She's at the Controls gives a socio-historical examination of the roles of women studio professionals in the UK music industry. At the heart of the book are interviews conducted over six years with 30 female studio practitioners at different stages of their careers and working in different genres of popular music including reggae, hip hop and pop. The edited interviews are followed by an in-depth exploration of the often unseen and unacknowledged gender rules of music industry practice (both personal and technical) that underpin popular music etiquette. A range of supporting material from academic works to technical publications and popular music journalism is used to expand and critique the discourse. She's at the Controls will appeal to everyone interested in new developments in the music industry, as it recalibrates itself in response to current challenges to its traditional gender stereotypes.

Selwyn Seyfu Hinds -- award-winning former editor-in-chief of "The Source" -- presents an extraordinary memoir/history of hip-hop as seen through the eyes of one fan-turned-luminary. The moment nine-year-old Hinds heard "Rapper's Delight" in Guyana, he embarked upon an amazing, if sometimes contentious, relationship with hip-hop -- one that would continue through his migration to Brooklyn as a teenager and on through adult life. Here, he takes readers to a murky nightclub in the violent streets of late-eighties Brooklyn; to an Ivy League campus caught up in political rap during the early nineties; to a curbside in Los Angeles where Notorious B.I.G. has just been shot; to the achingly poor streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as a sea of black humanity surges to touch a hip-hop native son....

Interspersing recollections of life in the hip-hop trenches with profiles of figures like Lauryn Hill, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Dr. Dre, Wyclef Jean, and more, Hinds traces the heights and depths of his hip-hop love affair. Like the Guyanese rice dish "cook-up," "Gunshots in My Cook-Up" ingeniously pulls wide-ranging elements into an irresistibly cohesive dish.

In Jay Z and the Roc-A-Fella Dynasty, author Jake Brown has chronicled the Hip Hop icon's legacy. As Hip Hop's prodigal son, Jay Z is truly the pinnacle of where Hip Hop has come in its short but extraordinary life time. Among the detailed and explicit chapters, the story includes: "The Hustlin Years," "Shawn Carter Becomes Jay Z," "The Birth of Roc-A-Fella Records and Brooklyn's Finest-Jay Z and Biggie Smalls."

"The Psychology of Hip Hop" is a provocative examination of the world of Hip Hop, and how this music genre has shaped the American landscape. Going where no one else dares, "The Psychology of Hip Hop" effectively explains behaviors of some of the best known Hip Hop stars, like 50Cent, Eminem, Jay-Z, T.I., Lil' Kim and Snoop Dogg. Think you know? Guess again

McPhaul, a Mental Health Therapist and Personal Advisor to some of the world's biggest entertainers, explains what the media only speculates about. "The Psychology of Hip Hop" outlines the complex maze of R. Kelly's sexual indiscretions and the heinous exploitation of Hip Hop phenomenon B2K. In addition, "The Psychology of Hip Hop" answers questions such as, is Sean "P.Diddy" Combs really a Psychopath? And, studies if Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace and Tupac Shakur died as a result of an East Coast versus West Coast rivalry, or if greed of record company executives was the cause of their untimely deaths.

"The Psychology of Hip Hop" surveys the impact of racism and the influence of legal professionals on the music genre, and in the chapter "Pop Diva Takes A Dive" finally answers the question, did Bobby Brown really ruin Whitney Houston?

New York Puerto Ricans have been an integral part of hip hop culture since the very beginning: from 1970s pioneers like Rock Steady Crew's Jo-Jo, to recent rap mega-stars Big Punisher and Angie Martinez. Yet, Puerto Rican participation and contributions to hip hop is frequently downplayed, if not completely ignored. When their presence has been acknowledged, it is usually misinterpreted as a defection from Puerto Rican culture and identity into the African American camp. But, Rivera argues, nothing could be further from the truth. Through hip hop, Puerto Ricans have simply stretched the boundaries of Puerto Ricanness and latinidad.

