Hip Hop Reader, The, A Longman Topics Reader, 1st edition

Published by Pearson (February 16, 2007) © 2008

  • Tim Strode
  • Tim Wood
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Composition and hip hop may seem unrelated, but the connection isn’t hard to make: Hip hop and rap rely on a complex of narrative practices that have clear ties to some of the best American essay writing.  The Hip Hop Reader brings together work by important writers about this cultural phenomenon and provides lively selections that represent a variety of styles and interests.

This unique reader provides an insight into the history, culture, music and lyrics of one of today’s most important cultural forms, always looking at these through the lens of composition.  The range of readings included explore hip hop’s dexterity and originality–its sensitivity to diction, penchant for puns and other verbal play, and its inherent belief in the power of words to transform reality and empower in the face of sometimes oppressive circumstances.  Reading and talking about hip hop allows instructors to bring issues into the composition classroom that sometimes feel too raw or sensitive to address without a specific cultural or theoretical context.

1. Back in the Day: Origins and Definitions of Hip Hop

Cheryl L. Keyes, “The Roots and Stylistic Foundations of the Rap Music Tradition”

Tricia Rose, “Rap Music”

Juan Flores, “Puerto Rican and Proud, Boyee!: Rap Roots and Amnesia”

Sasha Frere Jones, “Ghost’s World: A Wu Tang Member’s New Album”

Shana, Kent “Illmatic: A Journey Into Nas’s State of Mind” (student essay)    

2. Crossing the Color Line: Hip Hop Negotiates the Complexities of Race

N.R. Kleinfield, “Guarding the Borders of the Hip-Hop Nation”

Mark Anthony Neal, “Sold Out on Soul: The Corporate Annexation of Black Popular Music”

David R. Rodiger, “Elvis, Wiggers, and Crossing Over to Nonwhiteness” 

Michel Marriott, “Rap’s Embrace of ‘Nigger’ Fires Bitter Debate”

Touré, “The Hip-Hop Nation: Whose Is It?  In the End Black Men Must Lead.”

3. Your Momma’s a Mack Daddy: Gender Construction in Hip Hop

Marcyliena Morgan, “Hip-Hop Women Shredding the Veil: Race and Class in Popular Feminist Identity”

Kimberle Crenshaw, “Beyond Racism and Misogyny: Black Feminism and 2 Live Crew”

Michele Wallace, “When Black Feminism Faces the Music and the Music Is Rap”

Imani Perry, “The Venus Hip Hop and the Pink Ghetto: Negotiating Spaces for Women”

bell hooks, “The Coolness of Being Real”

4. Growing Up Gangsta: Gangsta Rap and the Politics of Identity

Elizabeth Grant, “Gangsta Rap, the War on Drugs, and the Location of African-American Identity in Los Angeles 1988-92”

Michael Eric Dyson, “Gangsta Rap and American Culture”

John Pareles, “Should Ice Cube’s Voice Be Chilled?”

bell hooks, “Gangsta Culture”  

5. Mapping Rap: East Coast, West Coast, Third Coast, and Beyond

Murray Forman, “‘Represent’: Race, Space and Place in Rap Music”

Ayanna Parris, “Reaching Toward Hip-Hop’s Homeland: Hip Hop in Tanzania” (student essay)

Kelefa Sanneh, “New Orleans Hip Hop is the Home of Gangsta Gumbo”

Kiese Laymon, “Hip Hop Stole My Black Boy”

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