Book Description
His talent was unbounded, a raw force that commanded attention and respect.
His death was tragic -- a violent homage to the power of his voice.
His legacy is indomitable -- remaining vibrant and alive.
Here now, newly discovered, are Tupac's most honest and intimate thoughts conveyed through the pure art of poetry -- a mirror into his enigmatic life and its many contradictions.
Written in his own hand at the age of nineteen, they embrace his spirit, his energy...and his ultimate message of hope.
Customer Reviews:
WOW!!! WOW!!!.......2007-05-31
"The Rose That Grew From Concrete" by Tupac Shakur is simply a superb book. This book of poetry gave an insight to the intelligence and understanding that the late Tupac Shakur possessed. Most people who did not follow his music or know anything about him in general, like myself, would not think that Tupac Shakur would actually sit and write poetry that is meaningful or write about what is included in the world or in the government. But I was so wrong to think that way when I did not even know the man. This just goes to show that people should never under estimate others. "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" had me wanting more each and every time I turned a page. This book covers many subjects that will have an effect on you from the beginning to the end. I strongly recommend this book for others to read, because you will most definitely learn a thing or two from "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" by Tupac Shakur. I would give this book 10 stars* if I could. Again, "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" is magnificent.
Tupac is alive.......2007-05-09
Tupac's book of poems is important in considering his life. My favorite poem is "a rose that grew out of concrete". Why, you may ask? Well, I'll tell you...it has a great metaphor about a rose and the way it is able to grow and flourish even in the worst conditions. The concrete represents Pac's experience in jail and regardless of being in jail he was able to grow as a poet. I highly recommend this book because I think especially young people growing up the way he did will be able to see the life lessons and morals he has to teach.
Beautiful Poetry.......2007-03-19
This book is so inspiring. I bought this book about 3 years ago and I read it at least once a month it's that good! I even got a tattoo that says "The rose that grew from concrete'. Definitely check this one out!!
Great condition.......2007-01-13
I bought this as a gift. It was brand new and my friend loved the book. Would definitely do business with this seller.
Beautiful Poetry.......2006-11-12
This book is filled with very beautiful,thoughtful, stirring poetry. A must for Tupac fans.
Book Description
Carmen Bryan is no stranger to the rap world. Not only did she work at Def Jam and Capitol Records but she shares a daughter with hip-hop superstar Nas -- a relationship made extremely public through Nas's celebrity status, rap lyrics, and the ever-present media. Now, in It's No Secret, a strong, resilient Carmen bares all, telling her side of the story and leaving no detail unturned -- with the true candor and raw emotion of someone who has been there, done that, and survived.
From a clandestine relationship with Nas's biggest rival, Jay-Z, that stirred up the biggest feud in hip-hop history, to seeing her reputation in tatters and a once loving relationship with Nas fall apart, Carmen depicts her trying journey to become the strong woman and mother she is today. After years of turmoil that included drugs, sex, greed, and violence -- and abandoning what she had always prized above all, her freedom -- Carmen took a stand, focusing on herself. After years of pursuit by the media, Carmen sets the record straight in It's No Secret -- and has no regrets.
Customer Reviews:
listen up.......2007-09-14
I think it was a good book. I enjoyed it, the thing was I wanted to know more about NaS and not her, the only reason why I got it was b/c of him. since i'll never marry him I wanted to know what it would be like to be with him. I'll still take him though i know that. I read it in one day. but i do wish her the best. sometimes things dont always work out
not all that intersting.......2007-09-14
could have been better not interesting enough maybe if carmen slept around with more people this would sell more but not all that good so what nas beat her, both were guilty we all know nas was a male ho we know jay z is a male ho too we know kelis is a freak, hdell nas may have slept witrh beyonce before she started fooling with jigga what was her number doing in his pocket in hollywood and the music business everybody sleeps with everybody.
Strong Woman? No........2007-08-25
I sure am glad I got this book at the library and didn't pay any money for it because the time I spent reading it was a waste.
Strong woman? Not even close. Drama queen? Yep.
It is pretty easy to predict she will continue to live her life with the same behavior she describes in her book. Irresponsible.
BETTER THAN U THINK.......2007-08-23
THIS BOOK WOULD BE A FIVE STAR BOOK IF IT HAD COME OUT BEFORE SUPERHEAD'S BOOK.VERY INTERESTING
This Is Her Life Let Her Live.......2007-08-09
I will start off by saying I took along time to read this book. The reason being the reviews well I won't let that effect me again. This book
is a good read. I think the problem people have with it is because they are looking for another tell all like Karrine Steffans and this is not that type. She is telling the story base on her trial and tribulations in her life. Which happen to include some well known people. She is basically saying that her life is no differnt from anybody else she makes bad choices and she has to deal with it. I mean did anybody read her final words in the book where she says there are no victims or villians. Meaning everybody knew how the situations could turn out.
With that being said Everybody Get Over It.
