A new scene of troubled, lo-fi young rappers has emerged from Trump’s America, utilizing the SoundCloud streaming platform to quickly become the most culturally disruptive force in hip hop, shocking the world with their rambunctious antics, prescription drug use, facial tattoos, and rebellious punk energy. We examine the SoundCloud rap scene’s biggest stars from within the culture as well placing them in the broader musical context in an attempt to understand how we arrived here and where we are headed.

For thoughts on American Rapstar, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/ImgGgdw3z7M?t=3965]

Video Quality

American Rapstar comes to Blu-Ray from Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome with a stellar high definition master which presents this perfectly. This feature primarily consists of newer interviews along with sporadic older clips and pictures to help round out the history of this scene. The talking head interview segments look incredibly crisp and clear with natural skin tones and some highly detailed facial features. Modern material shot backstage at festivals and other places outside of this controlled setting are likewise sharp and detailed with only a small amount of variance to account for the location. Any older footage seems to be derived from the most stable sources possible, most of which looks great since we mostly stay in the last decade or so of music. The colors featured in the footage have an pleasing sense of vibrancy to them. The transfer does not feature anything in the way of compression artifacts or digital nuisances of the sort. This is a film that thrives in high definition.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray disc comes with a formidable DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures every facet of this film effortlessly. This is largely an interview showcase with a plentiful amount of talking heads to complement the candid footage and footage on stage. Dialogue is the star right up front in the center channel as you get these anecdotes relayed in a controlled environment. The non-diegetic music and performances both come through with a natural fidelity that hits appropriately given the content. The surround sound presentation makes the experience more three dimensional such as the roar of the crowd at the concerts. There were no digital anomalies or other issues spotted. This track delivers in every respect. There are optional English subtitles provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Justin Staple provides a really great, free-flowing commentary track in which he gives additional background to his relationship with the artists, points out non-featured famous faces in the background, discusses the thematic structure of the film, gives updates on figures in the film, talks about footage he was unable to license from certain sources, expands on certain ideas and more that makes for an extremely rewarding listen. Highly recommended if you enjoyed the film.

Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Postcard

Final Thoughts

American Rapstar is a fascinating documentary which explores a burgeoning music scene that has permeated popular culture in an immeasurable way that has left outsiders a bit perplexed. Where this documentary excels is in the way it capably establishes the foundation of the scene and some of its biggest players, and then goes even further into some of the bigger questions being asked even by those in it themselves. The aim is not to denigrate the music, but rather investigate what the scene is offering to its audience, how the music business itself reacted to it, and what the impact is of such an extreme lifestyle is on those at the center of it. The construction is fairly conventional, but the information and access is expertly constructed in a way that is fascinating to fans and newcomers alike. Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome have released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and some rock solid special features. If you appreciate a great music documentary, give this one a shot. Recommended

American Rapstar is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Utopia & Vinegar Syndrome have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.