Ice T gave industry elites and bloggers a sneak peak of his new film, The Art of Rap, last night (May 30) in the Tribeca section of New York City.

The documentary features commentary from hip-hop veterans like Grand Master Caz, Afrika Bambaataa, Rakim, Snoop Dogg, MC Lyte, Nas, Yaasin Bey, Run DMC, Ice Cube, Cypress Hill and Eminem to name a few.

At the conclusion of the film, Ice did a Q&A with the audience to discuss the production process of the movie, as well as give his thoughts on the current state of hip hop.

"I believe that if you're a true artist, you have to show respect,” Ice-T said. “It's like a jazz musician and I'm gonna disrespect Miles Davis. You can't just can't step into an art form; you can't play basketball and have no respect for Michael Jordan or Dr. J. That's part of the game.

“Everyone starts out as a fan,” the rap legend, turned actor continued. “No one's born a rapper. So to come into the game like you're not a fan, that's fake. My agenda wasn't to do anything, but document the part of rap I was involved in, my peers, the people I know about. I think the thing about this movie, the reason people will go see it, is each one of these artists has sold a million records. It's like come see the stars; come see people you admire.”

The Art of Rap will be in theaters on June 15.—Chanel Clark

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