To tell the truth people will probably be up set with Karrine new book if she doesn't drop enough names.
Book Description
Once the sought–after video girl, this sexy siren has helped multi–platinum artists like Jay–Z, R. Kelly and LL Cool J sell millions of albums with her sensual dancing. In a word, Karrine was H–O–T. So hot that she made as much as $2500 a day in videos and was selected by well–known film director F. Gary Gray to co–star in his film, A Man Apart, starring Vin Diesel. But the film and music video sets, swanky Hollywood and New York restaurants and trysts with the celebrities featured in the pages of People and In Touch magazines only touches the surface of Karrine Steffans' life.
Her journey is filled with physical abuse, rape, drug and alcohol abuse, homelessness and single motherhood––all by the age of 26. By sharing her story, Steffans hopes to shed light on an otherwise romanticized industry and help young women avoid the same pitfalls she encountered–– and if they're already in danger, she hopes to inspire them to find a way to dig themselves out of what she knows first–hand to be a cycle of hopelessness and despair.
Customer Reviews:
It was okay, but confusing at the same time .......2007-10-04
I know this book has been on the shelfs for a while. There is actually a second book that follows this one. I felt i had to read this book before I read Karrine's second book. The book is okay but it is all over the place. First her whole childhood story wasn't really convincing to me. I felt that she fabricated a lot of the stuff that she talks about her mother. The rape incident seem so unrealistic to me. I don't believe that whole part about other people watching her getting rape and not doing anything about it. Also i couldn't believe she remained friends with that girl after what happen. She constantly claims how she had low sef-esteem and how she always looked for love in the wrong places.One thing that stood with me was after sleeping with all these celebrities she would say, how she felt love and worth it once again.
Superhead whatever her name is, she was just too confusing for me. I can't believe that she put her child through so much and abandoned him numerous times in order to go with these rappers who didn't care about her. I think she put her self in those situations, i didn't feel sorry for her. i felt sorry for her son and i have to say Ray J. She lied to him and used him as her safety net. Overall the book is a quick read.
This Book Will Go Down In History.......2007-09-29
I am just getting the chance to write this review but I read it shortly after it was released. Karrine took us back to her childhood and helped us to understand the complex woman now called "Superhead." As in other reviews, I have never judged her.No one should. Who we may be quick to judge though are those people in the book who shield their past and demons. It was very interesting to divulge in the lives of many powerful (not only hip hop) figures. I did feel in reading the book that there is so much that she left out--no wonder no one has sued her. Many of them are sighing relief. Well besides "Big Tigger" which makes me wonder why HE'S so upset. If its "not true" Tigger--just move on...u guilty of something? Just wondering. Who also makes me cringe and want to judge is "Papa" otherwise known as Method Man. I'm sorry if I am spoiling it for those who haven't read Vixen Diaries yet but the fact that he called up to Hot 97 in a rage about how he doesn't know her only for us to find out it was him the whole time. It plays in my head "Why do I keep getting mentioned in the same sentence with this girl and I don't know her?" I have no respect for him whatsoever and being outed is what he deserved. Now you have a LOT of explaining to do Meth!! I imagine that he will not be making any appearances or doing anything in the near future in the sheer effort to avoid the "Superhead" question. Anywhoo--everybody should have a copy of this in your library. Just think 10 years from now your 16 year old son or daughter who is looking at these aged hip hop artists and even Karrine,can read and see who they really are--just normal people trying to figure things out in the world.
alright further proof that sex sells.......2007-09-14
karrine's my kind of girl she's into everything threesomes, prostituition, drugs you name uit she did it ain't nothing I can say that have'nt already beed said on here but there are some names I was hoping she drop like snoop, ice cube, nelly, master p, mack 10, ugk, too short, luke, maybe she did'nt have time for those good book lobve how she go into detailsd about dmx scratching her and barking while havinbg sex.
No doubt about it: She CONFESSED........2007-09-09
Poorly written novels irritate me greatly. Based on the life Karrine lived and the way she reacted to certain situations informs the reader that she isn't the most intelligent woman alive, but she did have Karen Hunter aid her with this book, so between the two of them, someone should have known how to write a decent book. However, in this instance, the poor vernacular isn't the most imperative issue here. What truly matters here is the fact that she was so unapologetically honest about many of today's hottest male celebrities. She was sexually involved with superstars such as Ray-J, Kool G Rap, Ja Rule, DMX, Jay Z, Shaquille O'Neal, Ice-T and Diddy. She was seemingly honest about her liaisons with these men, many of whom are married.
Karrine was able to get doors opened for her because of her good looks and amazing sexual expertise. In this book, she makes it clear that she has no love for her mother because her mother was not there for her. This may or may not serve as a contributing factor to why Karrine was so free with her body. She began her "career" as a dancer in hip-hop music videos. This opened doors for her; she was able to get into concerts and VIP at clubs. In the book, Karrine doesn't necessarily glorify the finer things in life, but one can easily imply that she enjoys them a great deal. She is very candid about her abusive relationship with rapper Kool G Rap and the fact that she was homeless. Before the book ends, she becomes a bit preachy and lets girls know that they should want more for themselves than to be a man's whore.
