Neff was working on a book about hip-hop in the Delta when she met Top Notch two years ago.
"I had DJ'd hip-hop when I was living in San Francisco, and I had sort of worked my way backwards to learning about the blues," Neff said. " So I knew there was a connection between hip-hop and the blues, and I was looking for someone to talk to about that."
After she met Top Notch at a local juke joint, the rapper performed a freestyle rap for her, and Neff was blown away.
"He performed his rap, and it was just amazing," she said. "He was so talented. I just knew I had to work with this guy."
Neff was convinced by her advisor at UNC, Bill Ferris, a Mississippi-born author who has written about the blues, to make a film about Top Notch. Fellow student Brian Graves agreed to work with Neff, and Neff asked Top Notch to co-direct the film as well.
"Top Notch is a director of the film, so it shows Clarksdale from a Clarksdale resident's view, which is something that doesn't happen very often," Neff said. "He gets to have a hand in his own representation, and I get his feelings on everything."
The crew shot the documentary for the entire month of July, focusing not only on music, but on all aspects of the rapper's life.
"A lot of documentary crews come down and spend a day or two, but they don't stay a whole month," Neff says. ""We took shots of him in church, with his mom, going to work, performing with his group. We wanted to give a lot of context to where his music is coming from."
The documentary also draws parallels from hip-hop to more traditional forms of Delta music, featuring music and interviews from bluesman Terry "Big T" Williams and gospel singer Martha Raybon.
"We are showing the connection between all different kinds of expression in the Delta, showing that although rap might sound different, it's got a lot of connection to forms of music that have been around for a long time," Neff says. "All the music that's in there, the gospel, the blues, and the hip-hop, is all so good. Even when they're not performing, we still have their music underneath the shots, so there's music throughout the entire movie."
The film also touches on the economic hardships facing the Delta.
"We wanted to show that even though there's a lot of adversity, people in the Delta are still making beautiful things," Neff says. "Top Notch is a good example of that, because he's been through a lot, and the music he makes is really positive. He is a really special person."
Top Notch says he has seen the documentary and is happy with the results.
"I was well-pleased with how she and Brian caught the image of Mississippi," Top Notch said. "It mainly focuses on my life, where I grew up, my family. It goes into who Da Fam is and what we're trying to accomplish as a rap group coming out of Mississippi.
"The one thing I want people to get from it is understanding. It's something that's for real. It's my point of view on how I grew up in Mississippi."
Timothy "Small Tyme" Williams, another member of Da Fam, says he too is pleased with the film.
"They did a great job on it." Small Tyme says. "People will get to see where Top Notch comes from, what he's been through, and get a glimpse of how Da Fam got started and what we're trying to pursue. It's showing what people are going through to make it in the music industry."
Ali Neff says the premier at Delta Cinema will be an event in itself.
"This is going to be Clarksdale's first-ever red carpet premier," she says. "Everybody's going to dress up, and I think people will really like it. We're showing it in the community first; nobody else has seen it."
Neff says she hopes the film will resonate positively with those who see it.
"I hope people will be proud of the wonderful art that the young people in Clarksdale are making," she says. "I hope that people who have preconceived ideas about what hip-hop is will have their definitions expanded. And maybe people will listen more closely to what these young people have to say, because it's really positive and it's really beautiful."
"Let the World Listen Right" will premier 7:00 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 7 at Clarksdale's Delta Cinema, 11 Third St., with free admission.
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