RAPproject.tv

our new site is www.RAPproject.tv

2007-03-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

If your reading this you've stumbled upon our old site and blog. For the new (and improved, at least we think) www.RAPproject.tv be sure to visit
www.RAPproject.tv
see you there.
peace,

"Say 'ello to my little friend!"

2006-10-25T05:08:00.000-07:00

I had mixed feelings buying the latest "Platinum" Edition DVD of Scarface that came out a few weeks back. Wasn't I down this exact road a couple years ago buying the new "Anniversary" Edition DVD. Was this another shameless double-dip (or in Scarface's case - triple dip) by the studios to continue to capitalize on this incredible flick? Well quite frankly, it does appear so. But I can honestly say after bringing the DVD home and watching it - there are considerable improvements to the picture and especially the audio with this new edition. Universal really went to work to beef up this new print. The action sequences and gunshots really pop off my speakers. There are some new special features in this edition - best of which I found to be an on-screen counter of how many times "fuck" is said and how many bullets are flying (funny shit during the final shoot-up as the bullet counter has trouble keeping up) and one of the best features continues to be "Origins of a Hip Hop Classic" as almost every playa' in the game give thought to the cultural impact of Tony Montana. There's no question this was one mighty influential flick on the Hip Hop community. Which leads me to wonder why in the last few years so much talk in the media is concerned with how Hip Hop may inspire a gansta lifestyle -- but little attention has been made to what has inspired rap.

Ghost Dog - A real hip hop movie

2006-10-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

I actually might have been influenced by some of the advertising on the channel today. I saw "The Last King of Scotland" - starring Forest Whitaker playing evil dictator Idi Amin. A wicked movie. I have to confess that while I had heard of this Idi Amin character before, I just knew of him as this evil dude - but didn't really know the details of his place in history. Whitaker brings his serious A-game to the role and captures the complex personality of Amin brilliantly. I can't see how he won't get an oscar nomination for the role. My only complaint with the flick was this b-story it was telling with this Scottish doctor. The movie seemed to deflate anytime Whitaker wasn't on the screen. We had to highlight on the channel another Whitaker performance of a few years back - in GHOST DOG. If you haven't seen this flick then your missing a classic that merges the gangster and hip-hop genres in a way that many of today's films can't begin to do. A film that knows how to lay down a serious hip-hop score (respect, RZA) that enhances the beauty of the film - and not just for the marketing of a single or crew that too many of today's movies only try and do. I recently saw the Ghost Dog DVD at HMV for ten bucks. A worthy addition to the collection.

RAPproject.tv is Launched!

2006-10-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

We're finally up and streaming some video for you. Our official broadcast site is still a few weeks away - but this teaser site should give you an idea of the type of urban programming we're going to offer. Documentaries, comedy, behind the scenes of cool movies, music videos will be a lot of what we'll be showing on RAPproject.tv - We can't forget our Canadian roots so will be showing off some of the great talent this country has to offer. And we do expect to hear from you, our audience about what you feelin' about the channel and what your hating on' So we hope you do enjoy a few of our vids and we give you one more reason why you'll never have to watch that shitty old TV again. Peace.

Rap Project politics

2006-04-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

It certainly was no surprise to have the rap artists that appeared in the Rap Project documentary in attendance at the ReelWorld Film Festival premiere. But I was surprised when a local politician, City Councillor Michael Thompson said we would come. You see, I interviewed (or should I say ambushed) a few prominent politicians for their opinions on the rap-violence debate. I figured politicians would have no trouble implying (or just outright saying) that rap music does have some direct influence on the gun crime. Sure enough, they didn't disappoint. When city councillor Michael Thompson last year suggest randomly targeting young blacks for gun searches, it set off a firestorm of criticism against him. I figured that this story point should work its way in my doc. One could say the Councillor Thompson doesn't necessarily come off too good in my doc (at least too an audience of rap artists and fans.) So while I thought it was cool that Councillor Thompson would attend the premiere. I have to admit I was a bit nervous how he would react to his scene. In the end, Councillor Thompson was really cool and liked the doc and congratulated me several times (I think a few parts even enlightned him.) When I asked him how he felt about how I edited him -- he reminded me that he was an elected public official and completely understood that he too can be a media target. I got to give big props to Councillor Thompson for attending the premiere (two other politicians not only didn't attend, they didn't even write me back.) As I have come to know Councillor Thompson better and see what he has been doing to understand the gun problem in Toronto (including being a key figure in bringing Rev. Rivers to Toronto) I am beginning to believe he may be one of the better guys in elected office.