I truly enjoyed reading the book. It was difficult to put down once I became engrossed into it. If you can look past the poor writing, this book should be at least a little enjoying and/or intriguing.
JUICY !!!.......2007-09-09
Its not great literature, but its spicy and lurid. And I couldn't put it down! If you want a quick & easy read, than you will like Confessions of a Video Vixen.
Book Description
The first book, the definitive book from HIP-HOP'S ORIGINAL DYNASTY
Since the release of the revolutionary Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the Wu-Tang Clan has been hip-hop's leading creative force. Over the course of four seminal group albums and a multitude of ambitious side projects, they have constantly redefined the outer edge of what hip-hop can do and where hip-hop can go. Now, after a decade of dark beats and mysterious lyrics hinting at a larger whole, the legendary Staten Island hip-hop collective fully reveals, for the first time, the complex, multi-layered Wu-Tang Universe.
Spearheaded by the RZA, the "Abbot" of the Clan, The Wu-Tang Manual unravels the intricate web of personalities (and alter egos), warrior codes, numerological systems, and Eastern spiritual ethics that define the Wu-Tang dynasty. Here you'll find the key to Shaolin, to the Nine Rings and to the 36 Chambers, to the eight-point sun and to the rest of the enduring mysteries of Wu-Tang. The Wu-Tang Manual also contains the first official and comprehensive lyrical encyclopedia of the Wu-Tang, complete with musical, technical, and anecdotal analysis and annotation by the Clan.
For the hardcore Wu-Tang disciple and the recent initiate alike, The Wu-Tang Manual is the definitive guide to the essence of Wu.
Customer Reviews:
Wow!.......2007-08-29
I bought this book because I have been an avid fan of the Wu since high school. I had a feeling it would be good but little did I know that it would be in the tops of the bests books I've ever read in my life. If you've ever listened to a Wu song and wondered what this line meant, or what this word means, look no further. Who knew that there was actual rhyme and reason to ever since word picked for their lyrics.
If this is truely only a volume 1 out of many, I can't wait for the others. No matter what level of Wu fan you are, this will double it at least. Get this book.
Not for newcomers.......2007-08-18
The Wu-Tang Clan has been of the primary influences in my life, starting my interest in Hip-Hop music and culture as a youth through adulthood. This book is amazing; however, a novice listener of the Wu will not truly understand this book. A bandwagon listener of the Wu will not truly understand this book. This book is for the true heads, the people that have been intrigued with the sound, slang, style and charisma of the Wu-Tang ever since they first dropped on the music scene. If you're one of these fans, buy this book; you won't be dissapointed. For all you corny,wannabe, Johnny-come-latelys that claim to be a Wu fan and only own The W and Iron Flag, do us all a favor and don't buy this book; it will be a piece of genius that will go to waste collecting dust.
Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game!
The RZA makes another classic!.......2006-11-05
This book is great for all Wu fans! Rza gives an in-depth look into the history of the Wu Tang Clan, its members, its songs and even the philosophies of the clan. This is a must read for anyone interested in the true innovators of the hip-hop game. From being the first rap group to have a clothing line, to the first rappers with a video game - the WU really taught all other rap labels how to stunt and laid a blueprint down for being successful in areas other than just rapping. Get this book to gain insight on the most prolific rap super group ever!
ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHING........2006-04-13
The Wu-Tang Manual is akin to all the EU (Expanded Universe) novels, comic books, and publications related to the Star Wars franchise for a hip hop fan of one of the culture's biggest phenomenons ever. The Manual is chock full of EVERYTHING an intellectual listener and avid fan of the Wu would want to know: biographies, lyrics explanations, philosophy, music equipment, and spirituality.
The Wu-Tang started a new sound in hip hop in early '93: gritty, minimalistic, atonal, and lo-fi, all exemplified in the classic debut 'Enter: The Wu-Tang'. From then on, a legend was born: numerous solo albums from all nine members, even including the honorary tenth member Cappadonna, movies, television, touring, guest appearances on other artists' projects, RZA even composed music for the original soundtrack to the Tarantino's two-parter 'Kill Bill'. The Wu-Tang even have their own "Expanded Universe" of branch-off emcees and groups that rivals the amount of material in that of the Star Wars EU (e.g. Cilvaringz, Killah Priest, Sunz of Man, Black Knights, Killarmy, etc.). And they're STILL going strong with a slew of new albums already dropping (Ghost's awesome 'Fishscale', Sunz' 'Old Testament', etc.). The Wu-Tang Clan are HIP HOP LEGENDS, and this Manual chronicles the beginning of the movement all the way to the present, even chronicling the events that shaped the life of Robert Diggs (RZA), which would eventually also shape his movement.