New York Puerto Ricans have been an integral part of hip hop culture since the very beginning: from 1970s pioneers like Rock Steady Crew's Jo-Jo, to recent rap mega-stars Big Punisher and Angie Martinez. Yet, Puerto Rican participation and contributions to hip hop is frequently downplayed, if not completely ignored. When their presence has been acknowledged, it is usually misinterpreted as a defection from Puerto Rican culture and identity into the African American camp. But, Rivera argues, nothing could be further from the truth. Through hip hop, Puerto Ricans have simply stretched the boundaries of Puerto Ricanness and latinidad.

Take control of your narrative and become the best version of yourself with 50 Hip-Hop inspired lessons that will motivate a new generation. Grant Brydon has interviewed some of the biggest names in hip-hop. Here he shares the creative directions and tips derived from one-on-one conversations with Pharrell Williams, J Cole, Big Sean, Nipsey Hussle, and many more. With chapters covering motivation, creativity, authenticity, mental wellbeing, resilience, and more, the advice gleaned from these important artists' life experiences will help you to face up to your own challenges and inspire you to make simple changes that have major positive consequences. Lessons include: - Award-winning rapper, singer, songwriter and producer J Cole on how to Define Success - Grammy award-winning hip-hop- legend Nas on Maintaining Focus on What's Important - A lesson in Committing to Inspiration from Flo Milli, viral TikTok sensation and Best New Artist nominee at the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards - Big Sean on how to Take Time Off and Talk to Someone - Multiple BET Hip Hop Awards nominee Action Bronson on how not to be discouraged - Kenny Beats - producer of Vince Staples and Ed Sheeran - on the dangers of overthinking - Grammy nominated Freddie Gibbs on Integrity - Hip-hop royalty Pharrell Williams on the importance of always staying curious - Mac Miller on reinvention Adopt a hip-hop mindset to take control of your own narrative and become the best version of yourself with this book of 50 must-read lessons on creativity and self help that will inspire a new generation. Containing exclusive interviews with billion-streaming artists, including J Cole, Nas, Big Sean, Flo Milli, Action Bronson and many more, alongside contemporary illustrations by Ketu the Artist, which offer a fresh visual take on the self-help genre. This is a must-have volume for fans of hip-hop, alongside individuals with an interest in positive thinking, wellness and self-help. Quotes: "Grant Brydon compiles many of the major keys from some of the most prolific voices in hip-hop and draws a through-line to the hearts of their success stories... An entertaining and informative read." ? Kathy Iandoli, author of God Save The Queens: The Essential History of Women in Hip-Hop. "A thoughtful collection of essays on hard work and creativity that taps into generous anecdotal wisdom about music and life from an array of personalities in the industry, past and present." ? Lance Scott Walker, author of DJ Screw: A Life In Slow Revolution. "A brilliant tapestry of story and artistry by a seasoned journalist whose love for hip-hop flourishes here." ? Ciesay, co-founder of PLACES+FACES.

Like the hard-hitting sounds of a Public Enemy jam, the words of the band's lead singer, Chuck D, excite the mind and senses. In his first book, Chuck D pours out commentary that takes on Hollywood, race, the music industry, the murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G., drugs, and the three E's--education, economics and enforcement. Likening the challenge to "scaling a slick mountain on roller skates," Chuck D lets no one off the hook, putting celebrities and street kids alike on notice that the future is up for grabs...and the only way to be part of it, to be players not victims, is to work together.
As an insider's view on Hip-Hop culture slides into intimate revelations about his own life, as lyrics from his songs bump shoulders with top ten lists like "The Greatest Rappers of All Time," Chuck D has his say with verve and electrifying energy, with anger, love and truth. A book that brings light into darkness, Fight the Power speaks for a generation. It is a powerful and prophetic message that America, both Black and White, urgently needs to hear.
Nightline with Chuck as the featured guest.
His rejection of celebrity and his constant community activism have made him a hero. For the past five years he's been touring colleges and universities, delivering three hour lectures on everything from the music industry's corruption of young talent, the history of black music from Blues to Rap, his own controversial lyrics, problems in the black community, self-empowerment, contemporary culture and current political leaders to Public Enemy's rise to international stardom. All while maintaining his solo and Public Enemy's recording careers.
"Fight the Power examines a multitudeof complex social, racial and artistic issues. In his unmistakable voice, Chuck discusses the role of heroes and role models in the black community, Hollywood's negative images of blacks, the effect of gangsta rap, its images on the country's youth and the war between east and west coast rappers that may have spawned the murder of Tupac Shakur, the role of athletes and entertainers in eroding and strengthening values, and other vital contemporary concerns. Candid, thoughtful, and in your face, "Fight the Power, the first substantial book by a rapper, offers readers a look into the culture of hip hop and the future of Black culture. -->

