Somebody scream! : rap music's rise to prominence in the aftershock of black power /
Marcus Reeves.
- First edition.
- xii, 320 pages ; 24 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-295) and index.
Generation remixed: post-nationalism and the Black culture shuffle -- The new Afro-Urban Movement: rap redefines the voice of America's chocolate cities -- Black pop in a b-boy stance: Run-D.M.C. -- Stumbling through black power revisited: Public Enemy -- Niggas selling attitude: N.W.A -- R-e-s-p-e-c-t in PC land: Salt-N-Pepa -- Gangster chic: Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg -- The myth of thug power: Tupac Shakur -- Ghetto fab rising: the Notorious B.I.G. and Sean "Puffy" Combs -- The ice age: Jay-Z -- Dog eat dog: DMX -- Vanilla nice: Eminem -- Keep on-- to the break of dawn.
From the Publisher: "A strong and timely book for the new day in hip-hop. Don't miss it!"-Cornel West. For many African Americans of a certain demographic the sixties and seventies were the golden age of political movements. The Civil Rights movement segued into the Black Power movement which begat the Black Arts movement. Fast forward to 1979 and the release of Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight." With the onset of the Reagan years, we begin to see the unraveling of many of the advances fought for in the previous decades. Much of this occurred in the absence of credible, long-term leadership in the black community. Young blacks disillusioned with politics and feeling society no longer cared or looked out for their concerns started rapping with each other about their plight, becoming their own leaders on the battlefield of culture and birthing Hip-Hop in the process. In Somebody Scream, Marcus Reeves explores hip-hop music and its politics. Looking at ten artists that have impacted rap-from Run-DMC (Black Pop in a B-Boy Stance) to Eminem (Vanilla Nice)-and puts their music and celebrity in a larger socio-political context. In doing so, he tells the story of hip hop's rise from New York-based musical form to commercial music revolution to unifying expression for a post-black power generation.