To the initiated, [hip hop] heads know the Wu stand for something and they're some pretty deep brothers. RZA quotes everyone from Nietzsche to the Hagakure, a guide of bushido commentaries for the warrior (samurai). Being heavily into philosophy myself, I was really intrigued and exhilerated to read what some of the artist's actually meant behind some of their poetic verses. I saw this book at a mom 'n' pop store (Hasting's) in San Marcos and absolutely fell in love with it.
If you're into hip hop, you're more than likely a fan of the Wu as well, and if you are, YOU NEED THIS BOOK -- become more intimately knowledgeable of the legendary Clan and everything they stand for and how they came to be. "CLAN IN THE FRONT!"
Must Have.......2006-04-05
If you're a Wu-Tang fan, you must buy this book. I think they could go deeper in few subjects, but it is good enough for the first book.
Amazon.com
Many good books have been written about the history of hip-hop music and the generation that nurtured it. Can't Stop Won't Stop ranks among the best. Jeff Chang covers the music--from its Jamaican roots in the late 1960s to its birth in the Bronx; its eventual explosion from underground to the American mainstream--with style, including DJs, MCs, b-boys, graffiti art, Black Nationalism, groundbreaking singles and albums, and the street parties that gave rise to a genuine movement. But the book is about more than beats and rhymes. What distinguishes his book from the pack is Chang's examination of how hip-hop has shaped not only pop music, but American history and culture over the past 30 years. He shows how events such as urban flight, race riots, neighborhood reclamation projects, gang warfare in the Bronx and Los Angeles, and grassroots movements that influenced political agendas are as integral a part of the hip-hop story as the music itself. He also charts the concurrent rise of hip-hop activism and the commodification of the music and the ideological clashes that developed as a result.
Based on hundreds of interviews and over a decade of work as a respected music journalist, Chang offers colorful profiles of the lives and influences of "the trinity of hip-hop music"--Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and DJ Kool Herc--along with many other artists, label executives, DJs, writers, filmmakers, and promoters. Impressive in its scope, Can't Stop Won't Stop is a lively and sharply written exploration of the power of hip-hop to unite people across generational, racial, and economic lines. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop has been a generation-defining global movement. In a post-civil rights era rapidly transformed by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop gave voiceless youths a chance to address these seismic changes, and became a job-making engine and the Esperanto of youth rebellion. Hip-hop crystallized a multiracial generations worldview, and forever transformed politics and culture. But the epic story of how that happened has not been told....until now.
Customer Reviews:
Killer, meng.......2007-05-24
As a literate college graduate who loves hiphop and reading, this book bridges the gap by bringing a history of the movement and the place that, more or less, made hiphop. The initial chapters about NYC and Jamaica from the sixties onward really clarified the scene for me: white flight, the major NYC highway projects and the civil strife in Jamaica created a cauldron of creative activity in the center of the greatest city in the world, among its poorest citizens. This book rules, quite simply. I read it over a weekend, while downloading a lot of the music along with it, immersing myself in an epoch and a movement that I have only begun to truly appreciate in the last 3-4 years. Excellent and highly recommended.
a complete history.......2007-03-21
Chang's history of hip-hop starts at the beginning (in the 70s) and examines the phenomenon from musical, cultural, and political viewpoints. His main strength is that he refrains from discussing "current" events, lest the book become dated too quickly. Indeed, only the last couple of chapters deal with the last ten years, and at that it's a cursory look. Chang's writing is outstanding, if a little too focused on certain acts (Public Enemy seems to take up the entire mid-section of the book), but his depth of knowledge of his subject matter and his manner for conveying it are excellent. His primary weakness is that he has a definite political slant to his work, occasionally dropping his journalistic guard to take shots at right-wing causes/politicians. It doesn't get in the way of the text, but it does get annoying. It's hard to write a history of a person/event/phenomenon that is ongoing that actually seems like a history, but Chang has done an excellent job doing just that.
Quilting threads of Hip Hop.......2007-02-25
After reading Chang's book Can't Stop Won't Stop it is amazing how all the pieces come together. He writes with an amazing breadth that captures politics, sociology, history, economics, globalization, exploitation, capitalism, racism, media tricks, etc. and how they have all contributed to the formation of hip-hop and the resulting culture. As I came of age in the mid 90's I became transfixed with gangsta rap and inner city culture, I never realized how all the afore mentioned concepts made up an entire culture that connects with audiences all around the globe or the economics that helped regenerate a struggling economy and an evaporating job landscape. As the new century comes into full swing it is astounding to think of the power hip hop still holds and the mouths it feeds.
As I dig deeper into the sociology of this last statement I can't help but think while hip hop has revived industries like music, fashion, and film and laced corporate pockets with green the conditions that breed hip hop still have not changed. The current Bush Administration is continuing where Reagan and his pops left off by gutting social programs and destroying education while offering hope through the army only to die for a country that doesn't give a damn about a better tomorrow only a richer, whiter one. Hip Hop heads are still seen as criminals in broader society, still harassed by police and still followed around the stores their culture helps feed.
