Tale of the Tape (2024) on Netflix

Plot summary

Before platinum and gold success, the DJ's placement within his mix was what measured a rapper's worth. In the late 1970s, with record labels not yet treating rap as a legitimate art form, Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc and Africa Bambataa taped their performances and customized mixes for the New York fans who followed them, covering costs and seeding a street-based culture. The mixtapes those DJs made grew more popular and more needed while hip hop fought for acceptance in the mainstream. Mixtape veterans, recording artists and industry insiders give interviews about the part the format played in the growth of the music and in the careers of its lyricists.