Continuing our theme of exploring far-flung and diverse hotspots of music, here’s a healthy dose of viewing material to tide us over between our hours’ daily exercise and ‘necessary’ trips to the shop (separate, of course). With its close relationship to technology making it a particularly translatable medium and focus of lyrics and imagery that ‘keep it real’, rap music has been embraced as a form of expression for a spectrum of communities and identities and these documentaries shed light on the environments and stimuluses that produced them. Be it Iron Mic 2017’s dense chronology of freestyle battle rap in China or The Guy That Makes Noises’s simple ode to the breath of fresh air that MC Flirta D brings to the UK grime scene, for all of these artists music not only exists in the intangible dimension of sound but a direct window into their varied and brilliant weirdness. So kick back, un-mask and engage in a spot of cultural tourism from your lockdown location of choice.
Sol
Europe, Australia & North America:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoUAyk9Op5Y&list=PLWb3Myrd0SaU6dh30VkOM-_GKTSUFzkfk&index=3&t=0s ONEFOUR: Australia’s First Drill Rappers – Australia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn-70oSrLgA – Don’t Call It Road Rap – A Noisey Film – UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXFQsnbN0NQ NOISEY Blackpool: The Controversial Rise of Blackpool Grime – UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tioWaKF0t3w Noisey Birmingham: The Unstoppable Rise of Birmingham Rap – UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBfRpGSztac&t=1606s Flirta D: The Guy That Makes Noises – UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01mWcxhwxhU GRIME: The Documentary | History, Legacy & Culture of the UK’s Golden Underground Music Scene – UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2pQPVAavKA From Pirate Radio to Mainstream – Grime Story! – UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn8tB7wdhbY Mini Documentary: Digga D’s Backstory + What Happened To Him? – UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kti-8RNEtVA&feature=youtu.be Soft Boy Forever: An Irish Hip Hop Story – Ireland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVUyn7WBtRo Numero Zero– Italy [clip]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po7h__cl1ak Meet France’s Toughest Rappers – France
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNjbnQmb6vE Bad Rap (Asian-American Rappers)– US
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qS8dDH2KX8 Fresh Coast: The Documentary (West Coast Battle Rap) – US
Middle East:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-R8S7QwO1g Palestine Underground (Boiler Room) – Palestine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV9h0meoQMQ NOISEY Lebanon (Full Length): Can Hip Hop Help Combat Religious Extremism? – Lebanon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sah0rI2mXsY 961 Underground: The Rise of Lebanese Hip Hop – Lebanon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8bWDcW6kYw Noisey Films presents: Hip Hop in the Holy Land – Israel / Palestine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWDnUeF9xk4 Channels of Rage – Israel / Palestine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnGt2n-eDQU I Love Hip Hop in Morocco [clip] – Morocco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTBryOTpOjI Grünt Tour #1 : Casablanca & le rap marocain – Morocco
Asia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vC2hvHa9T0&t=1327s How The Next-Gen Of Asian Hip Hop is Taking Over The Music World | Asia Rising – Asia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIrEBuF556g [clip] Show Me the Money (Rap Series) – Korea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaQx3UvAXSw Why Are Korean Teenagers Obssessed With Hip-Hop? – Korea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FrigB3W4eY Iron Mic 2017 | A documentary of Chinese freestyle rap – China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1LbwdjQK1g The Rap of China (Rap Series) – China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs2zUv98IG4 The Rise of Trap Music in China (Chengdu) – China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLHmo95OD9g Chinese Rappers Take on the Surveillance State – China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfgbNXBjVnE Full Circle: Grime In Japan (Boiler Room) – Japan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn36uJvwIvA – Rising From the Tokyo Projects – Japan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6RPbgkbIjo How The Birth Of Japanese Audio Technology Changed The World – Japan
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1385473388252259 Kya Bolta Bantai? The Rise of Mumbai Rap (Trailer) – India
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baIiTl6eM7M&list=WL&index=10&t=0s Prabh Deep, Seedhe Maut And Azadi Records Are What Indian Hip-Hop Needs – India
https://www.redbull.com/int-en/tv/film/AP-1TE4PK9292111/mark-grist-battles-the-world Mark Grist Battles the World (Battle Rap)– Phillippines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUk_ZaZjuW0 Exploring Singapore Beyond Mustafa With Rapper Yung Raja – Singapore
Africa:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKhGLH3DygE 100% Galsen– Senegal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD7z_jwI2rw Hali Halisi– Tanzania
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4bqGVYShlw Kwame Dame Hillstreet Documentary – Ghana
IORI 