Perhaps Hip Hop can be the vehicle that delivers a unified front to reclaim this country from corporate interests and the carnivorous capitalist system. It has the power to reach audiences of every creed and the prophets to deliver the message.
Jeff Chang is a prophet of history. Thanks for writing this book and teaching me about my past. Because if you love hip hop this history is a part of you.
Overall an excellent book.......2006-10-22
Previous reviewers have already brought out the strengths of the book, so I won't extensively repeat them. For me, it was important that he located the development of hip hop in socio-economic contexts of the last few decades. Some were disappointed that this book was not a mindlessly celebratory litany of great artists, but a critical history of great art made by real people with real conflicts. I think we need less cheerleaders and more thoughtfulness.
While everyone has topics that they would like to see addressed, I was surprised that the author overlooked a major controversy in hip hop: the shootings of Tupac and Biggie. I am not nitpicking here, this was more important than the KRS-ONE/MC Shan dispute, y'know? This caused a great deal of anguish within hip hop and reverberated outside of it. Besides refocuing the question of violence in hop hop, it re-raised questions about the relationships between art, race, communitty and commerce.
Perhaps in future editions, something could be added?
the best academic Hip-Hop Book you will find.......2006-09-20
Jeff has doen an amazing job chronicling the culture from a academic perspective with the right amount of authenticity. He is not some egghead in a tower. He has started his own label and grinded it out in Hip-Hop. But he still has the intellectual desire to examine Hip-Hop with the proper historical angle.
I have read a lot of books on Hip-Hop and this is best. Amateurs - start here. Vets - brush up on your knowledge here.
Book Description
That's the Joint brings together the best-known and most influential writings on rap and hip-hop from its beginnings to today. Spanning nearly 25 years of scholarship, criticism, and journalism, this unprecedented anthology showcases the evolution and continuing influence of one of the most creative and contested elements of global popular culture since its advent in the late 1970s. Think of it as "Hip-Hop 101."
Assembled with great care by Mark Anthony Neal, hailed as "one of the most brilliant cultural critics of his generation" (Chicago Sun Times)] and fellow hip-hop scholar Murray Forman, That's the Joint is the first to attempt to present the most important hip-hop scholarship in one comprehensive volume.
The articles presented here display a diverse array of concerns, illuminating hip-hop in its broadest conception as both a musical and cultural practice. You will find critiques of groundbreaking recordings like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message"and Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back," some of the earliest commentary on B-Boys break dancing and DJs sampling, and serious responses to key moments and controversies from the 2 Live Crew obscenity trial to gangsta rap to the movement of hip-hop into commercial and academic spheres.
Amazon.com
Bakari Kitwana, a former editor at The Source, identifies blacks born between 1965 and 1984 as belonging to the "hip-hop generation" a term he uses interchangeably with black youth culture ("Generation X" applies mainly to whites, he says). He calls hip-hop "arguably the single most significant achievement of our generation," yet blames it for causing much damage to black youth by perpetuating negative stereotypes and providing poor role models. But this book is about much more than just rap music; it takes a broad look at the state of post-civil-rights black America and the crises that have come about in the past three decades, including high rates of homicide, suicide, and imprisonment and a rise in single-parent homes, police brutality, unemployment, and blacks' use of popular culture (through pop music and movies) to celebrate "anti-intellectualism, ignorance, irresponsible parenthood, and criminal lifestyles." Serious problems indeed, but Kitwana acknowledges that members of this generation have more opportunities than their parents had, and he believes there is still time to make positive and lasting changes.
He looks closely at this generation's worldview, politics, activism, and its high profile in the entertainment world, which has made it "central in American culture, transcending geographic, social, and economic boundaries." Emphasizing that "rap music's ability to influence social change should not be taken lightly," he calls for a more responsible and constructive use of this unprecedented power. Kitwana is concerned about the legacy of his generation, and he wants his book to "jump-start the dialogue necessary to change our current course." The Hip Hop Generation deserves to be read both for its aim and its execution. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
The Hip Hop Generation is an eloquent testament for black youth culture at the turn of the century. The only in-depth study of the first generation to grow up in post-segregation America, it combines culture and politics into a pivotal work in American studies. Bakari Kitwana, one of black America's sharpest young critics, offers a sobering look at this generation's disproportionate social and political troubles, and celebrates the activism and politics that may herald the beginning of a new phase of African-American empowerment.
Customer Reviews:
I highly recommend this book.......2007-02-24
I highly recommend this book in order to understand the post civil-rights black african american situation. Because of the interesting topic and writing style this book was a pretty quick read. Kitwana clarified so many issues: the unemployment crisis, the prison industry, mandatory minimum jail sentences, the drug war as a means to target black men, the gender war between black men and black women, making hip hop into a political agenda, the power of rap music, etc. It is a MUST READ for those who were born into this generation (born between 1965 and 1984) or who do not understand what is going on right now especially in regards to black men (it's written from a black male perspective).
