If hip hop music means anything to you, especially if you've lived through the last 30 years of it, this documentary will mean a lot to you. VH1 gives us the definitive chronicle of hip hop from its beginnings in 1974 with DJ Kool Herc's block parties in the South Bronx to today's infusion in all parts of the country. This could not have been put together any better. I read a review somewhere that said "What PBS did for the Civil War, VH1 does for hip hop," and I think that's pretty accurate. The makers of this film treat the topic with as much reverence as Ken Burns does for "Baseball." While it won't get the credit it deserves, this probably ranks as the second-best documentary of 2004 right behind "Fahrenheit 9/11." The greatest thing about this film is how it shows the evolution of the music with vintage footage and interviews with just about all of the movers and shakers. Even for someone who thinks they know everything there is to know about hip hop, you will learn something. Thank you to the people who took the time and put up the money to make this great work.