It's done.

2006-04-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

We finally finished The Toronto Rap Project doc today. The final sound mixing was complete and I finally feel confident that we're going to have a pretty cool doc screening at ReelWorld this week (ok, I admit.. I may not be the most objectionable person to ask.) But ask any cats that personally know me and they would say I can be a pretty critical mofo on myself. So if I'm feeling good about the doc - that's a pretty good sign right there. Is it a perfect doc? fuck no. But considering it went from idea to finished cut in about four months, I'm really happy with it. Like I've been saying... if you laugh a few times during viewing the doc, groove to a cool beat or two, and think about a complex issue in proper context, then we did our job. And I think the doc accomplishes that. But I guess the final test will be at the ReelWorld screenings this week. I certainly do wonder... How will an audience react? I'll be sure to blog about it in the coming days. I would also like to add here it's been great to hear the positive reactions we've gotten to the video we've been posting on-line. Over 3,000 computers have downloaded the different preview trailers and I've really felt some love about the work. Has every email I've received been positive? obviously not. So I want to clear up one common thing I've heard from a peep or two. The Toronto Rap Project principally features rappers and stories from a few specific areas of Toronto. Jane-Finch, Cataraqui Park in Scarborough, and the downtown core. I am well aware that dope rappers from other challenged areas of the t-dot exist and we would have loved to travel all around Toronto and get more stories. But the reality of making this doc just didn't support this. You just can't get to everybody and everywhere. There just wasn't the time and budget. I know great talent exists in Regent Park, Brampton, Rexdale, and many other hoods' of Toronto. Could I have featured more rappers throughout the doc? Probably. But my gut feelings when crafting documentaries has always been it's better to tell one or two stories very well then try to feature a whole bunch of people in random soundbytes. It just doesn't have the same impact. I hope when you get a chance to see The Toronto Rap Project you will agree. I will also add here that it wasn't that we didn't try to interview rappers in other neighborhoods. We met with a few top T-dot emcees that probably anybody reading this blog would have heard of (and I am personally a fan of.) But for various reasons we just couldn't get to a point where an interview could occur. I certainly understand the few groups that declined to be involved with the rap project. Shit, if I saw these white dudes from the burbs come into my neightborhood with camera's blazing trying to interview me (especially before anybody had heard of this doc) I'm pretty sure I would tell me to fuck-off too. But you know what they say... there's always the sequel.

Toronto Rap Project premiere on April 20th.

2006-03-23T18:30:00.000-08:00

So today was an interesting day. It was the press conference to announce the ReelWorld Film Festival. For those of you not keeping score, this is the film festival in Toronto where my documentary, The Toronto Rap Project will makes it's premiere on April 20th. The ReelWorld Film Festival was founded by Tonia Lee Williams to celebrate racial diversity in films. If you don't know who Tonia Lee Williams is, the quickest way for me to describe her would be to say "she played the hot black doctor chick on the Young & the Restless." I'm still a little shocked to realize that my doc will premiere at this festival. I've certainly heard about the ReelWorld Film Festival over the years. But I have to admit I always thought you had to be a black director to have your film screened at ReelWorld. I mean, I'm a white Jewish dude from the burbs. Stupid me... It turns out ReelWorld is about the celebration of racially diverse people in front or behind the lens. So as a white dude filming black people rapping -- I'm in ReelWorld. Back to the press conference today... When we were invited to the press conference a couple weeks back, I figured it would be cool to bring out some of the rappers that appear in the Rap Project. So I called up Blacus Ninjah to invite him to the PC and in doing most rappers proud, ends up showing up to the press conference with a sort of mini-entourage that included his brother Nkrumah, 5 Deutsche emcee Kastro, and a few other people. Suddenly, The Toronto Rap Project doc had a crew at the conference. It didn't take long before some of the TV cameras started to focus in on us. It was cool to see CTV's e-talk daily show feature some shots from the Rap Project doc tonight including the opening titles.

