Hip Hop Matters
Politics, Pop Culture, and the Struggle for the Soul of a Movement
S. Craig Watkins
- From
- its
- humble
- beginnings
- in
- the
- Bronx
- to
- its
- transformation
- into
- a
- multibillion-dollar
- global
- industry,
- hip
- hop
- has
- stirred
- constant
- and
- contentious
- debate.
- Avoiding
- the
- simple
- caricatures
- that
- either
- celebrate
- or
- condemn
- this
- powerful
- movement,
- S.
- Craig
- Watkins
- produces
- one
- of
- the
- most
- thorough
- accounts
- of
- hip
- hop
- yet.
- Hip
- Hop
- Matters
- delves
- deeply
- into
- the
- phenomenal
- world
- that
- hip
- hop
- has
- created
- and
- comes
- up
- with
- a
- portrait
- that
- is
- as
- big,
- brave,
- and
- vibrant
- as
- the
- movement
- itself.
- Readers
- see
- the
- brilliance
- and
- blemishes
- of
- hip
- hop's
- entrepreneurial
- elite
- and
- also
- discover
- a
- thriving
- digital
- underground,
- hip-hop
- inspired
- literature,
- young
- political
- activists,
- and
- the
- movement's
- own
- intelligentsia.Watkins
- punctuates
- this
- meticulously
- researched
- book
- with
- revealing
- anecdotes
- and
- astute
- analysis
- of
- the
- corporate
- takeover
- of
- hip
- hop,
- the
- culture's
- march
- into
- America's
- colleges
- and
- universities,
- and
- the
- rampant
- misogyny
- threatening
- hip
- hop's
- progressive
- potential.
- He
- also
- offers
- revealing
- portraits
- of
- some
- of
- hip
- hop's
- most
- intriguing
- personalities-Sylvia
- Robinson,
- Grandmaster
- Flash,
- Chuck
- D,
- Jay-Z,
- Hype
- Williams,
- and
- Eminem-and
- influential
- brands-FUBU
- and
- Def
- Jam.Ultimately,
- we
- see
- how
- the
- struggle
- for
- hip
- hop
- reverberates
- in
- a
- world
- bigger
- than
- hip
- hop:
- global
- media,
- racial
- and
- demographic
- change,
- the
- reinvention
- of
- the
- pop
- music
- industry,
- urban
- politics,
- the
- moral
- and
- public
- health
- of
- young
- people,
- and
- their
- relentless
- desire
- to
- be
- heard
- and
- respected.It
- is
- the
- spectacular
- convergence
- of
- these
- and
- other
- issues
- that
- makes
- hip
- hop
- one
- of
- the
- more
- compelling
- stories
- of
- our
- time.
- Which
- people
- and
- what
- forces
- are
- vying
- to
- control
- a
- movement
- that
- has
- become
- a
- lucrative
- pop
- culture
- industry
- as
- well
- as
- an
- insurgent
- voice
- for
- the
- young
- and
- the
- disenfranchised?
- Watkins's
- incisive
- and
- timely
- book
- decisively
- answers
- the
- question
- and
- shows
- why
- now,
- more
- than
- ever,
- hip
- hop matters.
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