Hip-Hop's Ice Age

Soundcheck | May 3, 2010
The documentary Bling: A Planet Rock explores the correlation between hip-hop’s obsession with diamonds – “bling” — and 10 years of civil war in Sierra Leone. The film follows rappers Paul Wall and Raekwon and Reggaetón king Tego Calderón to Freetown, where they meet perpetrators and victims of a conflict tied to diamond mines. Also: Montreal-based band Patrick Watson earned nominations this year for some of Canada's biggest music prizes. As they invade the U.S., the group stops to perform in our studio. Plus: the battle over illegal downloading on campuses heats up.

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