"When I first met Bob, I used to sell him weed."

2006-02-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

While I consider the first part of the Toronto Rap Project basically wrapped and I am currently working towards finishing an edit for The Reelworld Film Festival world premiere... I still cannot resist the opportunity to interview a subject I think will add to the story. So when I saw that British documentary filmmaker Don Letts was to be honoured in Toronto, I figured it was time to pack up the gear and head out. Don Letts was a big player on the scene during the seventies explosion of punk in the U.K. From his DJ gig at London's Roxy Club where the likes of the Sex Pistols, Clash, and Generation X broke out - to Don picking up the Super 8 camera which would eventually provide the pinnacle documentation of the emerging scene. I wanted to find out what similarities there were with the emergence of the punk scene and it's effect on British youth to today's hip-hop climate in Toronto. Just like the establishment wants to point the finger of blame at 50 Cent here, there was an element of society, circa seventies London, that tried to stop the likes of Johnny Rotten and The Sex Pistols. It proved to be tougher then first thought trying to get an interview with Mr. Letts. I don't know what it is today, but with almost any notable person out there.., there just always seems to be the entourage of people ready to tell you that "Don, is all booked up with media requests now and won't be able to speak to you." In my usual fashion of not taking "no" for an answer (at least until I hear "no" from the person I'm after... not their bitch boys or publicists.) I was eventually able to catch up to Don and pleaded my case for an interview. Don quickly saw the merits of the rap project and in appreciating my "punk spirit" of guerilla filmmaking techniques - he granted me some precious time for an enlightening (and sometimes combative) interview. When early in the interview the topic switched to Lett's first meeting with Bob Marley, and Don quipped, "the first time I met Bob, I sold him weed." - I knew I was in for a treat.

Blacus Ninjah interviews REV. Rivers

2006-01-23T04:55:00.000-08:00

After the last story, I thought I should also post a still from the doc that has Blacus Ninjah stopping Rev. Eugene Rivers as he is leaving Driftwood Community Centre in Jane-Finch.

a Toronto miracle?

2006-01-21T18:26:00.000-08:00

Rev. Eugene Rivers is widely credited with what many have termed "The Boston Miracle." Like what Toronto is feeling today, Boston had a surge in gun violence in the early nineties. Rev. Rivers helped create a strategy to reduce gun violence in Boston that saw a peak of 152 murders in 1991 drop to just 31 a few years later. So what do community leaders look to do now that gun crime in Toronto has reached "crisis" numbers - place a call to the good Reverend. So after we pony up a fee of $25,000 does Rev. Rivers drop everything and make an emergency stop in the T-dot. (authors note: I'm not suggesting that Rev. Rivers wasn't deserving of the twenty-five grand, quite the contrary. After seeing mass media exposure Rev. Rivers brought to the cause and the way he was hustled around the city, in the end, his price seemed cheap.) There was no rest for the guy. This dude has to be pushing 60 and they had him addressing city hall, walking the hoods' looking for gang-bangers, and sermonizing at a local Church. By the last day when the Toronto Rap Project finally caught up with him in Jane-Finch - his voice was almost shot. It proved tougher then first thought getting Rev. Rivers on camera sharing his feelings about the whole rap-violence debate. It wasn't that the Reverend didn't want to talk. Believe me, this was a man who was never a loss for words. It was that they had so many speaking engagements to drag him to. And the mainstream media seemed to always be following right behind. So it was a great surprise when one of the star subjects of the Toronto Rap Project - emcee Blacus Ninjah called late one night to tell me that he was set to meet Rev. Rivers early in the morning as Rivers was coming to Jane-Finch. I knew this was going to be the best chance for an interview as the mainstream press were not informed about the Reverend's visit to Driftwood Community Center. Rev. Rivers was still being rushed about with his Toronto publicist telling me he wouldn't be able to stop and answer my questions. But this time, I wasn't taking "no" for an answer and figured the best way to get the Reverend answering a question was not for me to ask it -- but Blacus Ninjah. So after Rev. Rivers briefly addressed the Jane-Finch community and was being whisked away to his next appearance, Blacus stopped Rivers mid-flight and got the Reverend talking about gansta rap, 50 Cent, and the breakdown of the nuclear family. All perfect stuff for the documentary. And all in about two minutes under the watchful eye of our cameras.