For fans of Wiley, Dizzee Rascal and Stormzy, Grime Kids is the definitive inside story of Grime. 'An essential read for anyone with the slightest interest in the birth of Grime' The Wire 'Sharp and nostalgic' The Observer A group of kids in the 90s had a dream to make their voice heard - and this book documents their seminal impact on today's pop culture. DJ Target grew up in Bow under the shadow of Canary Wharf, with money looming close on the skyline. The 'Godfather of Grime' Wiley and Dizzee Rascal first met each other in his bedroom. They were all just grime kids on the block back then, and didn't realise they were to become pioneers of an international music revolution. A movement that permeates deep into British culture and beyond. Household names were borne out of those housing estates, and the music industry now jumps to the beat of their gritty reality rather than the tune of glossy aspiration. Grime has shaken the world and Target is revealing its explosive and expansive journey in full, using his own unique insight and drawing on the input of grime's greatest names. What readers are saying about Grime Kids: 'Fantastic depiction of the inception of a genre that has spanned the millennium' 'Brilliant insight in to grim music from one of the pioneers of the scene' 'This book really sums up the feeling of being a DJ perfectly'

"The Big Payback" takes readers from the first $15 made by a "rapping DJ" in 1970s New York to the multi-million-dollar sales of the Phat Farm and Roc-a-Wear clothing companies in 2004 and 2007. On this four-decade-long journey from the studios where the first rap records were made to the boardrooms where the big deals were inked, "The Big Payback" tallies the list of who lost and who won. Read the secret histories of the early long-shot successes of Sugar Hill Records and Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC's crossover breakthrough on MTV, the marketing of gangsta rap, and the rise of artist/ entrepreneurs like Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

300 industry giants like Def Jam founders Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons gave their stories to renowned hip-hop journalist Dan Charnas, who provides a compelling, never-before-seen, myth-debunking view into the victories, defeats, corporate clashes, and street battles along the 40-year road to hip-hop's dominance.

The untold story of how breaking – one of the most widely practiced dance forms in the world today – began as a distinctly African American expression in the Bronx, New York, during the 1970s. Breaking is the first and most widely practiced hip-hop dance in the world, with around one million participants in this dynamic, multifaceted artform – and, as of 2024, Olympic sport. Yet, despite its global reach and nearly 50-year history, stories of breaking’s origins have largely neglected the African Americans who founded it. Dancer and scholar Serouj "Midus" Aprahamian offers, for the first time, a detailed look into the African American beginnings of breaking in the Bronx, New York. The Birth of Breaking challenges numerous myths and misconceptions that have permeated studies of hip-hop’s evolution, considering the influence breaking has had on hip-hop culture. Including previously unseen archival material, interviews, and detailed depictions of the dance at its outset, this book brings to life this buried history, with a particular focus on the early development of the dance, the institutional settings where hip-hop was conceived, and the movement’s impact on sociocultural conditions in New York City throughout the 1970s. By featuring the overlooked first-hand accounts of over 50 founding b-boys and b-girls alongside movement analysis informed by his embodied knowledge of the dance, Aprahamian reveals how indebted breaking is to African American culture, as well as the disturbing factors behind its historical erasure.

