12 Solid Documentaries About Hip-Hop And Rappers To Watch, Ranked

Director(s): Dick Fontaine

Release: 1984

Runtime: 54m

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A

The lowest-ranked documentary on the list isn’t here because it’s unenjoyable. It’s framed as a radio show hosted by a DJ speaking in rhymes, a nice touch that makes the recounting of hip-hop’s origins feel like an epic legend. The film does have a bit of an identity crisis, though. Split between interviews and raw footage of parties and performances, Beat This! is too much of a documentary to be fully immersive and too vibey to be incredibly informative. Still, it’s a cool experiment nonetheless.

Director(s): Doug Pray, Bonner Bellew

Release: February 15, 2002

Runtime: 1h 30m

Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (Critics), 93% (Audience)

Focusing on a fundamental but overlooked aspect of hip-hop culture is Scratch, a documentary about the history of DJing. This is a solid watch that digs into how DJ culture has thrived in its own lane since record labels shunted DJs at the start of hip-hop’s commercialization. Scratch flirts with some wider themes and DJ Shadow particularly drops some knowledge, but the film mostly exists as a straightforward report on this culture.

Director(s): Ice-T, Andy Baybutt

Release: June 15, 2012

Runtime: 1h 50m

Rotten Tomatoes: 86% (Critics), 77% (Audience)

Ice T’s documentary on hip-hop’s origins is a bright, starry affair. Through interviews with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), Kanye West, and so many more pivotal figures, Something From Nothing begins to interrogate the philosophical beginnings of the genre and where it stands in comparison to other black art forms. “Begins” is a key word there, as the documentary loses this thread as it progresses. However, the love for hip-hop oozes from this film, making it well worth a watch.

Director(s): Nick Broomfield

Release: 2002

Runtime: 1h 48m

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A

This investigative look into the deaths of Tupac and Biggie carries some of that true crime sleaze with it. Director Nick Broomfield has no qualms about barging into barber shops and putting cameras in people’s faces, making it seem as though he lacks appreciation for the culture he’s covering. However, the film presents the events of Biggie and Tupac’s lives in a more compelling way than either biopic, and it’s fascinating to see these stories told from different angles.

Director(s): Ava DuVernay

Release: August 30, 2010

Runtime: 42m

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A

Coming from director Ava DuVernay, who would go on to make such acclaimed films like Selma and Origin, My Mic Sounds Nice: The Truth About Women in Hip Hop is a recounting of women’s history in the often male-dominated genre. The film does a great job of showing lines of influence from woman MC to woman MC, mapping out almost 40 years of history in 40 minutes. Due to that contracted length, it doesn’t get to dive too deep, but My Mic Sounds Nice provides an astute overview of important—and overlooked—events and figures.

Director(s): Sacha Jenkins

Release: June 26, 2015

Runtime: 1h 24m

Rotten Tomatoes: 92% (Critics), 55% (Audience)

Another documentary full of starry talking heads. Artists like Nas, Kanye, and Pusha T discuss the world of hip-hop fashion, how certain trends rose up, and why clothes contribute so much to a rapper’s image. This has one of the widest spectrums of guests you’ll see in a documentary with rappers, fashion icons, pop culture experts, and African American history experts giving exposing their knowledge on the intersection of fashion and rap. Fresh Dressed is lighthearted, but it’s also interested in penetrating beyond the surface.

Director(s): Tony Silver

Release: 1983

Runtime: 1h 7m

Rotten Tomatoes: 80% (Critics), 95% (Audience)

Style Wars is a documentary that traces the arc of Black art forms through the journey of graffiti artists in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Interviews with both artists and stiff-upper-lipped New York City civil servants show how Black art is at first derided and condemned but later commercialized and integrated for profit. Style Wars is also perceptive in the way it interrogates the act of making art for art’s sake while in poverty and evading the law.

Director(s): Michel Gondry

Release: March 3, 2006

Runtime: 1h 43m

Rotten Tomatoes: 92% (Critics), 74% (Audience)

Dave Chappelle’s regression into a toxic person made the inclusion of this film tentative. Ultimately, I decided that erasing Dave Chappelle was not worth erasing an important cultural artifact. Few films on this list capture the specific state of hip-hop in the 2000s as well as this. They also don’t capture the genre’s ability to create community like this one does. On top of that, it feels sacred to see these legends occupy the same space. Kanye and Talib Kweli before they revealed themselves as awful people, Common and Mos Def dressed like part-time math teachers. This film feels nostalgic for a more innocent time.

Director(s): One9

Release: 2014

Runtime: 1h 13m

Rotten Tomatoes: 98% (Critics), 83% (Audience)

Documenting the creation and impact of one of the greatest albums ever made, Time is Illmatic is most interested in diving into Nas’ emotional inspiration. In a way, the film mythologizes his story. There’s a lot of talk of destiny and Nas’ belief in the path that led him to Illmatic. It works if you invest in those ideas, but a cynic would struggle with this. What makes it unique, though, is how little it needs to focus on the wider impact of Nas’ music, instead centering on the weight Nas had built up over the course of his life and the way he infused it into this legendary record.

Director(s): Adam Bhala Lough

Release: 2009

Runtime: 1h 15m

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A (Critics), 76% (Audience)

This documentary completely subverted my expectations. A fly-on-the-wall film giving us a peek into Lil Wayne’s life one week leading up to, and then one week after, the release of Tha Carter III could have been a dull, shameless ad for Wayne’s music. Instead, you’ll leave deeply concerned for the man. You see people around him who worry about his health and the way he acts when under the influence, all while Wayne is celebrating selling a million copies in a week. It’s a fascinating insight into the man without him ever speaking to the camera.

 

Image via Complex (Screenshot, Omar Acosta).

Director(s): Omar Acosta

Release: 2023

Runtime: 1h 26m

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A (Critics), 93% (Audience)

In the genre’s 50-year history, few terms have inhabited different meanings more than the word “mixtape.” This documentary dives into what a mixtape meant to the culture at different points in time, from party tapes to Spotify playlists. This all-star cast gives great insight into how essential mixtapes were to the careers of legends like 50 Cent and Lil Wayne, but also how they aided the globalization of hip-hop through their smuggling across country lines. Despite skipping over the impact of the blog era, Mixtape is endlessly informative and insightful.

Director(s): Holland Randolph Gallagher

Release: 2023

Runtime: 1h 40m

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A

Warmth and intimacy are rare currencies in filmmaking. If you can leave a documentary feeling less like you sat through an interesting lecture and more like you’ve spent a night talking with a friend over a few games of FIFA, then you’ve witnessed something special. May The Lord Watch draws you into Phonte and Big Pooh’s homes, hands you a cup of green tea, and regales stories about the formation of underground hip-hop, a melding of creative minds, and how life can get between the strongest of friendships. Its charismatic leads are supplemented by a cast of family, friends, and creative partners, gifting you the feeling of entering a community. Without breaking a sweat, May The Lord Watch has what every other film on this list wants.