Hustle & Flow

2006-01-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

I watched for the second time tonight, Hustle & Flow. I can now say conclusively that it's one of the best movies I have ever seen dealing with the rap game. Almost a masterpiece (I had some issues with the ending). In a world that urban based movies have become almost parodies of themselves and crap like 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' is supposed to represent the urban genre - it's amazing to see a moving so dripping in realism, sweat, and a true interpretation of the black experience in America. But it's even more than that. Hustle & Flow trancends the rap genre and becomes a story so much more universial. It's about telling "your" story creatively. In the end, thats probably what I appreciated most. Terrence Howard turns in a incredible portrayal of a pimp turned rapper that you will root for (and feel sorry for) in the end. I read that Howard was bitchin' that he only made acting scale of something like $25,000 for the Hustle role and his other great 2005 acting turn in Crash. But after these performances and buzz it won't be long before he's pulling down Jamie Foxx type numbers. Another shout-out has to go to Ludacris, who's proving he can flat out act as when he's on-screen the movie sizzles (like Howard, also following up a great role from Crash.) I know every rapper seems to think he can act, and after painfully sitting through almost anything Dre, 50 Cent, and even to some extent Snoop attempts to act in - Ludacris is seeming the real deal. To Mr. John Singleton - a director I once so admired and respected, you have gained a measure of respect back in my books, after the embarrassment that was Four Brothers, it's nice to see you haven't totally lost your sense of whats real as you fought to bring Hustle & Flow to the big screen. To the twenty studios that passed on financing a film like Hustle & Flow, but willingly write checks to bring something like "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" to audiences - your place in hell is secured.

A loss of innocence?

2006-01-04T03:00:00.000-08:00

More then a week later its interesting to see Toronto's boxing day shooting still the talk of the news. It's certain to become the watershed crime event of 2005. But why has this one touched such a nerve? I can't deny that this one even feels different to me. I happened to walk by the exact scene of the shooting a mere hour before it went down - I was just up the street in HMV on Yonge when the shots rang out. My first thoughts leaving the store and seeing what was happening - was to run the fuck home and get my camera. Not sure how this would weave into my documentary story, but I knew street visuals this good don't pop up too often. It probably wasn't till a few days later while editing The Toronto Rap Project when it hit me -- has one of the core themes of the doc changed? I went into making the documentary because I felt Toronto was getting a bad rap, that the media was over-sensationalizing the gun crime in the city and giving everybody the sense they were not safe anymore. At that time, I certainly felt very safe in the city. It's probably wrong to say it -- but maybe I felt detached from the gun violence because it wasn't happening in my neighborhood - but in hoods' that felt worlds away to me. It's ironic that a few times during filming the documentary I mention "not feeling the need to dawn my bulletproof vest." After boxing day, I'm not so sure anymore.

Shootin' (a scene) at 50 Cent

2005-12-22T02:03:00.000-08:00

Just to keep the frightened middle classes updated... the 50 Cent concert in Toronto went off without incident. (editors note: I can't claim authorship of that first sentence. It was a brilliant start to the always excellent music critic for the Toronto Star - Ben Rayner -- about the only journalist in this city that's been able to bring some sanity to all the ink being spilled writing about linking rap and Toronto gun violence.) What better place to shoot a final scene for The Toronto Rap Project then the much debated appearance of 50 Cent. Yes, security was very tight entering the building (something on par with boarding your standard aircraft) but I guess it's better to be safe then sorry? Nice to see our Police and security resources so gainfully employed in patting down all the white, suburban kids attending the show. And yes, that was the dominant demographic present on this night. We managed to interview many people as they were leaving the show, with the question on everybody's mind, "Does seeing a fiddy concert make you want to fire a gun?" The answers may surprise you...