I believe that society is in an awkward transitioning phase between the old pre-civil rights U.S.A. and the new post-civil rights U.S.A. I think once the baby boomers have passed away things will catch up. The hip hop generation (the black counterpart to the mainstream's Generation X) will eventually lead the black community so that issues relevant to the younger generation will finally be addressed... But will it be too little, too late?
The existing one that implements his opinion.......2006-02-21
I like the crisis in african american culture and the hip hop generation because it allows me to know what is going on in the world. Reading that book taught me how to give back to my community if I ever had fortune and fame. It talks about how people should stick together like flies to feces rather than be against each other. It talks about how the military should give money to the community rather than spend money to send people to Iraq and have their lives taken. It talks about how the military should fight for democracy. Those are some of the things that I've benefited from the book. I think the book is interesting. I would recommend the book to anyone who is into stuff like the crisis that african american have.
Add to "What You Should Read" List.......2005-09-28
This is one of the best books for the Hip Hop generation out in circulation. His nononsense views are understandable and shed light on many current issues in society. I think everyone, parent, teacher, community leader, and political assosciate should read this book.
Everything you need to know about US.......2005-08-23
This one is good for the parents of teens and especially for the white parents to know whats up with there children and why they want to be like us. This is the only hip hop book you will ever need. This book was on hit!
A strong foundation for continued change.......2005-02-06
I appreciated Kitwana's presentation of the current issues facing today's hip hop generation. Interesting and insightfuul was the comparisions of the generation and that of the Civil Rights/Black Power generation. This book stands strong is providing a foundation on which to further examine these issues and to use the strong influential power within this generation to finally begin to resolve them.
Book Description
View the
Table of Contents. Read the
Prologue.
”Sharpley-Whiting's book does not suffer from the sort of cowardice one too often hears from black academics who genuflect to hip hop in order to stay current with the tastes of the students who provide them with whatever power they have on college campuses. Sharpley-Whiting calls them as she sees them and wisely quotes the offensive material when necessary. Her book is high level in its research and its thought, and those looking for adult ideas about the subject should look it up.”
—Stanley Crouch, New York Daily News
”Sharpley-Whiting gets at the heart of the paradox . . . and puts the discussion on the turntable.”
—Washington Post
”Sharpley-Whitting's uncommon perspective is one that deserves to be examined more often.”
—Bitch
”For B-girls who embrace both the brashness of Lil' Kim and the pro-feminism of Lauryn Hill,
Pimps Up, Ho's Down is an intellectual look at the intricate, diverse attitudes of young black women within the hip hop community. Sharpley-Whiting combines thought-provoking text with interviews that range from the `rich' (see Trina) to the `regular' (everyday women), giving a voice to today's complex and contradictory females within hip hop.”
—The Source Magazine
”Through provocatively titled chapters such as `Sex, Power, and Punanny' and `Strip Tails: Booty Clappin', P-poppin', Shake Dancing,' Sharpley-Whiting provides a sobering analysis of women's participation in the hyper-sexualized black American, urban youth culture known as hip hop. . . . This book delivers a riveting portrayal of hip hop, from the thumping rap music that serves as a soundtrack for America's strip clubs to the predatory groupies who relentlessly pursue rap stars.”
—Ms. Magazine
”Probing. . . . A canny study. . . . Sharpley-Whiting brings both street smarts and sophisticated cultural analysis to her subject.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer
”Clear and well written. . . . It serves as a decent jumping-off point to discussions of young black women in our current society. . . . Sharpley-Whiting has opened up the dialog, offering a source for research in a burgeoning area of study.”
—Library Journal
”Sharpley-Whiting provides interesting anecdotes about the ways in which women are portrayed (and often used) within hip hop. . . . [Her] insightful analyses [include] a particularly interesting discussion of the intersections of race, class, and capitalism in strip clubs.”
—Bust Magazine
Pimps Up, Ho's Down is an in-depth look at hip hop's effect on young black women. Sharpley-Whiting discusses topics such as light-skinned black (or ethnically ambiguous) females getting more love in hip hop videos, unreported sexual abuse within black communities — even the fact that most hip hop groupies do not consider themselves groupies. She successfully ties these trends into the mainstream hip hop culture of today.
Pimps Up, Ho's Down provides an intellectual look at how hip hop views and affects the young black women of this generation, most who are oblivious to what is actually going on. Sharpley-Whiting's uncommon perspective is one that deserves to be examined more often.”
—URB
“Offers a bracing, brilliant, and provocative take on how hip hop has affected young black women. Sharpley-Whiting manages the difficult task of being critical of destructive elements of hip hop culture without being dismissive of its edifying dimensions. This lucidly penned manifesto in defense of the intellectual spaces between hip hop and feminism will undoubtedly inspire heated debate and fruitful conversation about gender, black identity, and conflict between the generations."
