This documentary for the american Public Broadcasting Service is one of the best I have seen and covers a lot of different ground from the likes of RIP and Good Copy Bad Copy by looking at the issue through the lens of Hip-hop. It does well to maintain an air of impartiality, while demonstrating well the frustration of artists who spend years developing their creative process, only to be told it was illegal and sued. Now their creativity is considerably more limited and filled with worry than it was in the late 80s and eary 90s.
I particularly liked the comparison between samplers and photographers. In response to the argument that sampling is lazy and less artful than playing a musical instrument, the interviewee retorts that painting a picture is more artful than taking a photograph of something, but that doesn't stop photography being a powerful creative tool.
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