Ytasha L. Womack,Kenji Jasper
Our generation made hip-hop. But hip-hop also made us. Why are suburban kids referring to their subdivision as â€œblockâ€? Why has the pimp become a figure of male power? Why has dodging the feds become an act of honor long after one has made millions as a legitimate artist? What happens when fantasy does more harm than reality?â€”,From the Introduction,Hip-hop culture has been in the mainstream for years. Suburban teens take their fashion cues from Diddy and expect to have Three 6 Mafia play their sweet-sixteen parties. From the â€œBoogie Down Bronxâ€ to the heartland, hip-hopâ€™s influence is major. But has the movement taken a wrong turn? In ,Beats Rhymes and Life,, hot journalists Kenji Jasper and Ytasha Womack have focused on what they consider to be the most prominent symbols of the genre: the fan, the turntable, the ice, the dance floor, the shell casing, the buzz, the tag, the whip, the ass, the stiletto, the (pimpâ€™s) cane, the coffin, the cross, and the corner. Each is the focus of an essay by a journalist who skillfully dissects what their chosen symbol means to them and to the hip-hop community.The collection also features many original interviews with some of rapâ€™s biggest stars talking candidly about how they connect to the culture and their fans. With a foreword by the renowned scholar Michael Eric Dyson, ,Beats Rhymes and Life, is an innovative and daring look at the state of the hip-hop nation.
Music,Hip Hop,Music,Nonfiction
Beats Rhymes & Life: What We Love and Hate About Hip-Hop