Arguably one of the most mainstream music styles today, rap was in fact born centuries ago in West Africa with historians or 'griots' who used to tell stories of the past over the beat of a drum. But it wasn't until the 1970s in New York that rapping as we know it was born and began to flourish. 50 Rappers Who Changed the World profiles some of the genre's biggest influencers, from the 1970s until the present day. From groundbreaking groups like Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five and The Sugarhill Gang in the 70s, to Run-DMC and Public Enemy in the 80s, Biggie, Tupac and Snoop in the 90s, and Eminem and Jay-Z in the 00s, this is a history of music for anyone who loves rap. Featuring MCs like West Coast legends including N.W.A. and Ice-T, and countless women who changed the game, like Salt-n-Pepa, MC Lyte and Missy Elliot. And today, we have a new breed of artists who are dominating the charts, from Kendrick Lamar to Drake and Cardi B. Filled with a stylish illustrations and short biography of each artist, this book is a celebration of the musicians who shaped the genre and changed the world.

The Organic Globalizer is a collection of critical essays which takes the position that hip-hop holds political significance through an understanding of its ability to at once raise cultural awareness, expand civil society's focus on social and economic justice through institution building, and engage in political activism and participation. Collectively, the essays assert hip hop's importance as an "organic globalizer:" no matter its pervasiveness or reach around the world, hip-hop ultimately remains a grassroots phenomenon that is born of the community from which it permeates. Hip hop, then, holds promise through three separate but related avenues: (1) through cultural awareness and identification/recognition of voices of marginalized communities through music and art; (2) through social creation and the institutionalization of independent alternative institutions and non-profit organizations in civil society geared toward social and economic justice; and (3) through political activism and participation in which demands are articulated and made on the state. With editorial bridges between chapters and an emphasis on interdisciplinary and diverse perspectives, The Organic Globalizer is the natural scholarly evolution in the conversation about hip-hop and politics.

From the first rap battles in Seattle's Central District to the Grammy stage, hip hop has shaped urban life and the music scene of the Pacific Northwest for more than four decades. In the early 1980s, Seattle's hip-hop artists developed a community-based culture of stylistic experimentation and multiethnic collaboration. Emerging at a distance from the hip-hop centers of New York City and Los Angeles, Seattle's most famous hip-hop figures, Sir Mix-A-Lot and Macklemore, found mainstream success twenty years apart by going directly against the grain of their respective eras. In addition, Seattle has produced a two-time world-champion breaking crew, globally renowned urban clothing designers, an international hip-hop magazine, and influential record producers. In Emerald Street, Daudi Abe chronicles the development of Seattle hip hop from its earliest days, drawing on interviews with artists and journalists to trace how the elements of hip hop-rapping, DJing, breaking, and graffiti-flourished in the Seattle scene. He shows how Seattle hip-hop culture goes beyond art and music, influencing politics, the relationships between communities of color and law enforcement, the changing media scene, and youth outreach and educational programs. The result is a rich narrative of a dynamic and influential force in Seattle music history and beyond. Emerald Street was made possible in part by a grant from 4Culture's Heritage Program.

A collectible, four-color illustrated A-Z treasury of gangster rappers, the hip-hop high-life, and notorious pop culture history, told through a series of graphic doodles on 3" x 3" sticky notes. Four years ago, a Post-it (R) note changed Marlon Sassy's life. Using office supplies "borrowed" from his admin job, Sassy began creating colorful sketches of rappers in highlighter, Sharpie, and pen. He made his debut posting his rendition of Snoop on Tumblr under the pseudonym "Gangster Doodles." Next was Bart Simpson and Biggie, then Yams and Yeezy. Soon, he had amassed a cult following of fans who clamored for his next artistic interpretation. Gangster Doodles brings together more than 400 of his most popular illustrations with thirty never-before-seen pieces. An impressive and comprehensive A-Z compendium, it features everyone from Black Jesus to Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar to LeBron James, Jean-Michel Basquiat to Young Thug, and Kermit the Frog to Action Bronson. This is the ultimate gift for rap fanatics and pop culture addicts alike.