—Michael Eric Dyson, author of Know What I Mean?
“In
Pimps Up, Ho's Down, Sharpley-Whiting's razor-sharp analysis turns an illuminating spotlight on the dark, complicated intersection where feminism and hip hop meet.”
—Joan Morgan, author of When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost
"
Pimps Up, Ho's Down provides a vital critical assessment of the sexual exploitation of women and girls all too prevalent in hip hop culture and in our larger society. This intelligent and sensitively written study is mandatory reading for those of us who must stop the violence."
—Darlene Clark Hine, co-author of A Shining Thread of Hope: The History of Black Women in America
“In this bold critique of popular culture's stereotypical representations of hip hop, Tracy Sharpley-Whiting never wavers from her end goal of empowering the hip hop generation.
Pimps Up, Ho's Down takes this discussion beyond the ivory tower and into the lives of everyday people.”
—Bakari Kitwana, author of The Hip-Hop Generation
"This compelling, well-researched-and alarming-account of how hip hop culture has impacted the lives and shaped the identities of young black women should be read by women and men of every generation."
—Paula Giddings, author of When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America
“Tracy Sharpley-Whiting's groundbreaking book makes central the harsh sexist and racist realities that hip hop generation Black women face on a daily basis.”
—Aishah Shahidah Simmons, Producer/Director of NO! (The Rape Documentary)
Pimps Up, Ho's Down pulls at the threads of the intricately knotted issues surrounding young black women and hip hop culture. What unravels for Tracy D. Sharpley-Whiting is a new, and problematic, politics of gender. In this fascinating and forceful book, Sharpley-Whiting, a feminist writer who is a member of the hip hop generation, interrogates the complexities of young black women's engagement with a culture that is masculinist, misogynistic, and frequently mystifying.
Beyond their portrayal in rap lyrics, the display of black women in music videos, television, film, fashion, and on the Internet is indispensable to the mass media engineered appeal of hip hop culture, the author argues. And the commercial trafficking in the images and behaviors associated with hip hop has made them appear normal, acceptable, and entertaining-both in the U.S. and around the world.
Sharpley-Whiting questions the impacts of hip hop's increasing alliance with the sex industry, the rise of groupie culture in the hip hop world, the impact of hip hop's compulsory heterosexual culture on young black women, and the permeation of the hip hop ethos into young black women's conceptions of love and romance.
The author knows her subject from the inside. Coming of age in the midst of hip hop's evolution in the late 1980s, she mixed her graduate studies with work as a runway and print model in the 1990s. Her book features interviews with exotic dancers, black hip hop groupies, and hip hop generation members Jacklyn "Diva" Bush, rapper Trina, and filmmaker Aishah Simmons, along with the voices of many "everyday" young women.
Pimps Up, Ho's Down turns down the volume and amplifies the substance of discussions about hip hop culture and to provide a space for young black women to be heard.
Customer Reviews:
insightful, well-written take on misogyny in popular culture.......2007-05-08
Sharpley-Whiting's accessible prose style and unique insight make this a must for anyone interested in popular culture, hip hop and rap, women's issues, Black popular culture, and youth. In all my years researching the topics of rap music, hip hop culture, gender and violence, I have never encountered such a unique and much needed approach. While much has been said about the sexist and homophobic nature of rap lyrics, very little has been done to understand how our sexually repressive, yet permissive, society including rap music has negatively affected Black girls and women. Sharpley-Whiting tackles this issue from a variety of angles demonstrating how the misogyny and sexual obsession in rap music impacts girls' and women's sense of self, how sex and rendering women as sexual objects in rap music affects Black women erotic dancers, video dancers, and groupies, and related topics.
Dr. Sharpley-Whiting broke it down! .......2007-03-23
Dr. Sharpley-Whiting has contributed a necessary and extremely timely analysis to the surface-level discussions surrounding hip hop and its impact on young black women. The exploration of complex contradictions within hip hop music and culture is both scholarly and sincere. This book is a necessary read, as it departs from the easy criticism of lyrics to the difficult and largely un-had conversations regarding sexual abuse, constructions of beauty, and the relationship between hip hop and the flourishing sex tourism industry. I learned about the prophetic warnings and relevance of Franz Fanon, I laughed about the similar and stark realities I share with the writer, and I learned, once again, that I love and am hip hop--contradictions and all!
Book Description
Despite having created one of the most important musical cultures of the last fifty years, hip-hop composers who use digital sampling are rarely taken seriously as artists. But hip-hop deejays and producers have collectively developed an artistic system that features a complex aesthetic, a detailed array of social protocols, a rigorous set of ethical expectations and a rich historical consciousness.
