Germany in the Loud Twentieth Century seeks to understand recent German history and contemporary German culture through its sounds and musics, noises and silences, using the means and modes of the emerging field of Sound Studies. German soundscapes present a particularly fertile field for investigation and understanding, Feiereisen and Hill argue, due to such unique factors in Germany's history as its early and especially cacophonous industrialization, the sheer loudness of its wars, and the possibilities of shared noises in its division and reunification. Organized largely but not strictly chronologically, chapters use the unique contours of the German aural experience to examine how these soundscapes - the sonic environments, the ever-present arrays of noises with which everyone lives - ultimately reveal the possibility of "national" sounds. Together the chapters consider the acoustic national identity of Germany, or the cultural significance of sounds and silence, since the development and rise of sound-recording and sound-disseminating technologies in the early 1900s Chapters draw examples from a remarkably broad range of contexts and historical periods, from the noisy urban spaces at the turn of the twentieth century to battlefields and concert halls to radio and television broadcasting to the hip hop soundscapes of today. As a whole, the book makes a compelling case for the scholarly utility of listening to them. An online "Bonus Track" of teaching materials offers instructors practical tips for classroom use.

Despite its extraordinary popularity and worldwide influence, the world of rap and hip hop is under constant attack. Impressions and interpretations of its meaning and power are perpetually being challenged. Somewhere someone is bemoaning the negative impact of rap music on contemporary culture. In In the Heart of the Beat: The Poetry of Rap, bestselling author and scholar Alexs Pate argues for a fresh understanding of rap as an example of powerful and effective poetry, rather than a negative cultural phenomenon. Pate articulates a way of "reading" rap that makes visible both its contemporary and historical literary values. He encourages the reader to step beyond the dominance of the beat and the raw language and come to an appreciation of rap's literary and poetic dimensions. What emerges is a vision of rap as an exemplary form of literary expression, rather than a profane and trendy musical genre. Pate focuses on works by several well-known artists to reveal in rap music, despite its penchant for vulgarity, a power and beauty that is the heart of great literature.

Marc Lamont Hill shares his experience teaching a hip-hop centered English literature course in a Philadelphia high school where rap music, turntablism, breakdancing, graffiti culture, and other aspects of hip-hop were incorporated into the curriculum. Drawing on that experience and on his academic work on youth culture, identity, and educational processes, Hill offers a compelling case for the power of hip-hop, not just in driving up attendance and test performance, but in helping students forge their identities in an educational setting. For over a decade, educators have looked to capitalize on the appeal of hip-hop culture, sampling its language, techniques, and styles as a way of reaching out to students. But beyond a fashionable hipness, what does hip-hop have to offer our schools? Marc Lamont Hill shows, in this revelatory new book, it is the opportunity to affect students' lives in extraordinary ways.

This book presents an insightful exploration into the works of African American writers born in the 1960s and 1970s. ""Writing the Future of Black America"" explores the work of eight representative African American writers of the hip-hop generation to assess their common themes and offer insights into contemporary race relations in America as expressed and challenged in their works. In this groundbreaking study, Daniel Grassian takes as his subjects a group of impressive novelists, essayists, poets, and playwrights - Paul Beatty, Trey Ellis, Terrence Hayes, Allison Joseph, Jake Lamar, Suzan-Lori Parks, Danzy Senna, and Colson Whitehead - to chart the depths of their literary work against that of their predecessors in the civil rights generation and their predominantly white contemporaries of Generation X. Characterized by the pursuit of empowerment through hybridity, social criticism, and personal expression, hip-hop has become the music and culture of choice for a sizable portion of America, regardless of race or socioeconomic standing. Meanwhile the writers of this generation have received little serious critical attention, aside from singular book reviews and occasional essays. Grassian fills in a gap in the discourse with his thorough analysis of the works crafted by these distinguished hip-hop writers, and he makes a case for the validity and value of studying their sophisticated engagements with race in contemporary America. Selected because their work addresses a broad range of African American life, these writers fathom such topics as what it means to be African American or multiethnic in an increasingly global society, what role art and literature play in affecting their communities, and what positive and negative authority has been assigned to popular culture (and hip-hop culture specifically) in modern African American life.

Influenced by the blues as well as West African and African-American sounds, rhythm and blues, rap, and hip-hop have become popular and influential forms of music around the world. Featuring soulful lyrics, hard-driving beats, and infectious rhythms, these genres form a rich branch of America's musical culture. From artists such as Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin to LL Cool J and Dr. Dre, the performers who pioneered and perfected these musical forms have become household names. ""Rhythm and Blues, Rap, and Hip-Hop"" explores the characteristics and importance of each of these types of music and its history and evolution. This in-depth volume combines 52 photographs, a glossary, discography, and chronology to create an ideal go-to reference for music lovers everywhere. The entries include: Herb Abramson; Ray Charles; Sam Cooke; Doo wop; Dr. Dre; Earth, Wind, and Fire; Eminem; Aretha Franklin; Funk; Marvin Gaye; The Isley Brothers; Etta James; Little Richard; LL Cool J; The Memphis Horns; Motown; Teddy Pendergrass; Otis Redding; Tupac Shakur; Sugarhill Gang; Donna Summer; Luther Vandross; and many others.

