Ice-T has extended his reach over nearly every facet of the entertainment industry. He "s an accomplished rapper, with a 1991 Best Rap Performance Grammy in his possession. He "s starred on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" since the second season (it was just renewed for a 14th season last month) and he "s acted in a bunch of films, including "New Jack City." And last year, Ice-T released his memoir.

But the Newark-born musician had never directed a film - until now. In his documentary, "Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap," which opens in theaters on Friday, Ice-T chats with a ton of rappers about their craft.

amNY spoke with Ice-T, 54, about the film.

Why make a hip-hop documentary? I always wanted to direct films ... That was in one side of my brain. And I "m watching hip-hop and I "m seeing it become a little pop. And I "m thinking ... a lot of the people [don "t] even know where it came from. I just didn "t think people respected rap as an art form. This might be the right time to do a movie.

Were people eager to be in the film? I started calling my friends and said I wanted to do a film. I said I didn "t want to talk to them about the money, the cars, the beat, none of that - just the craft. And everybody was like, "Nobody ever asks us those questions."

What did you learn from making the film? I learned that making movies is hard. I learned that it "s different then making a record. It "s a lot of work. It "s a lot of people. My son was out there with me, and Coco. It "s just a lot of work making a movie, especially a low-budget indie where you don "t have that huge staff. Next time, hopefully I "ll have more movie! I won "t have to do anything! One of the cool things about the film is when the film comes on, you see the credits -- it ain "t a lot people.

What do you think about the hip-hop scene now? It "s oversaturated. When we did it, you got a bunch of kids rapping - nobody was getting any money so it was really, truly something fun to do. [Now] kids are looking at rappers with a lot of money [and] they want to rap because they see it as a way to get paid

What sort of response has the movie gotten? The response has been incredible. We only wanted to get to [the] Sundance [Film Festival]. The movie got bought the first day.

Is it warming people "s hearts that you "ve brought back some of the early rap stars? I think it "s warming hip-hop "s heart, not just mine. It "s my way of giving back. I want the culture to be proud of me.

amny.com