Veteran rapper and actor T.I. is collaborating to release a new film on trap music, along with renowned producer Drumma Boy and others. The documentary short is entitled The Birth of Trap Music, and will premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival on April 25.
According to the film’s website, The Birth of Trap Music “explores how the architects who created the genre captivated the entire world, forever influenced the way music was made, and became a movement that gave the forgotten voices a platform to be heard.”
“Look, man, before it was just a pop culture buzzword, the trap was our reality,” T.I. said to Variety. “It was survival. We took the struggle of life beneath the poverty line in the Crack Era, set it over some organs, snares, synths, hi-hats, and heavy 808s, and gave a voice to the voiceless. The Birth of Trap Music ain’t just a documentary, it’s our history. Period.”
T.I. and Drumma Boy star in the film in addition to serving as executive producers. Also starring in the documentary is Don Cannon, Young Dro, DJ Toomp and many others. “The Birth of Trap Music is bigger than a documentary series—it’s a cultural time capsule,” said Drumma Boy of the film. “I wanted to bring the architects, the innovators, and the voices of the streets together to tell the real story of how trap was born and how it changed music forever. This project is about honoring the sound, the struggle, and the legacy we built from the ground up. To have legends and pioneers all in one place, speaking their truth—that’s history you can’t recreate. That’s what this project represents.”
The Birth of Trap Music is directed by Christopher Scholar, who is also a Grammy-nominated songwriter. Scholar is also on board as an executive producer with Book Studios, joining other producers in Brodrick Haygood of Moon Howler, Keithian Sammons of WorKs Entertainment Group, Bevin Brown of Booc Studios, Andre Lipscomb of Theory of Four Films, and Patrick MacDonald of 25/7 Management.
For more information on the documentary and the Atlanta Film Festival, check out the festival website here.
