Hip-hop is continually changing and evolving. In his new Netflix docuseries Rapture, director and executive producer Sacha Jenkins examines hip-hop as we know it today through the eyes of some of the genres biggest artists. The eight-episode series follows Nas, T.I., 2 Chainz, Rapsody, Logic, G-Eazy, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and Dave East -- lyricists with different legacies and at various stages of their careers. In his episode, Jenkins follows Illmatic legend Nas and his protégée Dave East. Fifteen years apart in age and from different boroughs in New York City, the two men speak about their respective come-ups and all they’ve encountered to get where they are today. Ahead of Rapture’s Netflix debut, Jenkins and I spoke about the series, how technology has transformed the music industry, and why artists must speak for themselves.
For Jenkins, Rapture was about looking at hip-hop from a new perspective. "I was a journalist writing about hip-hop for many years," he explained. "To see it first hand and to have the kind of intimate access that we had, I knew that was something that hip-hop could use right now. I know that hip-hop is the most streamed, most popular form of music in the world, and it's very easy for people to be into hip-hop just on the strength of the way it sounds, (and) the way it feels. But, I know as a native that there are so many things that get lost in translation, and I felt that a series like (Rapture) would give people a real window and therefore a deeper understanding of what hip-hop really means, (and) where it comes from."
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