It's been over ten years since Big was killed. I grieved for him for a very long time. And then, as time passed, the icy wall of grief surrounding my heart began to thaw and I began to heal. I remarried, had more children, and continued to record and release more music. I continued to live my life. And while I can never discount the time I spent with Big, I've never felt the need to live in the past.

But sometimes, I still find myself thinking about Big being rushed the hospital, and I break down in tears.

It's not just because we hung up on each other during what would be our last telephone conversation. And it's not because I am raising our son, a young man who has never known his father.

It's partly all of those things. But mainly it's because he wasn't ready to go. His debut album was called Ready to Die. But in the end, he wasn't. Big never got a chance to tell his story. It's been left to others to tell it for him. In making the decision to tell my own story, it means that I've become one of those who can give insight to who Big really was. But I can only speak on what he meant to me.

Yet I also want people to understand that although he was a large part of my life, my story doesn't actually begin or end with Big's death. My journey has been complicated on many levels. And since I am always linked to Big, there are a lot of misconceptions about who I really am.

I hope that in reading my words, there is inspiration to be found. Perhaps you can duplicate my success or achieve where I have failed. Maybe you can skip over the mistakes I've made. Use my life as an example-of what to do and in some cases, what not to do.

It's not easy putting your life out therefor the masses. But I've decided I'll tell my own story. For Big. For my children. And for myself.

A hybrid of reggae and rap, reggaeton is a music with Spanish-language lyrics and Caribbean aesthetics that has taken Latin America, the United States, and the world by storm. Superstars--including Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, and Ivy Queen--garner international attention, while aspiring performers use digital technologies to create and circulate their own tracks. "Reggaeton" brings together critical assessments of this wildly popular genre. Journalists, scholars, and artists delve into reggaeton's local roots and its transnational dissemination; they parse the genre's aesthetics, particularly in relation to those of hip-hop; and they explore the debates about race, nation, gender, and sexuality generated by the music and its associated cultural practices, from dance to fashion.

The collection opens with an in-depth exploration of the social and sonic currents that coalesced into reggaeton in Puerto Rico during the 1990s. Contributors consider reggaeton in relation to that island, Panama, Jamaica, and New York; Cuban society, Miami's hip-hop scene, and Dominican identity; and other genres including "reggae en espanol," underground, and dancehall reggae. The reggaeton artist Tego Calderon provides a powerful indictment of racism in Latin America, while the hip-hop artist Welmo Romero Joseph discusses the development of reggaeton in Puerto Rico and his refusal to embrace the upstart genre. The collection features interviews with the DJ/rapper El General and the reggae performer Renato, as well as a translation of "Chamaco's Corner," the poem that served as the introduction to Daddy Yankee's debut album. Among the volume's striking images are photographs from Miguel Luciano's series Pure Plantainum, a meditation on identity politics in the bling-bling era, and photos taken by the reggaeton videographer Kacho Lopez during the making of the documentary "Bling'd: Blood, Diamonds, and Hip-Hop."

Contributors. Geoff Baker, Tego Calderon, Carolina Caycedo, Jose Davila, Jan Fairley, Juan Flores, Gallego (Jose Raul Gonzalez), Felix Jimenez, Kacho Lopez, Miguel Luciano, Wayne Marshall, Frances Negron-Muntaner, Alfredo Nieves Moreno, Ifeoma C. K. Nwankwo, Deborah Pacini Hernandez, Raquel Z. Rivera, Welmo Romero Joseph, Christoph Twickel, Alexandra T. Vazquez

