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BOOKS you need to buy today
Be the hip hop 411 in your neck of the hood
Back in the Days
Jamel Shabazz Fab 5 Freddy Fab 5 Freddy (Introduction)
Back In The Days documents the emerging hip-hop scene from 1980-1989 - before it became what is today's multi-million-dollar multinational industry. Back in the days, gangs would battle not with guns, but by breakdancing. Back in the days, the streets - not corporate planning - set the standards for style. Back in the days, Jamel Shabazz was on the scene, photographing everyday people hangin' in Harlem, kickin' it in Queens, and cold chillin' in Brooklyn. Street styling with an attitude not seen in fashion for another twenty years to come, Shabazz's subjects strike poses that put supermodels to shame - showing off Kangol caps and Gazelle glasses, shell-top Adidas and suede Pumas with fat laces, shearling coats and leather jackets, gold rope chains, door-knocker earrings, name belts, boom boxes, and other designer finery. For anyone who wants to know what "keepin' it real" means, Back In the Days is the book of your dreams.
Bomb the Suburbs: Grafitti, Race, Freight-Hopping and the Search for Hip Hop's Moral Center
William Upski Wimsatt
From the Publisher
Bomb the Suburbs Graffitti, Race, Freight-Hopping and the Search for Hip Hop's Moral Center William Upski Wimsatt In this blockbuster word-of-mouth, underground classic, William "Upski" Wimsatt attacks the whole idea of the suburb as "an unfortunate state- of-mind.., founded on fear, conformity, shallowness of character, and dullness of imagination." Upski uses his coming of age in the Chicago break dancing and hip hop scene as a springboard into a totally original discussion of american identity. Bomb the Suburbs is a brilliant dissection and advocacy for a real alternative, using art, parody, reportage and downright good writing.
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
William Irwin (Editor) Mark Conard (Editor) Aeon Skoble (Editor)
From Our Editors
If you're a fan of The Simpsons, then you've probably quoted the show at least a million times to your friends. But did you ever stop to think that there might be some heavy thoughts behind that sidesplitting dialogue? In this enlightening -- and entertaining -- book, you'll learn what mischevious Bart has in common with Nietzsche, the "bad boy of philosophy"; how Maggie's silence speaks volumes according to Sartre; and why Marx would think The Simpsons is the ultimate way to poke fun at society.
Vibe History of Hip Hop
VIBE, the voice of the hip hop generation, presents the essence of hip hop. Music, fashion, movies, videos, and business: it's all in this brilliant tale of cultural revolution that spans race and gender, language and nationality. The definitive history of an underdocumented music genre, The Vibe History of Hip Hop tells the full story of this grassroots cultural movement, from its origins on the streets of the Bronx to its explosion as an international phenomenon. Illustrated with almost 200 photos, and accompanied by comprehensive discographies, this book is a vivid review of the hip hop world through the eyes and ears of more than 50 of the finest music writers and cultural critics at work today, including Danyel Smith, Greg Tate, Anthony DeCurtis, dream hampton, Neil Strauss, and Bonz Malone.
Hip Hop Divas Vibe Magazine
From the Publisher
It’s time to stand up, take notice, and give props to the women who have made their mark on hip hop culture. Although superstars like Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, and TLC are some of the most popular entertainers in the world today—each having sold some 20 million albums apiece—the dramatic rise of women to the top of the hip hop industry has never been chronicled before. The revolution was decades in the making, with the female pioneers fighting for a place in the hip hop boy’s club, confronting sexist attitudes, and grabbing their piece of the commercial pie while taking hip hop to new creative heights. Now VIBE, the preeminent hip hop magazine, celebrates this pop culture explosion with a book of thoughtful essays, stunning photographs, and informative timelines and sidebars.Some of the best writers on hip hop profile the grassroots efforts of hip hop’s first ladies to the hottest stars of the moment. Emil Wilbekin, editor in chief of VIBE, Mimi Valdés, Danyel Smith, dream hampton, Greg Tate, Sacha Jenkins, Harry Allen, Selwyn Hinds, Cristina Verán, and many others come together to reveal how these women continue to play a powerful and integral role in the hip hop world.
Hip Hop America
Nelson George George Nelson
From the Publisher
Nelson George has been part of the hip hop world since day one, and he offers an insider's tour through a multimedia phenomenon of which rap music is only the audible manifestation - from the Sugar Hill Gang through Public Enemy, Sister Souljah, and C. Delores Tucker to Puff Daddy. His themes reflect those of hip hop itself - drugs, fashion, incarceration, basketball, entrepreneurship, technology, language. He recounts the troubling way in which Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and Wall Street followed the leads of beverage companies and sports promoters who embraced hip hop in their bid to reach not just young black consumers but all young people. He looks at the motifs of violence and misogyny for which it is condemned, at the myths and realities of crossover, and at accusations that hip hop is merely the newest form of blaxploitation. George turns hip hop over and looks at it as a music, a style, a language, a business, a myth and a moral force, and when he's done it's clear why this book is not called The Death of Rhythm & Rap. Far from being the most marketable pathology in the world, as its critics have feared and sneered, hip hop has a dynamic energy and a message that plays directly across the map of the mainstream - which is why it has held its steady grip on American popular culture against all odds for over 20 years.
The Dying Ground: A Hip-Hop Noir Novel
Nichelle D. TrambleFrom the Publisher
Billy: dead. Felicia: missing.None of the words made sense together, but the doom I'd expected announced itself. I felt iron in my mouth, like I'd gargled with pennies, a taste like blood, a bitter taste that always followed bad news.
The setting is Oakland, 1989; the crack epidemic is at its height and turf wars are brewing. Maceo Redfield, currently on hiatus from college, is walking a fine line between respectability and involvement in Oakland's drug underworld. As he waits in the neighborhood barbershop, one of his closest childhood friends, Holly Ford, brings him the news of the murder of Billy Crane, the third member of their childhood trio and a successful drug dealer. Felicia, Billy's girlfriend and Maceo's true love, is on the run and suspected of setting up the hit. As he searches for Felicia and the answer to the mystery of Billy's murder, Maceo is drawn deeper into a world in which dealers, players, and interlopers, obeying a code of honor all their own, engage in a deadly game to capture the heart of Oakland. When Maceo uncovers the truth about Billy, the story builds to a terrifying and painful climax.
