Aesop Rock

It’s glaring, gnashing teeth before the bite. It’s furtive glances and heart palpitations. It’s the penultimate beat of silence before it jumps out at you. It’s catching a spectre out of the corner of your eye, only to realize it was you all along. It’s exorcising the language of dominion.

Copyright Criminals examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and (of course) money. This documentary traces the rise of hip-hop from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry. For more than thirty years, innovative hip-hop performers and producers have been re-using portions of previously recorded music in new, otherwise original compositions. When lawyers and record companies got involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a “copyright infringement.” The film showcases many of hip-hop music’s founding figures like Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Digital Underground—while also featuring emerging hip-hop artists from record labels Definitive Jux, Rhymesayers, Ninja Tune, and more.

Skateboard film from Element Skateboards. Sequel to Elementality: Volume One. Featuring Nyjah Huston, Bucky Lasek, Bam Margera, Mike Vallely and Jeremy Wray.

Feature documentary that showcases the close-knit ties between the Hip Hop Music community and America's social and political policy in the last 30 years.

Short TV documentary on Hip Hop company Def Jux and its members