Before there was Drake, there was The 6. The genesis and rise of Toronto's Hip Hop culture.Amongst the algorithmic pulsations that remap informational networks at the whim of any giant tech company, hip hop culture produces ways of knowing (and being in) the world that continually disrupt the status quo.Guided by a sense of rawness -- an unsanitized speaking of truth to power -- hip hop culture thrives outside of the formal and institutional settings which are often used to confer importance. Hip hop has no use for such pedestals. Its inherent and purposefully self-critical nature ensures that hip hop is both a widely appealing form for youth protest and a self-calibrating system of quality control.A photographic excavation of Toronto's hip hop archive, ...Everything Remains Raw draws on photographs of Kardinal Offishall, Michie Mee, Dream Warriors, Maestro, Drake, Director X, and others by Michael Chambers, Sheinina Raj, Demuth Flake, Craig Boyko, Nabil Shash, Patrick Nichols, and Stella Fakiyesi to offer a deep dive in hip hop's visual culture. An intentional intersection of the taste-making skills of the DJ and the nuanced particularism of the curator, the book and the accompanying exhibition juxtapose never-before-seen images with photojournalism, street posters, and zines to reframe and enhance popular understandings of this thing called hip hop....Everything Remains Raw accompanies an exhibition organized at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

A first of its kind collection, How to Rap is an insightful and intelligent breakdown of the elements of rap for anyone wanting to learn the art form or understand the principles behind it. Author Paul Edwards examines the dynamics of hip hop from every region and in every form - mainstream, underground, current and classic - looking in particular at content, flow, writing and delivery. Edwards provides unparalleled access to the most acclaimed names in rap and their methods of working, with a foreword by Kool G Rap and interviews with over 100 artists, including Public Enemy, Mobb Deep, Schoolly D, Nelly, will.i.am, Arrested Development, A Tribe Called Quest, and Rah Digga. This one and only comprehensive examination of the MC art form is pure gold for the hip hop lover.

This updated reissue of Mark LeVine's acclaimed, revolutionary book on sub- and countercultural music in the Middle East brings this groundbreaking portrait of the region's youth cultures to a new generation. Featuring a new preface by the author in conversation with the band The Kominas about the problematic connections between extreme music and Islam. An eighteen-year-old Moroccan who loves Black Sabbath. A twenty-two-year-old rapper from the Gaza Strip. A young Lebanese singer who quotes Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." Heavy metal, punk, hip-hop, and reggae are each the music of protest, and are considered immoral by many in the Muslim world. As the young people and subcultures featured in Mark LeVine's Heavy Metal Islam so presciently predicted, this music turned out to be the soundtrack of countercultures, uprisings, and even revolutions from Morocco to Pakistan. In Heavy Metal Islam, originally published in 2008, Mark LeVine explores the influence of Western music on the Middle East and North Africa through interviews with musicians and fans, introducing us to young people struggling to reconcile their religion with a passion for music and a thirst for change. The result is a revealing tour de force of contemporary cultures across the Muslim majority world through the region's evolving music scenes that only a musician, scholar, and activist with LeVine's unique breadth of experience could narrate. A New York Times Editor's Pick when it was first published, Heavy Metal Islam is a surprising, wildly entertaining foray into a historically authoritarian region where music reveals itself to be a true democratizing force-and a groundbreaking work of scholarship that pioneered new forms of research in the region.

Rap Music and the Youth in Malawi is one of the first book-length studies of Malawian hip hop. It studies the language and content of contemporary Malawian hip hop as a window onto the country's youth culture as Malawian young people negotiate what scholar Alcinda Honwana calls 'waithood,' or the condition, common among Malawian youth, of lacking opportunities to advance from a situation of dependence and being stuck in a state of relative childhood. The book argues that rap music made by Malawian youth music speaks of - and represents, through its very agency - their need to break out of this stagnant state. After situating Malawian hip hop with respect to both other musical genres in the country and to the nation's language in culture, Rap Music and the Youth in Malawi shows how Malawian youth use rap music to create a sense of community, which then becomes a foothold from which they can do activities that get them out of waithood and into the adult world, such as getting involved in the music industry, realizing electoral power, or participating in activism about issues such as violence against people with albinism and the COVID-19 pandemic. Hip hop has been a crucial tool for Malawian youth to build the skills, identity, and agency necessary to exercise their economic, cultural, and civic independence.