LimeWire Music Blog

How many times have your favorite hip-hop joints been crafted using a sample from a song from another artist? I can name plenty. Matter of fact, I struggle to name tracks that don’t contain a sample at all. A string section from this song, horns from that record. You know how it is. Set to examine the relationship between hip-hop and sampling, the PBS series Independent Lens will feature Copyright Criminals, a movie that will showcase the effects and consequences of sampling music in the genre.

Hosted by Maggie Gyllenhall, Independent Lens will present the film on January 19 on the PBS network. Featuring artists like Public Enemy and De La Soul, the documentary will primarily focus on the practice of sampling and its impact on copyrights, creativity and technological changes within the music. The film will be the first of three hip-hop related films to be featured on Independent Lens.

Following Copyright Criminals will be Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, a look at gender roles in hip-hop and rap. The movie features interviews with Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D, Jadakiss, Russell Simmons and young women from Spelman College and will air on January 26th. P-Star Rising, a movie centered around a father and daughter as they pursue the young girl’s dream of becoming a successful rapper, will air on February 2nd.