Don't Blame Fiddy

2005-12-19T16:18:00.000-08:00

We did another great interview for the Toronto Rap Project this weekend. Lawyer/Professor/Journalist Alan Young. Alan decided to share his thoughts on the recent 50 Cent controversy in Canada with a piece in NOW Magazine. I really liked a lot of what Alan had to say and figured he would be a great fit for the doc. Unlike so many other journalists who just don't get rap, Alan was in a unique position to comment on the issue. In the early nineties Alan worked one of the few legal cases in Canadian history when rap music actually found it's way into our courts. A London, Ontario music store was brought up on obscenity charges when it was discovered it was selling a banned 2-Live-Crew album. Alan defended the store owner. While he eventually went on to lose the case, Alan can't help but a see deja-vu with the whole 50 cent controversy and so-called gansta imagery of his music. Like the 2-Live-Crew case, Alan once again can't understand why extreme forms of black culture are a target for media and activists but an artist like Quentin Tarantino movies play in our theatres and nobody says boo. I'll be the first to call Tarantino a genius but I'll even admit that any violence depicted in one of his movies is a hundred worse then anything fiddy has ever shown. But in our world, Tarintino is the genius and 50 Cent the villain. You can only wonder why?

A Criminal Mind

2005-12-11T14:59:00.000-08:00

A big day of interviews for the Toronto Rap Project. It started early in the day when I see that the Reelworld Film Festival is having a screening of "Redemption: The Tookie Williams Story" starring Jamie Foxx. I had actually wanted to see this film as Tookie has been so in the news lately with his scheduled execution for this Tuesday December 13th. I find the case quite fascinating and I am very curious what the end result will be this Tuesday. Will Governor Swartznegger save him? It's a tough case... while I can't say that I'm a believer in the death penalty -- it is the system in that part of the U.S. and NOT killing him would set a strange legal precedent. I do find it ironic that they finally have somebody that seems to have been rehabilitated by the system and is now preaching positive words towards troubled youth, and what are they going to do with him... is kill him. Gotta love that U.S. criminal system. With that said, my real excitement for the screening is when I saw who was going to be the guest speakers. When I saw that Toronto rap legend "Maestro" Wes Williams and CITY-TV reporter Dwight Drummond were scheduled to speak - I knew this would be a great opportunity to try to interview these cats for the Toronto Rap Project. Of course, a blizzard hits Toronto early that morning and I begin to wonder would anybody even show up for the screening? Would it be cancelled? I get to the theatre and Maestro shows up early so a great opportunity to introduce myself quickly arose. I have to admit that I can get a little nervous approaching "celebrity" names - especially people that I want so badly for the documentary. But things got comfortable very quickly with Maestro (Wes) and he was really into hearing about the documentary project. It wasn't long before Wes said "no problem" to an interview. After the film, there was some media gathered interviewing Wes and some of the other speakers about the film and Tookie. All I could see was the light was really dingy in the theatre with lots of background noise. I knew this wasn't the place for the interview. By now, while still quite cold... the sun had come out and I knew the best place for the interview would be outside. I do feel a little guilty about asking Wes to stand outside for 20 or 30 minutes in the freezing cold doing an interview. But what can I say? We're real low budget and the right light is outside. Thankfully, Wes was real cool and had no problem with going outside. In the end, it was a great interview hearing the insights of a man who's been in the urban music game fo so many years and hearing his thoughts on the T-dot. But the real surprise of the day happened a little later over lunch with Wes. We head over to Harvey's to grab a bite. And while chatting about the different music I'm planning for the doc, I mention I would love to use some of Maetro's music.. but there's no way I'm going down that road - that is, dealing with record companies or publishing companies on licensing music for the doc. It's just ain't in the budget (not to mention I'm not in the mood to deal with the bureaucratic bullshit that goes along with licensing music). I say to Maestro, "that Criminal Mind song you did with Larry Gowan was fuckin' great. Another brilliant sample to use -- I could only dream about using such a track in my project. " without missing a beat, Maestro says.. "go ahead. use it." I couldn't fucking believe it. It turns out Maestro owns the masters of this recording and there ain't no fucking record companies to deal with. I think Maestro appreciated one artist to another just trying to create the best thing possible. So right now, I'm feeling the pressure to edit something great given the opportunity to work with such a cool song.