American Rapstar (2020)
A new scene of troubled, lo-fi young rappers have 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. What do these newly minted millionaire artists say about the state of youth culture today and the future of the music streaming economy? 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.
Director: Justin Staple
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Lil Pump as Self |
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Taylor Lorenz as Self |
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Ernest Baker as Self |
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Chris King as Self |
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Bigheadonthebeat as Self |
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Mama Bighead as Self |
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Bhad Bhabie as Self |
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Desto Dubb as Self |
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Lil Xan as Self |
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Charlie Rose as Self [Archive] |
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Chuck D as Self [Archive] |
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Sophie Kautz as Self |
| Production | Tyler Benz | Supervising Producer |
| Sound | Joel Kynan | Music |
| Production | Ali Brown | Executive Producer |
| Production | John Battsek | Executive Producer |
| Production | Braxton Pope | Producer |
| Editing | Pamela Rikkers | Archival Footage Coordinator |
| Production | Kerstin Emhoff | Producer |
| Crew | Michael Marius Pessah | Cinematography |
| Directing | Justin Staple | Director |