Showing that in its early days rap music led to black consciousness, this discussion goes on to argue that the current preoccupations of rap -- especially the erotic themes expressed and their dramatisation in music videos -- have led to an unthinking youthful acceptance of profanity, vulgarity, sexual abuse, and violence. The book advocates for a return to rap's origins, for young people to become more selective and critical of today's music, and for parents to take a more active role in monitoring their children's listening habits.

"Cinderella's Big Score" celebrates the contributions of punk's oft-overlooked female artists, explores the latent--and not so latent--sexism of indie rock (so often thought of as the hallowed ground of progressive movements), and tells the story of how these women created spaces for themselves in a sometimes limited or exclusionary environment. The indie music world is littered with females who have not only withstood the racket of punk's intolerance, but have twisted our societal notions of femininity in knots.
Raha focuses on the United States and England in the 70s and 80s, and illuminates how the seminal women of this time shaped the female rockers of the 90s and today. Groups profiled range from The Runaways, The Slits, and The Plasmatics to L7, Sleater-Kinney, and Le Tigre. The book includes women not often featured in "women in rock" titles, such as Exene Cervenka of X, Eve Libertine and Joy de Vivre of Crass, and Poison Ivy Rorschach of the Cramps. Includes rare interviews and more than forty B&W photos.

The bumpin’ book for hip-hop disciples (a.k.a. fiends), songwriters, all other writers, pop culture fans, linguists, and parents who are just trying to figure out what their kids are saying.

The inventive sounds of hip-hop (which became America’s number two music genre in 2001, outselling country) have echoed far from their Bronx beginnings of twenty years ago. Making its way from Compton sidewalks to suburban malls, garnering commentary from The Wall Street Journal alongside Vibe, hip-hop by definition delivers its messages in the most creative language possible. Celebrating hip-hop’s boon to the realm of self-expression, Hip Hoptionary™ translates dozens of phrases like “marinating in the rizzi with your road dawg” (relaxing in your car with your friend), including:

• Big bodies: SUVs or luxury vehicles
• Government handle: registered birth name
• 411: the latest scoop or information
• Bling-bling: diamonds, big money, flash and cash
• Brick City: Newark, New Jersey
• 1812: war, fight (as in War of 1812)

In addition to the lexicon of idioms and beeper codes, Hip Hoptionary™ also features lists of hip-hop fashion labels, books, mixed drinks, and brief bios of America’s famous rappers, making this the ultimate guide for a Double H (hip-hop) nation.

The thirteen essays that comprise Global Noise explore the hip hop scenes of Europe, Anglophone and Francophone Canada, Japan and Australia within their social, cultural and ethnic contexts. Countering the prevailing colonialist view that global hip hop is an exotic and derivative outgrowth of an African-American-owned idiom subject to assessment in terms of American norms and standards, Global Noise shows how international hip hop scenes, like those in France and Australia, developed by first adopting then adapting US models and establishing an increasing hybridity of local linguistic and musical features. The essays reveal diasporic manifestations of international hip hop that are rarely acknowledged in the growing commentary on the genre in the US. In the voices of rappers from around the globe with divergent backgrounds of race, nationality, class and gender, the authors find a consistent rhetoric of opposition and resistance to institutional forms of repression and the construction of a cohesive, historically-based subculture capable of accommodating regional and national diversities.
CONTRIBUTORS: Roger Chamberland, Ian Condry, David Hesmondhalgh, Claire Levy, Ian Maxwell, Caspar Melville, Sarah Morelli, Mark Pennay, Andre J.M. Prevos, Ted Swedenburg, Jacqueline Urla and Mir Wermuth.

The most clearly identifiable and popular form of Japanese hip-hop, "ghetto" or "gangsta" music has much in common with its corresponding American subgenres, including its portrayal of life on the margins, confrontational style, and aspirational "rags-to-riches" narratives. Contrary to depictions of an ethnically and economically homogeneous Japan, gangsta J-hop gives voice to the suffering, deprivation, and social exclusion experienced by many modern Japanese. 24 Bars to Kill offers a fascinating ethnographic account of this music as well as the subculture around it, showing how gangsta hip-hop arises from widespread dissatisfaction and malaise.

Marc Lamont Hill shares his experience teaching a hip-hop centered English literature course in a Philadelphia high school where rap music, turntablism, breakdancing, graffiti culture, and other aspects of hip-hop were incorporated into the curriculum. Drawing on that experience and on his academic work on youth culture, identity, and educational processes, Hill offers a compelling case for the power of hip-hop, not just in driving up attendance and test performance, but in helping students forge their identities in an educational setting. For over a decade, educators have looked to capitalize on the appeal of hip-hop culture, sampling its language, techniques, and styles as a way of reaching out to students. But beyond a fashionable hipness, what does hip-hop have to offer our schools? Marc Lamont Hill shows, in this revelatory new book, it is the opportunity to affect students' lives in extraordinary ways.

Few bands have had as significant an impact as South London's So Solid Crew. Since the success of their number one hit "21 Seconds to Go", they have gone from strength to strength and remain at the forefront of the UK Garage scene. Asher D - notoriously imprisoned for gun possession - is one of the most famous faces of this controversial collective. Complex, talented and stylish, his exploits have landed him on the front page of every newspaper - and into the hearts of his many fans. Now, in his own words, Asher tells his story.