a full library of royalty-free samples you can use for anything you like. You can make your own music, experiment, develop your own sound or just goof around. You can also publish your own music, distribute your songs and get your message out to the world.

Download your copy of Sonic Producer today and start making your own music!

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A new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center indicates that rap music may intentionally or unintentionally promote brand name alcohol to rap fans, many of whom have not yet reached the legal drinking age. Rap beats and lyrics often feature alcohol by brand name, but do not often focus on the consequences of overindulging.

Study May Prompt New Look At Rap

For the most part, the artists choose which brands to mention in their lyrics, but on occasion, the lyrics are the result of a promotional connection between the artist and the liquor company. The connection between rap music and alcohol sales is somewhat tenuous, but there are those who believe that rap beats have an impact on consumer behavior. In 2002, Busta Rhymes and P. Diddy released the rap single, “Pass the Courvoisier.” In 2003, the company’s sales shot up by nearly 19%.

According to the study, the most often mentioned brands were Patrón Téquila, Grey Goose Vodka, Hennessey Cognac and Cristal Champagne. The producers say that the music doesn’t constitute advertising because they have not solicited the mention of their products in the song.

In the United States, it’s illegal to target liquor advertising to persons under the age of 21, and the rap beats raise the question of what constitutes advertising. According to the study, listeners are exposed to brand-name “advertising” through rap music on average 34 times per day. The connection between rap music and alcohol is clear, and some artists have stepped in to use rap music as a brand-name promotional tool.

Critics point to Jay-Z’s acquisition of a majority share of Armadale Vodka, and Snoop Dogg’s commercial work for Landy Cognac. It’s not the first time a musician has mentioned alcohol in its songs, but some critics want to make sure that rap music does not become a surreptitious advertising vehicle for liquor advertisements directed toward minors, in much the same way that Joe Camel became a target for the anti-smoking lobby.

The study focused on rap music that landed on the Billboard Magazine’s Top 100 lists between 2005 and 2007. The researchers analyzed the lyrics from 793 songs and found that more than one in five rap songs mentioned alcohol. Of those that did, nearly one-fourth mentioned a specific brand name.

How big is the problem? In actual numbers, about 5% of all of the songs in the study mentioned alcohol by brand name. In terms of sheer numbers, the problem doesn’t appear to be all that significant, but simple numbers don’t account for the popularity of the song, and how much impact a few songs or a few artists can have on consumer behavior.

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