Based on ten years of research among hip-hop producers, Making Beats is the first work of scholarship to explore the goals, methods and values of this surprisingly insular community. Focusing on a variety of subjects--from hip-hop artists' pedagogical methods to the Afro-diasporic roots of the sampling process to the social significance of "digging" for rare records--Joseph G. Schloss examines the way hip-hop artists have managed to create a form of expression that reflects their creative aspirations, moral beliefs, political values and cultural realities.
Customer Reviews:
It made me slightly smarter! n/m.......2005-12-22
.
Quality Material...................................2005-07-08
Quality Material............................
If I Have To Say What is Lacking I'd Have to Say Some Example Pics..But Not Much Else...
The Sampling Ethics are GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Diggin Info is GOOD ALSO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The DJ History/Info is KOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A Very Well Spent $20-----
Trust That!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally someone gets it right.......2004-12-01
I'm usually pretty skeptical of books written about hip-hop by authors with PhD's. Most of the time, they don't get it. They aren't hip hop heads, although they might own a few Cd's. Mike Dyson, Tricia Rose, et cetera.
I think this book gets it right.
But the title of this book is misleading. It's not a how-to book on making hip hop beats.
It's an ethnographic study on hip hop producers, most of which are underground/college radio hip hop makers.
So chances are most Amazon customers won't know the names of the producers, or even be able to recognize any of their songs.
But if you know names like Paul C, Diamond D, Showbiz, Pete Rock, Premier, Dilla, Marley Marl, Supreme, Soulman, Dj Muro - this book is really good.
There are a lot of insider issues that producers talk about between themselves, but never really get into the main hip hop discussion, and so it has no chance of getting into the mainstream.
Joe decided to look at producers and ask these questions. He interviewed folks like Dj Kool Akiem (of the Micranauts), Vitamin D, Domino of Hieroglyphics, and he asks questions like
- Why do you need to sample, why not just replay the sample?
- What's the big deal with reissues?
- Producers who didn't start out as Dj's
- Will you sample from a rap record?
If you're just a hip hop head, the quotes from producers are probably the most interesting part of the book. You really get to look into 1 school of thought on how to make beats.
If you're an academic, it's got plenty of footnotes, and lots of support for his ideas.
For me, I think the best part of the book was the literature review. He looks at a lot of the bigger books on the subject of hip hop and breaks them down as to why they don't make sense.
The only problem I really see with the book, is that it focuses on a certain type of producer. Sample based, means sampled from vinyl. You won't find a "keyboard" producer. You won't find producers that make g-rap type beats. (Mannie Fresh type of producer). It's very biased towards an underground, old east coast sound 89-93 era, aesthetic. Which is all the more interesting since he's based on the West Coast.
Book Description
It's not just rap music.
Hip-hop has transformed theater, dance, performance, poetry, literature, fashion, design, photography, painting, and film, to become one of the most far-reaching and transformative arts movements of the past two decades.
American Book Award-winning journalist Jeff Chang, author of the acclaimed Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, assembles some of the most innovative and provocative voices in hip-hop to assess the most important cultural movement of our time. It's an incisive look at hip-hop arts in the voices of the pioneers, innovators, and mavericks.
With an introductory survey essay by Chang, the anthology includes:
Greg Tate, Mark Anthony Neal, Brian "B+" Cross, and Vijay Prashad examining hip-hop aesthetics in the wake of multiculturalism.
Joan Morgan and Mark Anthony Neal discussing gender relations in hip-hop.
Hip-hop novelists Danyel Smith and Adam Mansbach on "street lit" and "lit hop".
Actor, playwright, and performance artist Danny Hoch on how hip-hop defined the aesthetics of a generation.
Rock Steady Crew b-boy-turned-celebrated visual artist DOZE on the uses and limits of a "hip-hop" identity.
Award-winning writer Raquel Cepeda on West African cosmology and "the flash of the spirit" in hip-hop arts.
Pioneer dancer POPMASTER FABEL's history of hip-hop dance, and acclaimed choreographer Rennie Harris on hip-hop's transformation of global dance theatre.
Bill Adler's history of hip-hop photography, including photos by Glen E. Friedman, Janette Beckman, and Joe Conzo.
Poetry and prose from Watts Prophet Father Amde Hamilton and Def Poetry Jam veterans Staceyann Chin, Suheir Hammad, Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Kevin Coval.
Roundtable discussions and essays presenting hip-hop in theatre, graphic design, documentary film and video, photography, and the visual arts.
Customer Reviews:
The anthology includes interviews, first-person experience and analysis.......2007-03-05
Most books on hip hop fall into the music category: not so TOTAL CHAOS: THE ART AND AESTHETICS OF HIP-HOP, compiled and edited by Jeff Chang whose contributors informatively and thoughtful consider the evolution, presence, and impact of hip-hop as a cultural expression and social commentary. From its commercial world to its cultural and artistic roots, TOTAL CHAOS offers students of sociology an excellent survey that runs the gamut from gender issues to artistic conflicts within the hiphop environment. The anthology includes interviews, first-person experience and analysis yet is lively enough for the general-interest library, as well.
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Rap
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